The case for ain't.
Jun. 17th, 2004 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
There's an amusing little expression that goes: ain't ain't in the dictionary, so ain't ain't.
I'm not sure what it means, but it's not true. See?
Now, according to what I've always seen in my dictionaries, one early form of the word that would become ain't was amn't, from am not. So when our friend Granny Weatherwax puts the sign up saying that she "aten't dead", she's perfectly correct, other than the fact that she can't spell.
The lack of a good word for am not leaves a gaping hole in the English language... I'm not, you're not, he's not can become I ain't, you aren't, he isn't... but only if ain't is allowed.
Um. ONLY in the first person, please. Let's not get carried away.
I'm not sure what it means, but it's not true. See?
Now, according to what I've always seen in my dictionaries, one early form of the word that would become ain't was amn't, from am not. So when our friend Granny Weatherwax puts the sign up saying that she "aten't dead", she's perfectly correct, other than the fact that she can't spell.
The lack of a good word for am not leaves a gaping hole in the English language... I'm not, you're not, he's not can become I ain't, you aren't, he isn't... but only if ain't is allowed.
Um. ONLY in the first person, please. Let's not get carried away.
