• thefartographer@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Asshole replies aside: I took a technical writing course in which we learned that people struggle talking to Americans because we are obsessed with using negatives as a form of emphasis. How are you doing? Not bad! Thank you! No problem. Do you mind doing me a favor? Not at all!

      This is especially difficult who already struggle with affirmatives and then need to translate the negative. Combine this with Americans’ constant need to appeal to power, you get headlines like “Goliath Loses Battle to David With a Stone,” or “No one saw This Heat Coming,” or “What You’re Probably Doing Wrong With Your Used Toilet Paper.”

      • AaronStC@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Except for " Do you mind…" I see you point and never noticed it before. I’m guilty of most of these.

        However, the polite response to “Do you mind?” is “no.” Otherwise you would mind, and if you do mind, you wouldn’t want to do the favor. It’s actually a weird question because it basically flips the meaning of “yes” and “no” you usually expect.

        • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          That’s a good argument untiiiillll you consider that this question is essentially a negated version of “Will you please…”

          See also: “Why don’t you…”

          • AaronStC@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            Not really, you’re asking if it would be an inconvenience with would you mind.

            Your examples are direct requests.

    • 𝔇𝔦𝔬@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Because immediately stating the state lost in a headline has more impact. Do you not grasp writing.

      Either way it exclaims the same thing so your gripe is moot.

      • GivingEuropeASpook@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I do grasp writing, that is specifically why I asked this question, because the headline framing it as a loss is negative to people who aren’t already supportive of climate action.

      • Poob
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        1 year ago

        “Do you not grasp writing,” they say, forgetting to put a question mark at the end of their question.