"I don't understand nothing" ?

cloudship

hi guys,

i post this here because i think you guys may be able to help me with this sentance.

what does the sentance mean or could it mean?
"I don't understand nothing" sounds a little bit wierd to me, but i goolged it, and came out a lot of results, which shows a lot of people are saying that.

what i could imagine is:

1. grammar mistake
2. double deny in order to emphysize he/she knows everything
3. other meanings (... i am curious)

thx for answer in advance!°

Dean_The_Great

This sentence simply falls under the classic mistake of the "double-negative"

It means if you do not know nothing, then you must know something. It does not, however, imply that you know everything. Just that you know more than nothing. Someone who only knows there name "doesn't know nothing."

Common occurances of the double negative include "I didn't do nothing" meaning you must have done something, and "I didn't say nothing", meaning you must have said something.

The proper way, in all these cases, that people mean to say it is "I don't know anything" or "I didn't do anything" or "I didn't say anything". Which does, in fact, mean you know/do/say nothing.

babyboyz

To me its a sentence that was form from modern language and to understand and interpret it requires mordern day knowledge of the speech trends. To me its merely to emphasize that the speaker does not know much about the subject matter he/she was asked about. However it could also mean a bold lie that someone would say to a police or gang member or whoever it is who may be intimidating them at the time. Deny knowing anything on a certain subject even though they may have some information. Its a reluctance to talk for whatever reason.

tkGER

Well, it's really like the famous another brick in the wall frase "we don't need no education". In that case, the frase was used to give a message: the kids were struggling to show that they didn't need education, but by the double-negative, you can tell that they DO need education, but certainly not the one they're having as they make so silly mistakes. It's seen again in the "teacher leave them kids alone".
But in the case you mention, I think the explanation is quite simple; when you hear anybody saying it, is just a modern expression. When you hear someone talking in a serious context and you can tell he knows what he's talking about, then you should try to find a meaning to the frase. Otherwise, is just silly language Brick wall