2006-07-20 08:18:52 · 40 answers · asked by dre 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
it's officially recognized by Webster and many other official dictionaries as a word
2006-07-20 08:20:00 · answer #1 · answered by somepaliguy27 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Yes. It has been around in English for a long time, as mentioned by a previous answerer. People say that it's not a real word because it's used by people they don't like (i.e. black people). They claim it sounds uneducated when it actually just belongs to another dialect of English. It's sad when prejudice washes over onto a perfectly good word. The REALLY sad thing is that they're not even aware that the dislike of this word originates in racism!
No offense to the previous answerer, but I have no idea how not being a contraction could make something not a "real" word. After all, most of the words we use aren't contractions, yet they're real.
2006-07-20 17:34:15 · answer #2 · answered by drshorty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Contraction of am not.
Used also as a contraction for are not, is not, has not, and have not.
Ain't has a long history of controversy. It first appeared in 1778, evolving from an earlier an't, which arose almost a century earlier as a contraction of are not and am not. In fact, ain't arose at the tail end of an era that saw the introduction of a number of our most common contractions, including don't and won't. But while don't and won't eventually became accepted at all levels of speech and writing, ain't was to receive a barrage of criticism in the 19th century for having no set sequence of words from which it can be contracted and for being a “vulgarism,” that is, a term used by the lower classes, although an't at least had been originally used by the upper classes as well. At the same time ain't's uses were multiplying to include has not, have not, and is not, by influence of forms like ha'n't and i'n't. It may be that these extended uses helped fuel the negative reaction. Whatever the case, criticism of ain't by usage commentators and teachers has not subsided, and the use of ain't is often regarded as a sign of ignorance. ·But despite all the attempts to ban it, ain't continues to enjoy extensive use in speech. Even educated and upper-class speakers see no substitute in folksy expressions such as Say it ain't so and You ain't seen nothin' yet. ·The stigmatization of ain't leaves us with no happy alternative for use in first-person questions.
2006-07-20 08:30:22 · answer #3 · answered by Nila 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
(What follows ~ is a frightful tale ~ of a word gone mad with power.)
Well, if you mean ain't, it's in the dictionary.
But aint ain't.
Some words in the dictionary I wouldn't use, 'cause I think their scary.
But ain't ain't one of 'um.
Some say, one wouldn't use it unless 'e was a bum.
It isn't a crime.
Ain't has been 'round for a long, long time.
Since 1778,
they've said ain't.
I ain't goin' to stop usin' it.
You ain't, they ain't, nope, not a bit.
It just ain't possible to stop.
Once on your tongue it has dropped.
It twirls 'round like a vine
Ain't says 'you are mine'
No matter how you cry 'let go'
Ain't entangles you and you know -
Your caught by and by
and you will cry
Ain't it so? Ain't it so?
Watch it grow! Watch it grow!
I ain't, he ain't, she ain't, they ain't, it ain't.
Ain't I, ain't he, ain't she, ain't they,
ain't it a shame?
Ain't ain't a habit. ;o)
It's found in the dictionary.
Isn't that scary?
2006-07-20 17:58:41 · answer #4 · answered by donworybhapy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It didn't used to be, it was considered bad english. Nowadays, it's considered variously as slang or regional dialect and, if being listed in the dictionary is considered the determinant of "word", you can probably find it listed in most dictionaries.
2006-07-20 09:00:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
For those of you who think this is not a word because it is not listed in a dictionary, think again.
ain't: short form informal - 1: am not; are not; is not 2: has not; have not
It is listed in OED (Oxford English Dictionary) in this form - mine is the Eighth Edition 2002. I guess you would call that fairly definative, wouldn't you?
2006-07-20 08:30:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
YES! I've looked it up in the Oxford's Advanced Learners Dictionary!
2006-07-20 08:42:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are many views on this word. 1: if its in the dictionary, then its a word. any word NOT in the dictionary is not a word. and 2. i consider this to be a slang term.
2006-07-20 08:22:18 · answer #8 · answered by theykallmekem 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It basicly is...keep sayin aint...cuz lots a people say "aint" aint a word...but now they're useing aint...so it is!!
2006-07-20 08:22:22 · answer #9 · answered by E 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is a slang word, yet a word of course, or it wouldn't be in the dictionary
2006-07-20 08:21:34 · answer #10 · answered by Velociraptor 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Aint aint in a regular dictionary but it is in the slang dictionary!
2006-07-20 08:21:50 · answer #11 · answered by Mr. CoCo 3 · 1⤊ 4⤋