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当别人问你 “How are you?” 时，你会如何回答？在英国，除了 “I'm well” 和 “I'm fine” 之外，很多人还会用 “not bad(还不错)” 来回答，而这种表达方式就属于 “double negatives（双重否定）”。与直接使用肯定句或否定句相比，双重否定有哪些独特的含义和用法？听节目，跟主持人步理和 Georgie 一探究竟。

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Buli
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。This is Question and Answer of the Week, where we answer your questions about English language, culture and life. I'm Buli and Georgie's here to help me answer a question. How are you?

Georgie
Not bad, not bad. You?

Buli
Just 'not bad'?

Georgie
Well, I've not been unhappy…

Buli
Georgie, are you happy or not?

Georgie
I'm fine! How are you?

Buli
I'm pretty good, thanks! But, Georgie, why weren't you more direct when I asked you how you were?

Georgie
Ah, well that's because in English, especially in British English, sometimes we prefer to be more cautious with our statements.

Buli
I don't disagree. Shall we hear this week's question?

Georgie
That's not the worst idea!

Buli
What?!

Georgie
I mean… That's a good idea! Let's hear it now.

Question
我觉得英语里的双重否定句，甚至是多重否定句的真实含义非常难以识别，特别是在口语对话中经常让我来不及反应。请问英语里为什么会用双重否定句呢？它会暗示出特别的意思吗？有什么方法或者窍门能更快地识别双重否定句的正确含义吗？

Buli
这位听众提到的 “双重否定句” 在英语里被称为 “double negatives”。双重否定句中，往往至少含有一个否定词 “no” 或者 “not”，以及一个具有否定意义的单词，比如 “nobody（没有人）”、“bad（不好的，坏的）” 或者 “unhappy（不开心的）”。不过，“双重否定” 并不一定就是 “肯定”。在本期节目中，咱们就来看看在英语里人们是如何使用双重否定句的。

Right, Georgie. Let's jump straight into some of the examples you used at the beginning. When I asked you how you were, you said 'not bad'. We've got a negative word there – 'bad' and made it a double negative with 'not'. So, does 'not bad' mean 'good'?

Georgie
Hmm, not quite. 'Not bad' is not 'good'. It means something in the middle – quite good. British people use this response to 'How are you?' a lot. In the same way, you might hear 'not uncommon', which means quite common.

Buli
Right, and you also said you are 'not unhappy', which I guess means fairly happy, but not very happy.

Georgie
Exactly. Using double negatives in this way helps us to not make strong claims and be less direct. Next, let's look at when you said, 'I don't disagree'. Compare 'I agree' with 'I don't disagree'. The first is stronger than the second. 'I don't disagree' could be followed by 'but'. It's a softer claim.

Buli
Well, I don't disagree, but I do think it's better to be more direct. It's easier to understand!

在英语中，特别是在英国，人们会用双重否定句来让自己的说法听上去不那么绝对。比如，在被问到自己对一件事的想法时，比起直接说 “I don't agree” 或者 “I agree”，用 “I don't disagree” 听起来就更加温和。同时，我们也可以用 “I don't disagree, but…” 来引出自己的建议和一些小想法，这样往往听上去也会更容易让人接受。

Now, you said listening to the question was 'not the worst idea'. What did you mean by that?

Georgie
I meant 'That's a pretty good idea.' British English speakers sometimes like using understatement. These are often more positive than you expect. For example, 'not bad' can often mean pretty good, in a surprising way.

Buli
That's true. 在英式英语中，人们还常常会选择双重否定句作为一种低调的评价方式，也就是 “understatement”。就比如，如果一个人对你说 “that's not a bad idea”，那么对方的意思很可能并不是 “这主意还不赖”，而其实是 “这主意非常不错”，并且往往还带有一种惊讶和出乎意料的感觉。

Georgie
In terms of a tip to react to double negatives more quickly, I think it's about hearing lots of examples and just getting used to them. Try not to think that a negative plus a negative automatically means something positive. Ask yourself these questions: Is this speaker being polite? Are they softening criticism? Expressing understatement? Avoiding certainty? The answer is often 'yes' to at least one of those if they are using a double negative.

Buli
你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学制作的 “你问我答” 节目。在本期节目中，我们正在学习英语里双重否定句的用法。

Georgie
I want to share one more example of when British English speakers use double negatives to be indirect. Ask me a question with a suggestion, Buli.

Buli
Sure. Would you like to get lunch together in our break?

Georgie
Well, I wouldn't say no…

Buli
Right. So, is that a 'yes'?

Georgie
It's not a 'no'!

Buli
Georgie…

Georgie
Let's go for lunch later. I'm in. But first, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to recap.

Buli
Ah, I see! Well, I can't say that's untrue.

最后，让我们来总结一下。在英语中，特别是在英式英语中，人们经常会用双重否定句来避免语气过于直截了当或者说法太过绝对。此外，英语母语者，特别是英国人，也经常用双重否定来让自己相对明显的看法或态度显得更为低调，甚至是略微掩盖自己的惊讶和惊叹之情。比如，“this is not a bad little restaurant” 的意思其实可能是 “这家餐厅竟然还挺不错的”。因此，我们在理解双重否定句时，除了多听多练，也要学会识别沟通交流中的文字以外的信息。比如，对方的语气是积极的还是有所保留的？肢体动作和表情如何变化？他们有没有提出其它观点或想法？这些观察都能帮助我们更好地理解双重否定的含义。

Georgie
Don't forget that if you have a question that you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Buli
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye!

Georgie
Goodbye!