Welcome to the mailing list Alan. Remember that JMDict has been hammered
into shape over nearly 30 years, and is used by a lot of different
people and software for a lot of different purposes. So it has
incorporated a lot of diverse feedback already, and what other
dictionaries do is also considered. So wanting to modify very common
words, especially in bulk, is usually best discussed here. (And some
people argue their point directly, some will be more Japanese and spend
three paragraphs talking about the seasonal weather and your health to
say "no". Don't take offence at either, it is not personal.)
> Anyway, to get to the issue at hand:
> Entries that state "with negative verb" or something similar..
> ...
I'd personally gloss ?? as "(emphasizer for following negative
sentiment)". (But if it is always used with a verb, as I think it is,
then that should be written too.)
It would be very dangerous to gloss it as "absolutely", even if with a
comment that a negative verb follows, because Japanese, especially
spoken/manga Japanese, might drop the following verb.
Consider how you'd translate these lines of dialogue:
?????!?
Or even
???????????????!?
I.e. something like "No!" or "**** off!", and "Didn't you say never again?"
Darren