Don't Like/Not Good

I always treat don't like differently from dislike, much like the OP from what I can gather.
I'd probably use don't like in place of dislike on occaision though, and equally I might clarify if i said don't like without meaning dislike. Not sure why anyone would really be that bothered by something which is grammatically ambiguous, don't like isn't the opposite of liking, it's a cancelling of the liking, which in a situation where you have 3 states, like, ambivalent and dislike it leads to ambiguity.
 
[FnG]magnolia;18454872 said:
Please tell us all more about common expressions you misunderstand.

I bet you were home schooled.
Click to expand...

I'd gander he wasn't schooled at all, he just evolved into that state despite his tutors best efforts.

In what possible was can 'don't like' be considered neutral.
I 'don't like' the butchering of innocents?
The amount of crime is 'not good'?

Enlighten me please OP as to your understanding of the use of neutral.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
I'd gander he wasn't schooled at all, he just evolved into that state despite his tutors best efforts.

In what possible was can 'don't like' be considered neutral.
I 'don't like' the butchering of innocents?
The amount of crime is 'not good'?

Enlighten me please OP as to your understanding of the use of neutral.
Click to expand...
It's easier to infer the difference in speech, a flat "I don't like" would mean dislike, a drawn out reluctant like would suggest indifference.
A - Dislike: "What do you think of Steve?"
"I don't like him"

B - Indifference: "God, that guy's a twot"
"Well, I don't like him, but he's not that bad"

There is "don't like" as a phrase, and there is "don't" negating "like", for all the people ranting about the OP's English skills both make sense depending on useage, and both mean different things. It is the standard confusing English language that is at fault, not the OP's understanding of it.
 
I understand what you (and the OP) mean, it's what I was hinting at by saying it's a limitation of language - if there are multiple possible meanings for a phrase or at least subtleties of meaning then you've either got to elucidate your point or accept that sometimes (often) you may be misunderstood. Interestingly I'd say that the phrase "I don't dislike it" is more neutral than "I don't like it" but that's obviously open for interpretation despite being prima facie the diametric opposite of the original phrase - maybe something to do with the notion of negatives cancelling which despite being a mathematical construct is one we often adopt into linguistics.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you :p

but

I /don't like/ it (ie dislike)
I don't /dislike/ it

I do not /like/ it -1 or 0 : I /dislike/ it. -1

I do not /dislike/ it 0

Subtle differences between them in how they are commonly used. (deliberate use of / to clarify that)

The problem is.... don't like is seen as interchangeable with dislike despite not being exactly identical.

This is usually how it is used.

It gets more complex because contradictory statements can be used in a sentence or paragraph not to express nonsense but to express a "higher subtlety" of proposition (common in poetry, fiction and i suppose logic).

The vagaries of language...

For someone studying english as a second language it must be hideously complex. (quite interesting to me)
 
I find the same thing happens when you're not actively smiling/being overly joyous. Sometimes I'm indifferent, neither happy, nor sad. But people assume because I'm not happy, I must be sad.

It's annoying.
 
Reldar said:
Just because you don't like something it doesn't mean you dislike it.
Click to expand...

Don't like and dislike are the same thing.

I don't like the colour green.

I dislike the colour green.

They mean the same thing. How could you possibly think they are different? :confused:
 
Garee said:
Don't like and dislike are the same thing.

I don't like the colour green.

I dislike the colour green.

They mean the same thing. How could you possibly think they are different? :confused:
Click to expand...
Because
I don't actively like the colour green. (indifference)
could also be written
I don't like the colour green.

Your two examples CAN mean the same thing, however they are not the same.
 
Taken literally it rules out positive feelings for a subject, and this does not necessarily mean negative emotions but, as mentioned, in modern vernacular it does have that connotation so it's easier to use 'indifferent' or other vocabulary to be clearer.
 
dmpoole said:
WHAT?
Click to expand...

Well in my view "don't like" means: I have no positive feelings towards something.
But that does not mean you necessarily have negative feelings towards something.

Just because you don't like Steve. Doesn't mean you view him in a negative way.

------

"Dislike" always refers to negative views/feelings.
 
Abraham said:
Because
I don't actively like the colour green. (indifference)
could also be written
I don't like the colour green.

Your two examples CAN mean the same thing, however they are not the same.
Click to expand...

The OP is not talking about the use of modifiers.

Reldar said:
Well in my view "don't like" means: I have no positive feelings towards something.
But that does not mean you necessarily have negative feelings towards something.

Just because you don't like Steve. Doesn't mean you view him in a negative way.

------

"Dislike" always refers to negative views/feelings.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter what your view is, you are incorrect. If you don't like Steve then you hold a negative opinion of him. If you are ambivalent to Steve then you have neither a good nor bad opinion of him.

Seriously, this is Primary 1 stuff.
 
I have similar views to the OP in that the below type of situation annoys me:

Her: "Did you like it?"
Me: "No"
Me: "....er, I didn't dislike it, but y'know, not really my thing"

It's like, if someone says "Is Black your favourite colour?" and you say "No", that doesn't mean that White is your favourite colour.
 
HangTime said:
I have similar views to the OP in that the below type of situation annoys me:

Her: "Did you like it?"
Me: "No"
Me: "....er, I didn't dislike it, but y'know, not really my thing"
Click to expand...

You've gone from saying that you do not like it to saying that you're ambivalent to it. These are different things.

It's like, if someone says "Is Black your favourite colour?" and you say "No", that doesn't mean that White is your favourite colour.
Click to expand...

That's correct. No one is arguing otherwise :confused:
 
HangTime said:
I have similar views to the OP in that the below type of situation annoys me:

Her: "Did you like it?"
Me: "No"
Me: "....er, I didn't dislike it, but y'know, not really my thing"

It's like, if someone says "Is Black your favourite colour?" and you say "No", that doesn't mean that White is your favourite colour.
Click to expand...

I like this post.


Dj_Jestar said:
I don't like this thread.
Click to expand...

lol just ignore it then ;)
 
[FnG]magnolia;18458944 said:
It doesn't matter what your view is, you are incorrect. If you don't like Steve then you hold a negative opinion of him. If you are ambivalent to Steve then you have neither a good nor bad opinion of him.

Seriously, this is Primary 1 stuff.
Click to expand...
It's funny how you keep breaking out the education jibes given how flat out wrong you are.

The phrase 'don't like' may have the popular connotation of what you're talking about, but in strictly orthodox interpretation you are incorrect to rule everything else out.

'Like' is a verb of positive emotion. To say you 'like' something is to say you have positive emotion towards it. To say you 'don't like' something is to say you don't have positive emotion towards it. This does not mean you have negative emotion towards an object, although as I said it may infer it.

The confusion with the OP's choice of words is down to popular connotation of phrase, not due to error.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom