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“I ain’t got no money”

Why does the phrase "I ain't doing nothing" mean "I am doing nothing"?

According to me, "I ain't doing nothing" should translate to "I am not doing nothing", which implies that "I am doing something".

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Peeyush Kushwaha
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    'Rules' are more flexible in English than some would like. This usage is idiomatic, and idioms (of which there are many) break rules – some, semantic rules (how can a camel be a ship?) and some, syntactic rules. Innit. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 11 '13 at 07:38
  • Because in natural language, double negatives are negative, not positive: language isn't math. Sophists will claim that I ain't doing nothing = I am doing something, but they're just pretending to be nitpicking lawyers. Context will tell you when a double negative is intended to express a positive and when it's intended to express a negative. Words alone are not enough, especially when they're on a page instead of coming out of a speaker's mouth. –  Jan 11 '13 at 07:43
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    It's the same in French: Non, je ne regrette rien (Edith Piaf). /// Non, rien de rien // Non, je ne regrette rien [No, I don't regret nothing = No, I don't regret anything] // Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait // Ni le mal; tout ça m'est bien égal! –  Jan 11 '13 at 07:46
  • A camel can even be an aeroplane... – Mr Lister Jan 11 '13 at 07:59
  • I ain't never done nothing to nobody – mplungjan Jan 11 '13 at 08:06
  • You may find this page useful. –  Jan 11 '13 at 08:40
  • @Arch: I looked at the Wikipedia page & disagree with what the author calls a "double negative": "In 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. For instance, 'I do not disagree' could mean 'I certainly agree'." This is actually called "litotes": "understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (as in 'not a bad singer' or 'not unhappy')". –  Jan 11 '13 at 09:23
  • This is a duplicate of so many questions. In fact, compare the answer you've got here to e.g. this answer. Duplication of effort at its worst. Please search the site before posting. (We have dedicated tags for pretty much everything, including double negation.) Thank you. – RegDwigнt Jan 11 '13 at 09:40
  • @BillFranke Yeah, the term "litote" is certainly a better term to describe such scenario. And the usage of litote can even be found in Bible so I don't see the point mentioning Bishop Robert Lowth's book in 1762. Articles in Wikipedia are not always flawless. So I've improved this article and I think the community has approved. –  Jan 11 '13 at 10:17

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Multiple negation has long been a feature of English. It continues to be so in nonstandard dialects, but is no longer allowed in Standard English. It isn’t a case of one negative cancelling another. Rather, the greater the number of negatives, the greater the force of the negation. If you think it’s illogical, try telling that to the French, whose standard form of the language features the two negatives ne and pas used together.

Barrie England
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  • @BarrieEngland: Just correct me if I am wrong. We can't have "nothing" in negative sentence. "Anything" is much suitable.Am I right? – Bhushan Firake Jan 11 '13 at 08:40
  • @Bhushan Firake. If you're thinking of a sentence like I don't know nothing, then that is not permissible in Standard English. It will, however, be found in other dialects. – Barrie England Jan 11 '13 at 08:56
  • @BhushanFirake actually you can't have nothing in a positive sentence. Nothing in itself is negative, so it is found only in negative sentences by definition. "I have nothing." "He did nothing." – RegDwigнt Jan 11 '13 at 09:44