2

Multiple times I've read dialogs like this example:

— This conjecture hasn't been proved.

— Yes it has been proved in 2003.

This seems odd to me: the answerer first says "yes", but proceeds to contradict his own beginning. I'd suppose the answer should rather have been something like "No, it has been proved in 2003.", meaning "You're wrong, it has been proved in 2003."

Is it actually normal usage of "yes" in English?

Community
  • 1
Ruslan
  • 250
  • 4
  • 11
  • 5
    'Yes it has' and 'No it hasn't' (said with the correct tone) are standard conversational correctives. 'Oh yes it has' veers towards the comic, probably because of the pantomime use. // 'Yes it has' etc with a different tone are affirmatives. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 19 '17 at 15:17
  • 1
    In languages like Japanese, the expected answer would be “No, it has been proved”, since no in those languages means “I disagree with the notion expressed in the question/statement that I am replying to”. In other languages, like English, no generally means “regardless of whether I agree with the question/statement or not, my reply will be a negative one”. Other languages, like Middle English, have four different words, differing not only in whether you’re giving a positive or negative answer, but also in whether you’re answer a positive or negative question/statement. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 19 '17 at 16:04
  • The conjecture hasn't been proved. "Yeah, right! Jones proved it in 2003." – Airymouse Jan 19 '17 at 17:42
  • The answer says "yes" because the original statement said "no", and it's contradicting it. – Barmar Jan 19 '17 at 18:51
  • Listen to what is said after the "yes" or "no". If you think too hard about the "yes" or "no" you'll miss the usually clear statement following that can stand on it's own. In your example, you could start with "No" and mean exactly the same thing. – Tom22 Jan 19 '17 at 20:23
  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it belongs on English Language Learners, even though the UI here tells me it's "Too Old To Migrate". – FumbleFingers Apr 16 '17 at 17:24
  • 1
    Possible duplicate of How to answer a negative question without ambiguity? – AndyT Feb 21 '18 at 15:24

2 Answers2

8

According to On the syntax of yes and no in English (alt link: download PDF), English uses the polarity-based system, in contrast to languages like Japanese that use the truth-based system. (This is exactly what Janus Bahs Jacquet alludes to in their comment.)

The reply, in your case, does not get its polarity from the original statement. Instead, its polarity comes from the word "yes", (so it's not wrong to say it that way).

Laurel
  • 66,382
2

It is normal usage in English.

I know that in French 'si' is used instead of 'oui' for 'yes' when it contradicts a negative, but English doesn't make that distinction. [1]

Community
  • 1
Kate Bunting
  • 25,480