we don't need no education

[KLPNO]

Hello everyone
I'd like to ask about the meaning of double negative used in the famous song by Pink Floyd:

We don't need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

At double negatives I've read that negative + negative = positive and now I can't figure out the meaning intended in the song, i.e. if the first three lines are negative (we don't need any education/any thought control/any dark sarcasm) or positive (we do need education etc.)

 

[heidita]

No, not in this case, the double negative is simple slang. They need no education and no thought control.

The same as: them kids. It should be "these".

 

[KLPNO]

No, not in this case, the double negative is simple slang. They need no education and no thought control.

The same as: them kids. It should be "these".

Thank you very much, heidita.

 

[riverkid]

At double negatives I've read that negative + negative = positive and now I can't figure out the meaning intended in the song, i.e. if the first three lines are negative (we don't need any education/any thought control/any dark sarcasm) or positive (we do need education etc.)

"A double negative is the nonstandard usage of two negatives used in the same sentence so that they cancel each other and create a positive. In Shakespeare's day, double negatives were considered emphatic, but today, they are considered grammar mistakes.

Remembering that two negatives form a positive will help you to avoid the "double negative" grammar problem:"

Hi KPLNO,

Simply put, that grammar site doesn't have the faintest idea what they're talking about.

IN ENGLISH, THE VAST VAST MAJORITY OF DOUBLE NEGATIVES DO NOT EQUAL A POSITIVE!!!

It is terribly disconcerting to still see this kind of nonsense coming from educational institutions.

:shock:

 

[KLPNO]

Hi KPLNO,

Simply put, that grammar site doesn't have the faintest idea what they're talking about.

IN ENGLISH, THE VAST VAST MAJORITY OF DOUBLE NEGATIVES DO NOT EQUAL A POSITIVE!!!

It is terribly disconcerting to still see this kind of nonsense coming from educational institutions.

:shock:

Thank you very much, riverkid!!!