Re. This article in the NY Times
‘For example, the sentence “I never said she stole my money” can have seven different meanings depending on which word is stressed.’
Are you freakin’ kiddin’ me?
Get over it: life is already WAY too complicated.
For a start, it means: “I never said she stole my money”
Or, you can emphasise as follows:
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
I never said she stole my money
But are these guys messed up, or what?
For example, what about: I never said she stole my money? They can’t count: we’re up to nine variations already.
And consider the au contraire case: “My assistant always refused to mention in her e-mails that I had given him the Lamborghini.”
You get the idea. What really is “emphasis”?
It seems that one man’s “emphasis” is another man’s denial.
Remember that when you are next in court.