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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2007I am writing this, am I not?
I often hear (both British and USAmerican) English speakers use the construction "aren't I", as in "I'm writing this post, aren't I?", and I wonder how this abhorrence can be called "proper English" -- surely, the proper form should be "am I not" rather than "are not I" (which is what "aren't I" is short for)? Or has the English language become so hopelessly bastardized that anything goes nowadays? Henry Norman > I often hear (both British and USAmerican) English speakers use the > construction "aren't I", as in "I'm writing this post, aren't I?", and > I wonder how this abhorrence can be called "proper English" -- surely, > the proper form should be "am I not" rather than "are not I" (which is > what "aren't I" is short for)? Or has the English language become so > hopelessly bastardized that anything goes nowadays? Yes, "am I not" is correct, but almost no one says it. One is more likely to hear "ain't I" than "am I not". All languages are "hopelessly bastardized". That is the way that languages evolve. GFH > I often hear (both British and USAmerican) English speakers use the > construction "aren't I", as in "I'm writing this post, aren't I?", and > I wonder how this abhorrence can be called "proper English" -- surely, > the proper form should be "am I not" rather than "are not I" (which is > what "aren't I" is short for)? Or has the English language become so > hopelessly bastardized that anything goes nowadays? You should read Burchfield on the subject. Some theorize that "aren't I" is the rhotic spelling of "an't I" where "am not" behaves a little like "can not" and "shall not" when abbreviated - losing the last letter of the verb and changing the length of the 'a'.  SignatureJohn Dean Oxford > I often hear (both British and USAmerican) English speakers use the > construction "aren't I", as in "I'm writing this post, aren't I?", and > I wonder how this abhorrence can be called "proper English" -- surely, > the proper form should be "am I not" rather than "are not I" (which is > what "aren't I" is short for)? Or has the English language become so > hopelessly bastardized that anything goes nowadays? How would you contract it? "Amn't I"? Contractions don't always make sense. If they did, we wouldn't have "won't" as a contraction of "will not". It would be "win't" or "willn't". Bill ---------------------------------------------------------------- Reverse parts of the user name and ISP name for my e-address >Or has the English language become so > hopelessly bastardized.... Of course. That's what languages are, always have been, and always will be. Richard Yates > >Or has the English language become so >> hopelessly bastardized.... > > Of course. That's what languages are, always have been, and always will > be. Except Klingon >> >Or has the English language become so >>> hopelessly bastardized.... [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Except Klingon yIDoghQo' Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam (google it) Richard Yates > I often hear (both British and USAmerican) English speakers use the > construction "aren't I", as in "I'm writing this post, aren't I?", and > I wonder how this abhorrence can be called "proper English" -- surely, > the proper form should be "am I not" rather than "are not I" (which is > what "aren't I" is short for)? Or has the English language become so > hopelessly bastardized that anything goes nowadays? Language is tool for people to communicate with one another. It's a social phenomenon. There are lots of utternaces made by people that break the rules of prescriptive grammars. It's so nonsensical to disregard the social aspect of language while coming up with grammatical rules. A grammar of certain language is a description of what the native speakers of that language say rather than why an ideal native speaker should say. Farhad >>I often hear (both British and USAmerican) English speakers use the >>construction "aren't I", as in "I'm writing this post, aren't I?", and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > what the native speakers of that language say rather than why an > ideal native speaker should say. OK, but what is the correct answer to "Am I not"? Perhaps I should give an example to make my question more clear. Suppose I wanted to know if I were brilliant. I would ask, "I am really smart, am I not?" Now, if you answer in the affirmative, "Yes," you are saying "Yes you are not." If you answer in the negative, you are saying "No you are not not." But it is usually taken the other way around. Fantastic language. GAry Eickmeier |
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