tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851981677644878233.post5258367488739270377..comments2023-10-25T02:16:28.192-06:00Comments on Ryan's linguistics blog: ContractionsRyan Denzer-Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04015316224715016479noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851981677644878233.post-29115232292382091542007-10-25T22:11:00.000-06:002007-10-25T22:11:00.000-06:00I think Alex (and myself in the original post) was...I think Alex (and myself in the original post) was referring to when the "are" is stressed for a specific reason. For instance, if I said "Those flowers are beautiful," you could reply "They ARE beautiful, aren't they?" but I seriously doubt anyone would reply "They're beautiful, aren't they?"Ryan Denzer-Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015316224715016479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851981677644878233.post-29266853705883540322007-10-25T21:28:00.000-06:002007-10-25T21:28:00.000-06:00perhaps i found it so strange because it is quite ...perhaps i found it so strange because it is quite rare in writing (at least that i've read). i don't know if alex is saying the sentence "yes, they are beautiful, aren't they?" can't be contracted, but i certainly could accept a contracted form, especially if the yes is dropped-- which to me doesn't affect the stress, because you'd still say "they are beautiful, aren't they?" without contracting but "they're beautiful, aren't they?" with contraction.kataikléyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03642167122943823739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851981677644878233.post-13746260466123079412007-10-25T21:27:00.000-06:002007-10-25T21:27:00.000-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.kataikléyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03642167122943823739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851981677644878233.post-31760430947439495202007-10-25T17:21:00.000-06:002007-10-25T17:21:00.000-06:00I can think of a reason to pick "He's not going" ...I can think of a reason to pick "He's not going" over "He isn't going." The former has fewer syllables and theoretically takes less effort and time to pronounce. And, let's be honest, in our mile-a-minute workaday existence, we deserve to cut all the corners we possibly can from language. Also, we deserve a hot juicy burger, apparently.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2851981677644878233.post-65338703783565438642007-10-25T13:31:00.000-06:002007-10-25T13:31:00.000-06:00I think you're right -- semantic emphasis has a gr...I think you're right -- semantic emphasis has a great deal to do with what gets contracted, just as where you place the accent in a word or in a sentence affects which syllables/words are unaccented and de-emphasized.<BR/><BR/>"Yes, they <I>are</I>," in the sentence "Yes, they <I>are</I> beautiful, aren't they?" stays uncontracted. But "<I>Yes</I>, they are" becomes "<I>Yes</I>, they're" in the sentence "<I>Yes</I>, they're going to be in the World Series."<BR/><BR/>Beyond that, I think "I'dn't've" doesn't work because standard expectations of vowels permits a maximum of two contractions in a row: "I'd've" or "wouldn't've" but not "I'dn't've."Alex Remingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14172213313013579117noreply@blogger.com