''Ain't'' is a negative

inflection In linguistic Morphology (linguistics), morphology, inflection (less commonly, inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical category, grammatical categories such as grammatical tense, ...

for ''am'', ''is'', ''are'', ''has'', and ''have'' in informal English. In some dialects, it is also used for ''do'', ''does'', ''did'', and ''will''. The development of ''ain't'' for the various forms of ''be'', ''have'', ''will'' and ''do'' occurred independently, at different times. The use of ''ain't'' for the forms of ''be'' was established by the mid-18th century and for the forms of ''have'' by the early 19th century. The use of ''ain't'' is a continuing subject of controversy in English. It is commonly spoken in informal settings, especially in certain regions and

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

s. It is often highly stigmatized and is often understood as a marker of low socio-economic or regional status or education level. It is generally considered non-standard by dictionaries and style guides except when used for rhetorical effect.

Etymology

''Ain't'' has several antecedents in English, corresponding to the various forms of ''be'' and ''have'' that ''ain't'' is used for. The development of ''ain't'' for both verbs is a ''diachronic coincidence'': independent developments and at different times.

Inflections of the verb ''be''

''Amn't'' as a contraction of ''am not'' is known from 1618. As the "mn" combination of two nasal consonants is disfavoured by many English speakers, the "m" of amn't began to be elided, reflected in writing with the new form ''an't''. ''Aren't'' as a contraction for ''are not'' first appeared in 1675. In non-rhotic dialects, ''aren't'' lost its "r" sound, and began to be pronounced as ''an't''. ''An't'' (sometimes ''a'n't'') arose from ''am not'' and ''are not'' almost simultaneously. ''An't'' first appears in print in the work of

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

playwrights."ain't"
''The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories.'' 1991. pp.7–9. In 1695 ''an't'' was used as a contraction of "am not", in William Congreve's play ''Love for Love'': "I can hear you farther off, I an't deaf". But as early as 1696 John Vanbrugh uses ''an't'' to mean "are not" in ''The Relapse'': "Hark thee shoemaker! These shoes an't ugly, but they don't fit me". ''An't'' for ''is not'' may have developed independently from its use for ''am not'' and ''are not''. ''Isn't'' was sometimes written as ''in't'' or ''en't'', which could have changed into ''an't''. ''An't'' for ''is not'' may also have filled a gap in the

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...

of ''be''.

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

used ''an't'' to mean ''is not'' in Letter 19 of his '' Journal to Stella'' (1710–13): ''It an't my fault, 'tis Patrick's fault; pray now don't blame Presto.'' ''An't'' with a long "a" sound began to be written as ''ain't'', which first appears in writing in 1749. By the time ''ain't'' appeared, ''an't'' was already being used for ''am not'', ''are not'' and ''is not''. ''An't'' and ''ain't'' coexisted as written forms well into the nineteenth century—

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

used the terms interchangeably, as in Chapter 13, Book the Second of '' Little Dorrit'' (1857): "'I guessed it was you, Mr Pancks", said she, 'for it's quite your regular night; ain't it? ... An't it gratifying, Mr Pancks, though; really?'". In the memoirs (1808–1810) of the English lawyer William Hickey, ''ain't'' appears as a contraction of ''aren't''; "thank God we're all alive, ain't we..."

Inflections of the verb ''have''

''Han't'' or ''ha'n't'', an early contraction for ''has not'' and ''have not'', developed from eliding the "s" of ''has not'' and the "v" of ''have not''. ''Han't'' appeared in the work of English Restoration playwrights, as in '' The Country Wife'' (1675) by

William Wycherley William Wycherley ( ; April 16411 January 1716) was an English Army officer and playwright best known for writing the plays '' The Country Wife'' and ''The Plain Dealer''. Early life Wycherley was born at Clive near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, ...

: ''Gentlemen and Ladies, han't you all heard the late sad report / of poor Mr. Horner.'' Much like ''an't'', ''han't'' was sometimes pronounced with a long "a", yielding ''hain't''. With

H-dropping ''H''-dropping or aitch-dropping is the elision, deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "''H''-sound", . The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English language, English, and is also found in certain other languages, either as a pu ...

