How could that forced negation of a common phrase be interpreted?

This came up as just a part of some free exploration of linguistics, and my
friends and I were pondering if it could perhaps be understood as something
akin to the English phrase "Thanks, but no thanks" (and understandably it
would sound rude). Or would the phrase be just gibberish — even etymologically
speaking — to the point where it would be unreasonable to meaningfully use it
even in a pun?
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politeness phrases negation jokes
How would a fluent speaker understand ありがとうございません?
While it’s not impossible to interpret, it is unusual (far more than “thanks,
but no thanks”). This is mainly because the grammatical construction of
〜うございます is mostly no longer productive and ありがとうございます is completely
lexicalized, so you’re doing something odd to the end of a word. Similar to
だいじょばない, perhaps.

You could imagine this being used by an anime character with speech quirks.

I did a quick search and found a book with this title, [ありがとうございません
(幻冬舎文庫)](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%81%82%E3%82%8A%E3%81%8C%E3%81%A8%E3%81%86%E3%81%94%E3%81%96%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9B%E3%82%93-%E5%B9%BB%E5%86%AC%E8%88%8E%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB-%E6%AA%80-%E3%81%B5%E3%81%BF/dp/4344400968):

![ありがとうございません](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NwTYz.jpg)

Although I haven’t read it, it’s easy to imagine how it’s being used: as a
commentary on hyperpoliteness; the need to put on a smile and use polite
language, when in reality you are thinking otherwise. This seems like a very
effective use of word play to me.

However, it is hard to imagine the use of ありがとうございません in any standard
conversation, since even in a joke it’d probably fall flat.
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It's not common at all and I don't remember whether I've heard it in my entire
life, but ありがとうございません is not gibberish, and it could pass as a meaningful
wordplay to describe
[ありがた迷惑](https://jisho.org/word/%E6%9C%89%E3%82%8A%E9%9B%A3%E8%BF%B7%E6%83%91)
if used in an appropriate situation.

"Thanks but no thanks" could be usable in an ordinary conversation, but
ありがとうございません is a pure joke and it's never used when you are truly irritated.
ございません is a total negation, so perhaps it's semantically more like "I thank
you not" or "I'd like to show my appreciation for nothing".

**おそ** ようございます (said to someone who is late) is a relatively common parody of
Japanese greetings, although something like this is preferred mainly by
elementary school kids.
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EDIT: sorry, I've rechecked the episode, and he says おはようじゃない. Still negation
of a common _aisatsu_ , just not a _keigo_ -negation. The translation stands,
though.

* * *

Not quite the same, but I've heard "ohayou gozaimasu" followed by "ohayou
_gozaimasen_!!!" in an anime. The second character was obviously trying to
convey extreme displeasure with the circumstances, and his astonishment that
the other party would treat the situation as nothing but ordinary.

It translates to English perfectly:

  * Good morning!
  * No, **BAD** morning!
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While grammatically correct, it sounds completely unnatural because it's never
used in practice. Someone hearing this will definitely think you are playing
with words, distorting ありがとうございます as part of a joke, probably to mean you are
not thankful, but it depends on the context. It's pretty non standard so using
it to try to convey "thanks, but no thanks" will probably just make the
recipient confused about what you mean.

A closer English equivalent is something like "thank you very little".
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context is key here... as stated that's like a robot saying "Thank you" for
holding still while it rips your arm off. It's technically correct... so much
technically that it fails to be practical or meaningful in any way other than
showing the strict adherence to the rules of the language.

Would a native speaker understand it? Sure, then they'd look at you like you
head 2 heads and neither got a proper education. Or that you were telling a
bad joke. They wouldn't take you seriously at all.

If you're looking for a similar phrase to "Thanks but no thanks" while being a
funny ass you might try はんぱありがと which depending on centext would be "Half a
thanks!"
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