inky:
This sentence has seven different meanings, depending on the stressed word:
- I didn’t say she stole my money — someone else said it.
- I didn’t say she stole my money — I didn’t say it.
- I didn’t say she stole my money — I only implied it.
- I didn’t say she stole my money — I said someone did, not necessarily her.
- I didn’t say she stole my money — I considered it borrowed, even though she didn’t ask.
- I didn’t say she stole my money — only that she stole money.
- I didn’t say she stole my money — she stole stuff which cost me money to replace.
Oh, good grief. Does anyone reblog this without thinking, even for a second, about what the meaning of “meaning” is?
Monkeytypist is right. The literal, compositional meaning of the sentence stays exactly the same regardless of stress. What changes is the intended implicature.
