Bloei en ondergang van onbeperkt ne/en, vooral dat bij niet-woorden voor reacties zie Ton van der Wouden[07.02], Liliane Haegeman[07.03] en Norbert Corver[07.04]

Abstract

This article describes the flourishing and the disappearance of the so-called double negative in several Dutch dialects. The author makes extensive use of data from both formal, written language and colloquial language, covering a period from the 8th until the 20th century. Three possible linguistic developments concerning the history of the double negative are discerned: displacement of the n-element, stacking and reduction (‘ontkleuring’). Further data and insights from dialectological research reveal two different linguistic systems (a South-Eastern and a Western or Flemish system), whose developments differ substantially.