negatsioon

Negatsioon is the operation or function that denies or inverts the truth of a statement or proposition. In logic, negation takes a proposition p to ¬p, which is true exactly when p is false. Classical logic provides laws such as double negation elimination (¬¬p = p), while in intuitionistic logic this is not generally valid. In mathematics and computer science, negation also appears as the logical NOT operation and, for numbers, as the additive inverse (the unary minus).

In natural language, negation is realized with words or morphemes that express denial. Common forms include sentential negation with particles like not or never in English, as well as negative words such as no, none, nicht in German, nicht in Dutch, and mitte in Estonian. Some languages use a dedicated negative particle that accompanies the verb, while others employ morphological negation through prefixes or suffixes. The scope of negation—how far it extends in a sentence—interacts with quantifiers, modality, and tense, producing a range of effects across languages.

Linguistic phenomena related to negation include negative concord, where multiple negative elements combine to convey a single negation, and litotes, a stylistic device that uses negation for emphasis (for example, “not unattractive” meaning “quite attractive”). Cross-linguistic variation also includes differences in how negation interacts with tense and aspect, and how negation is licensed by other particles or operators in a sentence.

Negasjon, as a concept, thus spans logic, mathematics, and language, serving as a central means of expressing denial, contradiction, or the opposite of a proposition.