, the "h" of ''han't'' or ''hain't'' gradually disappeared in most dialects and became ''ain't''. ''Ain't'' for ''has not/have not'' first appeared in dictionaries in the 1830s and appeared in 1819 in ''Niles' Weekly Register'': ''Why I ain't got nobody here to strike....'' Charles Dickens likewise used ''ain't'' to mean ''haven't'' in Chapter 28 of ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...

'' (1844): ''"You ain't got nothing to cry for, bless you! He's righter than a trivet!"'' Similarly to ''an't'', both ''han't'' and ''ain't'' were found together late into the nineteenth century, as in Chapter 12 of Dickens' '' Our Mutual Friend'': "'Well, have you finished?' asked the strange man. 'No,' said Riderhood, 'I ain't'....'You sir! You han't said what you want of me.'"

Inflections of the verb ''do''

''Ain't'' meaning ''didn't'' is widely considered unique to

African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban communities, by most working- and middle-class African Americans and some Black Canadians. Having its own unique grammatical, voc ...

,Howe, Darin
"Negation in African American Vernacular English"
from ''Aspects of English Negation''. p.185. although it can be found in some dialects of

Caribbean English Caribbean English (CE, CarE) is a set of dialects of the English language which are spoken in the Caribbean and most countries on the Caribbean coasts of Central America and South America. Caribbean English is influenced by, but is distinct to ...

as well. It may function not as a true variant of ''didn't'', but as a creole-like tense-neutral negator (sometimes termed "generic ''ain't''"). Its origin may have been due to approximation when early African-Americans acquired English as a second language; it is also possible that early African-Americans inherited it from colonial European-Americans and later kept the variation when it largely passed out of wider usage. Besides the standard construction ''ain't got'', ''ain't'' is rarely attested for the present-tense constructions ''do not'' or ''does not''.

Linguistic characteristics

''Ain't'' is formed by the same rule that English speakers use to form ''aren't'' and other negative inflections of auxiliary verbs. Denham, Kristin,

Anne Lobeck Anne C. Lobeck is an American linguist who specializes in syntactic theory and applied linguistics, with focus on linguistics and education. She is currently Professor of Linguistics at Western Washington University. Career Lobeck obtained a B. ...

Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction
2009. p.171., pp.1611–12 Linguists consider use of ''ain't'' to be grammatical, as long as its users convey their intended meaning to their audience. In other words, a sentence such as "She ain't got no sense" is grammatical because it generally follows a native speaker's word order, and because a native speaker would recognize its meaning. Linguists distinguish, however, between grammaticality and acceptability: what may be considered grammatical across all dialects may nevertheless not be acceptable in certain dialects or contexts. The usage of ''ain't'' is socially unacceptable in some situations. ''Ain't'' has in part to plug what is known as the " amn't gap" – the anomalous situation in standard English whereby there are standard negative inflections for other forms of ''be'' (''aren't'' for ''are'', and ''isn't'' for ''is''), but nothing unproblematic for ''am''. Historically, ''ain't'' has filled the gap where one might expect ''amn't'', even in contexts where other uses of ''ain't'' were disfavored. Standard dialects that regard ''ain't'' as non-standard often substitute ''aren't'' for ''am not'' in

tag question A tag question is a construction in which an interrogative element is added to a Sentence (linguistics)#Classification, declarative or an imperative mood, imperative clause. The resulting speech act comprises an assertion paired with a request for ...

s (e.g., "I'm doing okay, ''aren't I''?"), while leaving the "amn't gap" open in declarative statements.

Proscription and stigma

''Ain't'' has been called "the most stigmatized word in the language",Lynch, Jack
''The Lexicographer's Dilemma''
Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 2009. pp.15–16. as well as "the most powerful social marker" in English.Dillard, Joey Lee
''Toward a Social History of American English''
Walter de Gruyter. 1985. p. 86. It is a prominent example in English of a

shibboleth A shibboleth ( ; ) is any custom or tradition—usually a choice of phrasing or single word—that distinguishes one group of people from another. Historically, shibboleths have been used as passwords, ways of self-identification, signals of l ...

