I too have used it especially when repeating the stupid American motto, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." Sometimes, being sarcastic should not be a deal breaker.

@JackPedigo

"I'm sorry, Bruce, but it just ain't happenin'" I said to indicate that I'm not physically attracted to him. Tried to lighten the mood with humor.

I like Bruce tremendously and value his friendship. We are still friends.

@LiterateHiker I have come to realize any relationship has to start out with a friendship. Sometimes when we expect something other than friendship we miss critical issues. Been there done that. In one previous relationship we both went too far too fast. Luckily we realized that and are still good friends after 25 years.

@skado

Thank you for your fascinating history of the use of "ain't."

@dumasarok

Insulting members is against Agnostic.com guidelines.

You called me narrowminded and intolerant for not liking the word "ain't." Calm down.

@LiterateHiker Non-members? Open slather

@LiterateHiker It is kind of a control tactic to comment on other peoples actions As though you don’t want them to perform them anymore. I take the higher path and try really hard to stay away from that. If this person had said something like, “In my opinion the word ain’t sounds really funny when you say or sounds really bad when you say it it…”. That’s one thing. Liking this action to making this person “ like an ignorant farmer” Kind of puts down both a farmer and a person with whom you are walking. I often wonder why we just can’t be a little more tolerant? Isn’t that a virtue of sorts? Acceptance without judgement? I think in today’s world people like the Trumpians have made this type of behavior a little more acceptable. I don’t really like that. Of course, sarcasm is another whole thing.

@LiterateHiker I did not understand your initial response to me. The edit you made still seems off the mark..

I did not call you anything, I do not use ad hominems.

Your original post described a response to what I regard as a trivial word usage that to me demonstrated a narrow minded and intolerant attitude toward your companion in this incident. I was not generalizing, nor was I attacking your character, I was describing the way I understood your post.

@dumasarok

Your reply:

"I find it strange that anyone would boast about being narrow minded and intolerant as if it is some kind of virtue."

@MaryChristmas

Of course I didn't insult him. That would be mean. I ignored his use of "ain't."

@MaryChristmas

Stop asking me ridiculous questions. I did not give his last name.

…and it sounds cool!

Me too. But, I'm trying to relax in that area.

Took me about two years into our relationship to get my ex to stop pronouncing the "S" in Illinois. And, actually, it wasn't me. We were with friends once and the word came up three or four times. Each time, it was said correctly. He started saying it correctly after that.

@BlueWave I still don’t understand why someone would want to stop someone from saying something. What does it give you?

@Sookiesue I can't answer for BlueWave, but I know that when my ex would say things incorrectly, I would try to break him of those bad habits so that my kids wouldn't pick up his mistakes.

@Julie808 I wonder why we deem them mistakes? As I travel around, I deal in dialects. They are all different and developed over time. They don’t bother me. I have always enjoyed discovering the differences. A couple of my absolute favorites are , “y’all and eh? The south in America and Canada have their sayings. I use them myself at times. Against old English, or Anglo Saxon, I know. But yes, pronouncing a word incorrectly is a very different. That’s another issue.

@Sookiesue I cannot explain why it bugs me when people mispronounce the name of a state or any other common word. The only analogy I can come up with is, if someone you knew for a long time continually mispronounced your name, would you correct them? We are all different. Some people don't notice or don't care about mispronunciations. My brain is different. I notice it immediately and, if it's a common word, it bugs me. There are millions like you, and millions like me.

@BlueWave It would bother me if people were mispronouncing as well. I thought the post was talking about using dialect words like. “ain’t?” lol. I don’t think you can miss pronounce that word! Why is the subject changing to mispronunciation? I think it’s appropriate to correct mispronunciation. But I can’t agree with being upset with using dialect words.

@Sookiesue Start from above where you first addressed my comment. Maybe you didn't mean to be addressing me when you said "you," but that's how I interpreted your question. In any event, to each his own.

@BlueWave I was trying to determine what we were duscussing. I understand now that you were perhaps stating another dealbreaker. Yes, to each his own!

@Sookiesue Well, I guess my point is to speak in a manner that tells everyone who you are... My ex-husband didn't care if he sounded ignorant (he was a teacher!) fine, but I wanted my kids to speak in a manner that made them seem courteous, respectful and knowledgeable of the English language like my side of the family, whereas my ex-husband's side of the family sounded like they'd never attended school. To each their own.

As far as regional dialect, that's fine. I have relatives in the mid-west who speak like farmers should and so did my ex-husband have ancestors who were farmers. I live in Hawaii, where Pidgen English is the norm - totally respect those who speak Pidgen - and I don't even try - I'd sound like a wannabe.

I raised my family in the Greater Seattle and my kids had dreams of careers where good grammar, pronunciation and spelling would be important. My kids loved to read, and developed a wonderful sense of vocabulary on their own. They are each, in their own careers, beautiful writers and speakers.

Now in the region where I currently live, Hawaii, it's obvious whether someone is a local, new resident or tourist/visitor by the way they speak. While I don't pretend to be someone I'm not, I'm aware of the correct way to pronounce Hawaiian words, people's names and local places. I also know proper grammar, but if I want to fit in to a local conversation, I will sometimes drop various words, because it's the custom here. Locals say "across Safeway" instead of "across FROM Safeway" for example. So, I choose the way I speak to fit into the group with whom I'm conversing. It shows a little bit of who I am. Trying to talk with people in the most un-offensive way I can, with out pretending to be someone I'm not.

Visitors and newcomers will invariably speak in such a way that they might as well be holding up a sign that says "I don't live here and don't care if this place or your name means something special, I'm going to butcher the name and I don't care." Some do care, but they just can't say the words right. No judgment - Sometimes it just shows truly their level of appreciation for the culture they are visiting.

I'm of the opinion that we should adapt our manner of speaking to our surroundings if we want to fit in - and buck it if we don't care whether we might be offending someone. Either way, it shows who we are.

Sure, if someone is from a particular region where certain words are popular, great! But we all have our comfort zone about the manner of speaking that goes on in our own little circle or household.

@Julie808 “ they might as well be holding up a sign that says "I don't live here and don't care if this place or your name means something special, I'm going to butcher the name and I don't care."

I think you are assuming a lot about what they are thinking.

Wow, that's interesting. I use awesome frequently. Multiple times a day. I have to check demographics to make sure my callers are who they claim to be (member service in a credit union call center). Short version is asking DOB and email, and if they give the right answers I will usually reply awesome. The long version is including mailing address and telephone number. In 10 months doing this job only one person has commented on my use of the word, and she was PO'd at us anyway, so I don't give her opinion much value. And I agree, the overuse of the word like was mind numbing.

@HippieChick58 for me it's just awe/ awesome are like the limit eg what's greater than awe struck? It lessens the meaning of the word if used all the time.
A job I quit, had a smart arse PA/ secretary who used it constantly. My last communication with her was a suggestion to pull her awesome head out of her awesome arse (didn't go down too well, no sense of humour).

Ha! I use awesome all the time and I annoy myself when I do. I sometimes take the time to find another word, but not always.

I have a co-worker who, for every situation, story, or experience she relays, ends it with "That's CRAZY!" I've started saying "No, it's not crazy -- that's really great!" She doesn't every get my drift.

Maybe she's laughing at Approved Plastic Expression? (Is that a Frank Zappa line?)

@twill mine.

@hankster It's a good one !