Is "ain't" + negative word correct Eglish?

Question

I am reading the movie scripts of "To Kill a Mockingbird", in which I found some sentences with "ain't" and negative words, as shown below. Are these correct English?

There ain't no charge

Atticus ain't never whipped me since I can
remember,

Ain't nobody gonna do Jem that way!

I ain't gonna say no more!

And if you fine, fancy gentlemen... ain't gonna
do nothing about it,

Thank you very much.

Answer 1

"Ain't isn't proper English, so any word combined with it is automatically incorrect.

If you substitute "isn't" or "hasn't" in place of ain't, it's still incorrect because of the double negative. (Ex: "There isn't no charge." - The not from isn't and the no create a double negative.)

Answer 2

I guess it isn't speaking english correctly. A double negative in english makes a positive. We have all learned that (-) times a (-) = (+). So "There ain't no change" would mean "there is change". and "Atticus ain't never whipped me since i can remember" woud mean "Atticus has whipped me since i can remember" to someone who speaks english according to the rules. But then its a dialect of english where it could be correct. Ive never been to the south before but i guess when they put negatives in there, they mean no!!!. It is spoken like that in those certain dialects because in the past, those people didnt have much education. (In other languages like spanish, double negatives doesnt mean positive, it stays negative)

Answer 3

No, it's not 'correct'. Technically, the double negative makes a positive, and clearly that is not the meaning.

But Scout is speaking in the local small town slang (not really a dialect).

Certainly Atticus and Auntie don't speak that way! Just the children and the 'uneducated'.

The contrast in the spoken language of the characters sort of points out their different places in society.

And you will notice that as the adult narrator of the book, Scout has adapted to a more 'adult' way of speaking. Her slang only comes out when she quotes herself as a child.

Great book.

Answer 4

Double negatives are never correct English. These examples that you list are colloquialisms that are common in the southern United States.

Many English teachers would argue that ain't is not correct English no matter the sentence structure.

Answer 5

Probably not, if used in everyday conversation. Considering the time the book represents, it is appropriate. The book is such a classic it is perfect for the kids dialect to sound like that to show their personality. In writing, authors can take liberties with dialect we would not take in our speech.

Answer 6

It's not grammatically correct English. It's colloquial, and suggests characteristics about the speaker by using terminology usually used by poor, uneducated people.

Answer 7

It's slang.What is Eglish?

Answer 8

IT'S BLACK ENGLISH OR AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH, A VARIANT OF STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH. JUST AS VALID. IT'S A DIALECT.

Answer 9

It is slang.