I have a pet hypothesis that it's a contraction for "am not" in say "I am not" = "I ain't." Problem is it's used instead of isn't and aren't as well. It's the overlord of contractions!
British English and "ain't"
- Thread starter Naheal
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Hmm. I've heard this on television, but I've never come across anyone that uses "ain't"
To me, it is associated with cultural stereotypes of certain parts of the US. Beyond that, I've never come across it.
(I've lived in Australia and England, for what it's worth)
To me, it is associated with cultural stereotypes of certain parts of the US. Beyond that, I've never come across it.
(I've lived in Australia and England, for what it's worth)
That's what makes linguistics so fun to mess with though. ^_~
Edit: @Naheal: I'm an amateur linguistic at best.
Edit: @Naheal: I'm an amateur linguistic at best.
I actually didn't know what it was until I was about five, when I was told not to say it, through song.
It didn't work.
It didn't work.
'Ain't' is pretty common here in the UK.
But a lot of people also say 'isn't' cos we're not all cockneys.
Damn you Dick Van Dyke!!!
But a lot of people also say 'isn't' cos we're not all cockneys.
Damn you Dick Van Dyke!!!
It's Ms. Nazi, and of course. I was never really bothered, but I refused to back down when I assumed I was correct. I suppose that was my fault. While I will occasionally come across as more prepared in my writing, unless I'm using a specific style when I'm speaking, I tend to write like I speak and speak like I write. I have never used at to end a sentence when talking, but that is just me. It is really no big deal, and I apologize if I was coming across as stubborn. You simply set off one of my pet peeves. As a History major, which involves enough writing on its own, I have taken to studying language as a hobby. I see that I still have room to learn.Naheal said:
Nice to meet you as well.
Are you saying that people say are-ent? (Like "There are Ent in these woods!", assuming that the plural of Ent remains Ent rather than Ents.)Ironrose said:
I can attest to different accents by region in Australia. There's a much more "British" turn on words in W.A. where as Queesnland is more nasal and "Ocka" (spelling). And everything is a question in Adelaide.
Wow, there's so many linguists and history types around here that I feel ignorant of the subject. But this being the internet, I'll post anyway.
I was under the impression that "ain't" goes waaaaaay back (at least 18th c), and was widely used in 19th century England, mostly among the lower classes (saw it a lot in Dickens), but also ironically by the upper classes, particularly among the "fishin' and shootin'" set. Sort of like the "milk before tea or team before milk?" thing.
I was under the impression that "ain't" goes waaaaaay back (at least 18th c), and was widely used in 19th century England, mostly among the lower classes (saw it a lot in Dickens), but also ironically by the upper classes, particularly among the "fishin' and shootin'" set. Sort of like the "milk before tea or team before milk?" thing.
Actually, you're quite correct, but it's usage has always been looked down on, since it's been considered slang. More recently, however, it's been moved from being "slang" to being a.... for a lack of a better term, a proper word, but not one that you'd use in any form of a formal setting. A parallel word would be "cool."Mouse One said:
I'm mostly interested in seeing if the word is still being used internationally or if it's completely faded out of use outside of the US. From the looks of it, it's starting to go that way.
OsutoreriaNaheal said:...that explains why the Japanese word for Australia's so fucked up.RhombusHatesYou said:
Australia
I think (know) it's more to do with the fact that, with the exeption of "N", all Japanese leters are formed of either a vowel alone or a consonant directly followed by a vowel. That, and the lack of an L.
ie. a, i, u, e ,o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta, chi, tsu, te, to, ha, hi, hu, he, ho etc. Additionally the way that Katakana is pronounced/spelled is directly related. So the fact that we read Australia as Oz-trail-ee-ah is reflected in the Japanese spelling.
Fully aware. It's still a ***** to say in Japanese, though. I can never get the word out without biting my tongue.StBishop said:OsutoreriaNaheal said:...that explains why the Japanese word for Australia's so fucked up.RhombusHatesYou said:
Australia
I think (know) it's more to do with the fact that, with the exeption of "N", all Japanese leters are formed of either a vowel alone or a consonant directly followed by a vowel. That, and the lack of an L.
ie. a, i, u, e ,o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta, chi, tsu, te, to, ha, hi, hu, he, ho etc. Additionally the way that Katakana is pronounced/spelled is directly related. So the fact that we read Australia as Oz-trail-ee-ah is reflected in the Japanese spelling.
I'm from the upper midwest... really more towards the west rather than midwest of the US. I've heard ain't quite a few times in my life, but in the last six or so years it hasn't come up that often. I honestly can't stand the word, what exactly is it a contraction of? Aren't and not? Are and isn't? Those both require contractions to begin with. I've always had a desire to use words that are specific to the circumstance. But the one word I truly can't bear to hear is irregardless. Any person that uses it should be shot on sight, I'm sorry but it's true.
Urmm..
I'm British and I use "ain't". :/
Then again I did watch a lot of American cartoons... Still, I use it all the time.
I'm British and I use "ain't". :/
Then again I did watch a lot of American cartoons... Still, I use it all the time.
Right, I didn't know you were a linguist (Recently read it in one of your posts) just thought I'd inject a little knowledge on the subject into the dicussion.Naheal said:Fully aware. It's still a ***** to say in Japanese, though. I can never get the word out without biting my tongue.StBishop said:OsutoreriaNaheal said:...that explains why the Japanese word for Australia's so fucked up.RhombusHatesYou said:
Australia
I think (know) it's more to do with the fact that, with the exeption of "N", all Japanese leters are formed of either a vowel alone or a consonant directly followed by a vowel. That, and the lack of an L.
ie. a, i, u, e ,o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta, chi, tsu, te, to, ha, hi, hu, he, ho etc. Additionally the way that Katakana is pronounced/spelled is directly related. So the fact that we read Australia as Oz-trail-ee-ah is reflected in the Japanese spelling.
I never had any trouble with it but I'm an Aussie so I've had much more practice than someone who's never had to ask Japanese exchange students if they like Australia or tell people that they're Australian in Japanese.
Most of their borrowed words from English are based on the British and Australian pronunciations for them. So, if you're American and you want to learn Japanese, you're going to be hating English for a while. Good luck spelling anything properly.StBishop said:Right, I didn't know you were a linguist (Recently read it in one of your posts) just thought I'd inject a little knowledge on the subject into the dicussion.Naheal said:Fully aware. It's still a ***** to say in Japanese, though. I can never get the word out without biting my tongue.StBishop said:OsutoreriaNaheal said:...that explains why the Japanese word for Australia's so fucked up.RhombusHatesYou said:
Australia
I think (know) it's more to do with the fact that, with the exeption of "N", all Japanese leters are formed of either a vowel alone or a consonant directly followed by a vowel. That, and the lack of an L.
ie. a, i, u, e ,o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta, chi, tsu, te, to, ha, hi, hu, he, ho etc. Additionally the way that Katakana is pronounced/spelled is directly related. So the fact that we read Australia as Oz-trail-ee-ah is reflected in the Japanese spelling.
I never had any trouble with it but I'm an Aussie so I've had much more practice than someone who's never had to ask Japanese exchange students if they like Australia or tell people that they're Australian in Japanese.