– a word used to determine inclusion in or exclusion from, a group. Historically, this was not so. For most of its history, ''ain't'' was acceptable across many social and regional contexts. Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, ''ain't'' and its predecessors were part of normal usage for both educated and uneducated English speakers and found in the correspondence and fiction of, among others,

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

and

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

. For Victorian English novelists

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

and

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

, the educated and upper classes in 19th century England could use ''ain't'' freely, but in familiar speech only.Görlach, Manfred
''English in nineteenth-century England: an introduction''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. 1999. ''Ain't'' continued to be used without restraint by many upper middle class speakers in southern England into the beginning of the 20th century. ''Ain't'' was a prominent target of early prescriptivist writers. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, some writers began to propound the need to establish a "pure" or "correct" form of English. Contractions in general were disapproved of, but ''ain't'' and its variants were seen as particularly "vulgar". This push for "correctness" was driven mainly by the middle class, which led to an incongruous situation in which non-standard constructions continued to be used by both lower and upper classes, but not by the middle class. The reason for the strength of the proscription against ''ain't'' is not entirely clear. The strong proscription against ''ain't'' in standard English has led to many misconceptions, often expressed jocularly (or ironically), as "''ain't'' ain't a word" or "''ain't'' ain't in the dictionary." ''Ain't'' is listed in most dictionaries, including (in 2012) Oxford Dictionaries Online"Ain't", entry i
Oxford Dictionaries Online
Accessed 5 June 2015. and Merriam-Webster."Ain't", entry in '' Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage'', E. Ward Gilman, ed., ''Merriam-Webster''. 1989. . However, Oxford Dictionaries Online states "it does not form part of standard English and should never be used in formal or written contexts" and Merriam-Webster states it is "widely disapproved as non-standard and more common in the habitual speech of the less educated". ''

Webster's Third New International Dictionary ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') is an American English-language dictionary published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove a ...

'', published in 1961, went against then-standard practice when it included the following usage note in its entry on : "though disapproved by many and more common in less educated speech, used orally in most parts of the U.S. by many cultivated speakers esp. in the phrase ''ain't I''." Many commentators disapproved of the dictionary's relatively permissive attitude toward the word, which was inspired, in part, by the belief of its editor, Philip Gove, that "distinctions of usage were elitist and artificial".

Regional usage and dialects

''Ain't'' is found across regions and classes of the English-speaking world and is among the most pervasive nonstandard terms in English. It is one of two negation features (the other being the double negative) that are known to appear in all nonstandard

English dialects Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, and other aspects of grammar. For the classification of varieties of English in pronunciation only, see regional accents of English. Overview Dialect ...

. ''Ain't'' is used in much of the United Kingdom, with its geographical distribution increasing over time. It is also found throughout most of North America, including in

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

, the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, the Mid-Atlantic and the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

of the United States and Canada, particularly in rural communities and the Western Provinces. In its geographical ubiquity, ''ain't'' is to be contrasted with other folk usages such as ''

y'all ''Y'all'' (pronounced ) is a contraction of '' you'' and ''all'', sometimes combined as ''you-all''. ''Y'all'' is the main second-person plural pronoun in Southern American English, with which it is most frequently associated, though it also ...

'', strongly associated with the Southern United States. In England, ''ain't'' is generally considered non-standard, as it is used by speakers of a lower socio-economic class or by educated people in an informal manner.Castillo González, Maria del Pilar
Uncontracted Negatives and Negative Contractions in Contemporary English
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. P. 34. In the nineteenth century, ''ain't'' was often used by writers to denote regional dialects such as Cockney English. A notable exponent of the term is

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

flower girl Eliza Doolittle from

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's play '' Pygmalion''; "I ain't done nothing wrong by speaking to the gentleman". ''Ain't'' is a non-standard feature commonly found in mainstream

Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language. While Australia has no of ...

