Quote:
Originally Posted by dougscats
Hey, Shaunsteig--
"amn't"?
I like it!
Creative style--Playing with language--
Or is it a dialectical usage with which I'm unfamiliar?
I just checked it out at
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-amn1.htm
and got an interesting grammar lesson:
Aren't I gramatically correct? Ain't I or amn't I?
Have fun.
Doug |
Hey Doug,
Can't remember why I phrased it that way, perhaps I was intending to write less formal for the context here, but upon re-reading still find it more natural than "I aren't" or "I ain't" and equally natural to "I'm not". It actually softens the negative element ("I'm not" distinctly emphasizes the _not_ whereas I amn't rolls it onto the end of the contraction), and perhaps since I was declining to offer my card for sale wished to soften that portion of my statement. Can't really remember thinking back.
Appreciate the call-out though, hadn't really given the proper English phraseology much thought, but always nice to learn something new. Another reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amn't#Amn.27t
I kinda get a small kick out of the fact that both references mention this usage more common in Scotland or Irish dialects, as my first name has Irish origin. Except that my name ain't (no pun intended) spelled the Irish way and I have no Irish background, and grew up in NJ/NY and spent several years recently in the Boston area.
Word,
--Shaun