FWIW this is exactly how you negate a verb in German. For example: "Ich rauche nicht " -> "I don't smoke" or "Ich brauche keinen Mantel" -> "I don't need a coat"
English |-n't| is also a negation that applies to what comes before. In fact I don't think you actually can put a verbal negation before the verb in English in ordinary/modern circumstances; only a few verbs can be directly negated, and if one of those isn't present, one is added (usually "do", this is called "do-support") ... and the negation goes after it.
"This is how you negate a verb" -> "This is not how you negate a verb" ('is' can be negated, the negation goes after)
"This confuses the duke" -> "This does not confuse the duke" ('confuses' wants do-support to negate it, and the negation goes after 'do'.)
"This is how you negate a verb" -> "This is not how you negate a verb" ('is' can be negated, the negation goes after)
"This confuses the duke" -> "This does not confuse the duke" ('confuses' wants do-support to negate it, and the negation goes after 'do'.)