My Dearest Friend Ducksie - R I P
ChatterBank0 min ago
Why Do We Say Won't Instead Of Win't?
23 Answers
Why do we write fridge and not frig?
Sarge instead of serge?
What the heck is ain't a contraction of?
Sarge instead of serge?
What the heck is ain't a contraction of?
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by barry1010. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
Language evolves flexibly, not rigidly.
Wiki says the following for ain't :-
[Quote]
Etymology
According to Etymology Online, the term was first attested in 1706 meaning am not, and it was used with that sense until the early 19th century, when it began to be used as a generic contraction for are not, is not, etc. in the Cockney dialect of London. It was then "popularized by representations of this in Dickens, etc., which led to the word being banished from correct English."
The shift from /ænt/ to /eɪnt/ parallels a similar change some dialects made to can't. In other dialects, the pronunciation shifted to /ɑːnt/, and the spelling aren't, when used to mean “am not”, is due to the fact that both words are pronounced /ɑːnt/ in some non-rhotic dialects. Historically, ain't was present in many dialects of the English language, but not in the southeastern England dialect that became the standard, where it is only found in the construction ain't I.
As a contraction of have not and has not, ain't derives from the earlier form han't, which shifted from /hænt/ to /heɪnt/, and underwent h-dropping in most dialects.
[END QUOTE]
Wiki says the following for ain't :-
[Quote]
Etymology
According to Etymology Online, the term was first attested in 1706 meaning am not, and it was used with that sense until the early 19th century, when it began to be used as a generic contraction for are not, is not, etc. in the Cockney dialect of London. It was then "popularized by representations of this in Dickens, etc., which led to the word being banished from correct English."
The shift from /ænt/ to /eɪnt/ parallels a similar change some dialects made to can't. In other dialects, the pronunciation shifted to /ɑːnt/, and the spelling aren't, when used to mean “am not”, is due to the fact that both words are pronounced /ɑːnt/ in some non-rhotic dialects. Historically, ain't was present in many dialects of the English language, but not in the southeastern England dialect that became the standard, where it is only found in the construction ain't I.
As a contraction of have not and has not, ain't derives from the earlier form han't, which shifted from /hænt/ to /heɪnt/, and underwent h-dropping in most dialects.
[END QUOTE]
somewhere along the line "will not" came to be pronounced as "wonnot", and "won't" is a contraction of that. "Wonnot" may still be the pronunciation in some regions, I don't know.
ain't comes from "am not"; it's grown to represent "is not" and "are not"
I say serge the same as surge. However, some words with an E used to be pronounced like an A, especially among the upper classes. Clerk was pronounced clark (still is in the UK, not so much in the US) and derby is darby.
ain't comes from "am not"; it's grown to represent "is not" and "are not"
I say serge the same as surge. However, some words with an E used to be pronounced like an A, especially among the upper classes. Clerk was pronounced clark (still is in the UK, not so much in the US) and derby is darby.
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.