tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11798250.post111961978641386618..comments2008-12-09T07:35:44.076ZPashminahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601941372471784897noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11798250.post-1119963558825931382005-06-28T13:59:00.000+01:002005-06-28T13:59:00.000+01:00I like the sound of "jein" very much. Wonder if I can get away with inserting it into everyday English conversation? Given that I don't speak German, that is.<BR/><BR/>What annoys me especially about "yeah-but-no-but", despite the fact that the Vicky Pollard stuff is by far the funniest bit of Little Britain, is, to echo Patroclus, that in practice it doesn't actually *mean* anything at all. So how can it go into the dictionary? Strictly speaking it should be treated like "jein" but really it mostly gets used as conversational punctuation, or as shorthand for the kind of character VP embodies.<BR/><BR/>I really wish this kind of thing didn't wind me up so much. Life would be so much more peaceful.Pashminahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601941372471784897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11798250.post-1119942370666179832005-06-28T08:06:00.000+01:002005-06-28T08:06:00.000+01:00I've thankfully not yet heard "yeah-but-no-but" in actual use but it's annoying enough that I'm sure to hear it sooner or later. German has long had "jein", a melding of "ja" and "nein" which, in certain circumstances, is a more appropriate and descriptive answer, viz:<BR/><BR/>A: Didn't you want to go on holiday to Washington?<BR/>B: Jein... I <I>do</I> want to visit mum but I really don't want to deal with the dehumanising treatment at the airport nor the general stupidity of the populace among whom I'd be forced to mingle.<BR/><BR/>"Jein" is clean; "yeah-but-no-but" is a tortured construction incorporating an already modified affirmative answer. Don't we already have "yes and no"? Failing the adoption of "jein" or other similar word from another language, that should suffice.BadDoggiehttp://baddoggie@gmail.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11798250.post-1119859376887024902005-06-27T09:02:00.000+01:002005-06-27T09:02:00.000+01:00<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1324160,00.html" REL="nofollow">'Fraid so</A>...Pashminahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601941372471784897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11798250.post-1119855329975097842005-06-27T07:55:00.000+01:002005-06-27T07:55:00.000+01:00Especially as the phrase "yeah-but-no-but" doesn't *mean* anything more than the individual words it's made up of. I mean, if that's going into the dictionary, you might as well also have "which was nice" and "with my reputation?" <BR/><BR/>Corblimey, Jacques Derrida would be turning in his grave. Actually, is he dead?patroclushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01933476561340044351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11798250.post-1119828225576881212005-06-27T00:23:00.000+01:002005-06-27T00:23:00.000+01:00Oh yes, I couldn't understand why people wanted 'yeah but no' in the dictionary either! It doesn't make a lot of sense to want to put in in there.BiScUiTshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15906733831881886350noreply@blogger.com