negation - "I leaked nothing to nobody." - SAE? AAVE? Deliberate double negative?



"I leaked nothing to nobody" (around 3:42 in the video)



Is the sentence above from Susan Rice grammatically correct in standard American English (SAE)? Seems like it should be:



I leaked nothing to anybody/anyone.



If not SAE, is it maybe African American Vernacular English (AAVE)?


If not AAVE, would the double negative make it a positive? Maybe weasel wording or understatement (litotes)?




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of "s--t eating grin"

First floor vs ground floor, usage origin

usage - "there doesn't seem" vs. "there don't seem"

pronunciation - Where does the intrusive R come from in “warsh”?

Abbreviation of "Street"

etymology - Since when has "a hot minute" meant a long time?

meaning - What is synonyme of "scale"?