Learn English – The word ‘not’ often doesn’t mean total negation in mathematical sense

logicmeaningnegation

Consider the following conversations:

X1: I paid $10 for that hamburger.
Y1: That's not cheap!

X2: I pay $1 for broadband Internet access.
Y2: That's cheap!

X3: I paid $1 for a hot dog.
Y3: Seems like a reasonable price.

In conversation 1, "not cheap" means expensive or overpriced.

In conversation 2, "cheap" means lower than the expected or average
price.

In conversation 3, the hot dog is neither overpriced not lower than
the expected price.

Therefore, the hot dog is neither "cheap", nor is it "not cheap".

Is this a special case, or does 'not' in the English language often
not translate to mathematical negation?

This post inspired by a MENSA book stating the 2 sentences below are
contrapositives (and thus have the same meaning), even though most
people interpret them very differently:

Good food is not cheap.
Cheap food is not good.

Best Answer

I think what you have in statement 1 is merely a case of rhetorical understatement, also known as litotes.

In rhetoric, litotes is a figure of speech in which understatement is employed for rhetorical effect. It is most often used to describe the expression of an idea by a denial of its opposite, principally via double negatives. For example, rather than saying that something is attractive (or even very attractive), one might merely say it is "not unattractive."

Litotes is a form of understatement, always deliberate and with the intention of emphasis. However, the interpretation of litotes can depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be said in such a way as to mean anything from "mediocre" to "excellent."

Related Topic