Editing Double negative (section)

===Two negatives resolving to a positive===
When two negatives are used in one independent clause, in standard English the negatives are understood to cancel one another and produce a weakened affirmative (see the Robert Lowth citation [[#Lowth|below]]): this is known as [[litotes]]. However, depending on how such a sentence is constructed, in some dialects if a verb or adverb is in between two negatives then the latter negative is assumed to be intensifying the former thus adding weight or feeling to the negative clause of the sentence. For this reason, it is difficult to portray double negatives in writing as the level of intonation to add weight in one's speech is lost. A double negative intensifier does not necessarily require the prescribed steps, and can easily be ascertained by the mood or intonation of the speaker. Compare
* ''There isn't no other way.''
:<nowiki>=</nowiki> There's some other way. Negative: isn't (is not), no
versus
* ''There isn't no other way!''
:<nowiki>=</nowiki> There's no other way!
These two sentences would be different in how they are communicated by speech. Any assumption would be correct, and the first sentence can be just as right or wrong in intensifying a negative as it is in cancelling it out; thereby rendering the sentence's meaning ambiguous. Since there is no adverb or verb to support the latter negative, the usage here is ambiguous and lies totally on the context behind the sentence. In light of punctuation, the second sentence can be viewed as the intensifier; and the former being a statement thus an admonishment.
<!-- The following is a clever anecdote but not directly relevant -->
<!-- The context-dependent nature of this rhetorical device in English is illustrated in a well-known linguistic anecdote. Oxford philosopher of language [[J. L. Austin]] gave a lecture in which he noted that there are many languages wherein a double negative makes a positive, but none in which a double positive makes a negative.  From the audience, Columbia philosopher [[Sidney Morgenbesser]] replied, "Yeah, yeah."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001314.html|title=IF P, SO WHY NOT Q?|work=Language Log|author=Mark Liberman|author-link=Mark Liberman}}</ref>
-->

{{anchor|Lowth}}In [[Standard written English|Standard English]], two negatives are understood to resolve to a positive. This rule was observed as early as 1762, when Bishop [[Robert Lowth]] wrote ''A Short Introduction to English Grammar with Critical Notes''.<ref>{{cite book|last = Fromkin|first = Victoria |author2=Rodman, Robert |author3=Hyams, Nina|title = An Introduction to Language, Seventh Edition|publisher = Heinle|year = 2002|page = 15|isbn = 0-15-508481-X }}</ref> For instance, "I don't disagree" could mean "I certainly agree",  "I agree", "I sort of agree", "I don't understand your point of view (POV)", "I have no opinion", and so on; it is a form of "[[weasel word]]s". Further statements are necessary to resolve which particular meaning was intended.

This is opposed to the single negative "I don't agree", which typically means "I disagree". However,  the statement "I don't completely disagree" is a similar double negative to "I don't disagree" but needs little or no clarification.

With the meaning "I completely agree", Lowth would have been referring to [[litotes]] wherein two negatives simply cancel each other out. However, the usage of intensifying negatives and examples are presented in his work, which could also imply he wanted either usage of double negatives abolished. Because of this ambiguity, double negatives are frequently employed when making [[back-handed compliments]]. The phrase "Mr. Jones wasn't incompetent." will seldom mean "Mr. Jones was very competent" since the speaker would've found a more flattering way to say so. Instead, some kind of problem is implied, though Mr. Jones possesses basic competence at his tasks.