jahoor, neehoor
Sep. 18th, 2005 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guslA- [YESNO-QUESTION] ?
B- jahoor/neehoor.
"jahoor" and "neehoor" are alternatives to use when "ja" or "nee" are too short. It can also indicate that B is surprised that A is asking, and thus it can seem more sincere.
It's like "oh yeah" / "oh no". It took me the longest time to figure this out. The difference is not semantic, but pragmatic.
----------
UPDATE: I'm trying to figure out when people use "jahoor" instead of "ja".
A- Bel ik gelegen?
B- Jahoor!
Kom je vanavond? Heb je een aansteker? Wil je wat drinken? Heb je nieuws over X? Ben je ziek? Heb je t boek gelezen? Ben je ervoor bereid?
---
RS says that "hoor" is meant to reassure. If you say "jahoor" or "neehoor", you signal that you are presupposing the other person is worried about the question they just asked.
B- jahoor/neehoor.
"jahoor" and "neehoor" are alternatives to use when "ja" or "nee" are too short. It can also indicate that B is surprised that A is asking, and thus it can seem more sincere.
It's like "oh yeah" / "oh no". It took me the longest time to figure this out. The difference is not semantic, but pragmatic.
----------
UPDATE: I'm trying to figure out when people use "jahoor" instead of "ja".
A- Bel ik gelegen?
B- Jahoor!
Kom je vanavond? Heb je een aansteker? Wil je wat drinken? Heb je nieuws over X? Ben je ziek? Heb je t boek gelezen? Ben je ervoor bereid?
---
RS says that "hoor" is meant to reassure. If you say "jahoor" or "neehoor", you signal that you are presupposing the other person is worried about the question they just asked.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-18 09:14 pm (UTC)I'm thinking specifically of the difference between "oui" and "si" in french: "oui" is the usual "yes", and "si" is reserved for responding "yes" to questions that have an expected negative response.
If jahoor/neehoor are just emphatic yes/no, then I'd agree that the difference is pragmatic. But if they are used for contradiction-in-response, I'd argue that they do have a distinct semantic function.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-18 09:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-18 09:52 pm (UTC)French also has no negative equivalent ("contradictory no"). I think. It's been a while. I wonder why the contradictory no doesn't warrant its own word in either language; I always assumed that french was asymmetric and that other languages did indeed have a word for that role.
jahoor
Date: 2006-07-09 02:55 pm (UTC)Re: jahoor
Date: 2006-07-09 02:56 pm (UTC)Re: jahoor
Date: 2006-07-09 03:00 pm (UTC)