Quote:
Originally Posted by Decimus
Yes, because Yahoo Answers is an authoritative source. And yes, because lack of evidence proves that something is false. And yes, because anecdotal evidence definitely trumps everything else, even if there's textual evidence to the contrary.
You're committing a lot of logical fallacies here.
Here's a 'counterexample' from Yahoo. Note that 「お/ご-なさい」 is (claimed to be) used in a commercial.
In particular, see this:
Here's an authoritative source:
More results from google.
I grant you that the 「お/ご-なさい」 is uncommon when compared to its alternatives, but that does not make it any less valid. Even if it's somehow no longer standard (which I doubt), robhol was still technically correct as he in no way claimed that the sentence would be either a command or request; he merely stated that it was (in the) imperative (mood). Which it is.
(Coincidentally, I happen to have the same surname as the writer of the publication.) |
Well I already conceded that you are technically correct. However upon calling up two of my Japanese friends they confirmed what I had been feeling. They said that おーなさい in general sounds old, and that nobody would ever say おやすみなさい to mean "Go to bed".
Anyhow I misunderstood the meaning of imperative as you are using it apparently cuz I always thought it to be a command or request. So if that is what robhol meant too, then I still disagree with him.
And yes your article is certainly an authoritative source, however, in practical terms i think it is more significant how the everyday native speaker of a language feels about its usage. After all language changes and it is the speakers who change it.