ain't, slang

[Anglika]

And of course in the early nineteenth century, you will find "ain't/an't" used in informal letter writing. Even Jane Austen used it.

[RonBee]

The word "ain't" has been used in English for centuries.

~R

[banderas]

Originally Posted by RonBee

The word "ain't" has been used in English for centuries.

~R

So what happened in the meantime that it started being seen as incorrect? Or perhaps I should ask when it happened?

[Anglika]

Sorry, Ron - I am gobsmacked by that comment!

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by banderas

So what happened in the meantime that it started being seen as incorrect? Or perhaps I should ask when it happened?

Why say it is incorrect? It is the way some people speak. Some people (prescriptivists) have decided that "ain't" ain't English, but it is. It is just not standard English (the prestige language).

Some possible uses of ain't:

I ain't going.
I ain't gonna vote for him.
That ain't right.

[banderas]

Originally Posted by Anglika

Some people may well feel it makes them cool, or do it in order to rebel against authority. There is a great difference between doing it deliberately while knowing it is incorrect and speaking in the way that your peers and social group speak.

Originally Posted by RonBee

Why say it is incorrect? It is the way some people speak. Some people (prescriptivists) have decided that "ain't" ain't English, but it is. It is just not standard English (the prestige language).

Do you think that in, say, 100 years "ain't" and "double negation" will have their place in grammar books?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by RonBee

The word "ain't" has been used in English for centuries.

~R

Indeed. I wasn't suggesting it was 'an Americanism' (whatever that is), just that it was a useful simplifying trait that might conveniently be adopted by immigrants to a melting pot who needed to establish a common language with other non-native speakers.



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[RonBee]

Originally Posted by banderas

Do you think that in, say, 100 years "ain't" and "double negation" will have their place in grammar books?

Maybe. Who can tell?

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Anglika

Sorry, Ron - I am gobsmacked by that comment!

I learned a new word. And ain't that a good thing?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by RonBee

I learned a new word. And ain't that a good thing?

And here's another:

Dumbstruck=gobsmacked; there's a very expressive idiom to express great surprise - "Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs" (probably just Br English, maybe Northern).

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