and in New Zealand, ''ain't'' is a feature of Māori-influenced English. In American English, usage of ''ain't'' corresponds to a middle level of education, although its use is widely believed to show a lack of education or social standing. The usage of ''ain't'' in the southern United States is distinctive, however, in the continued usage of the word by well-educated, cultivated speakers.Hendrickson, Robert.
The Facts on File Dictionary of American Regionalisms
'. Infobase Publishing. 2000. p.6. ''Ain't'' was described in 1972 as in common use by educated Southerners, and in the South used as a marker to separate cultured speakers from those who lacked confidence in their social standing and thus avoided its use entirely. In the Merico creole of Liberia, ''ain't'' has become or .

Rhetorical and popular usage

''Ain't'' can be used in both speech and writing to catch attention and to emphasize, as in "Ain't that a crying shame" or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' gives an example from film critic

Richard Schickel Richard Warren Schickel (February 10, 1933 – February 18, 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for ''Time'' from 1965–2010, and also wrote for '' ...

: "the wackiness of movies, once so deliciously amusing, ain't funny anymore." It can also be used deliberately for what ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style'' describes as " tongue-in-cheek" or " reverse snobbery". Star baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean, a member of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

and later a popular announcer, once said, "A lot of people who don't say ain't, ain't eatin'." Although ''ain't'' is seldom found in formal writing, it is frequently used in informal writing, such as popular song lyrics. In genres such as traditional country music, blues, rock n' roll and hip-hop, lyrics often include nonstandard features such as ''ain't''.German, Gary D
Appalachian and African American Lyrical Traditions
from ''Aspects linguistiques du texte poetique'', David Banks, ed. L'Harmattan. 2011. p.154. This is principally due to the use of such features as markers of "covert identity and prestige".

Notable usage

* " Ain't I a Woman?", 1851 speech by abolitionist Sojourner Truth. * "If you want to know who we are", from ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' lyrics by W. S. Gilbert "We figure in lively paint: Our attitude's queer and quaint—You're wrong if you think it ain't." (1885). * " Say it ain't so, Joe", headline of an article by a ''Chicago Daily News'' reporter about Shoeless Joe Jackson's involvement in the

Black Sox scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a match fixing, game-fixing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for p ...

, later attributed to an anonymous young baseball fan. * "You ain't heard nothing yet!" spoken by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

in ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous ...

'' (1927), the first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences. That spoken line and others in the film, introduced the "talkies" and revolutionized the movie industry. * " It Ain't Necessarily So", song from ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' (1935); music by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

, words by

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

. * " Ain't No Grave", a 1934/1953 American gospel song attributed to Claude Ely. * "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" has been used as the motto of Boys Town since 1943 and inspired a song " He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell and recorded by The Hollies,

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

and others. *

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, commenting on the 1954 portrait by Graham Sutherland, said "It makes me look half-witted, which I ain't". * " Ain't That a Shame" is a song written by

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

and

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arrangement, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century ...

, released by Imperial Records in 1955, which sold over a million copies and introduced Fats Domino to a wider audience. * ''

Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be ''Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be'' is a 1960 West End theatre, West End musical comedy about Cockney low-life characters in the 1950s, including spivs, prostitutes, teddy-boys and corrupt policemen. The work is more of a Play (theatre), play w ...

'', 1960 West End musical comedy about

life. * " You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," a 1974 single by Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive that reached #1 in the United States on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. * '' Ain't Misbehavin''', a 1978 musical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

with a book by Murray Horwitz and

Richard Maltby Jr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and theatrical producer, producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical Revue, revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical ...

, and music by various composers and lyricists as arranged and orchestrated by Luther Henderson. It is named after the song by Fats Waller (with Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf), " Ain't Misbehavin'". * '' Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society'', a 1993 book by Peter McWilliams, in which he presents the history of legislation against what he feels are victimless crimes, or crimes that are committed consensually, as well as arguments for their legalization. * " Ain't Nobody Got Time for That", a line spoken in a KFOR News Channel 4 interview, which became a popular

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

in 2012.

References

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