What makes a word officially....a word?
 

Its 3 am right now, I'm about to go to sleep but then this thought came up, and I know its gonna drive me crazy if I don't post this, so here goes....

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I've had too many people telling me "Ain't is not a word" but when I asks them what then makes a word official, I failed get an answer that satisfy me.

As far as my limited knowledge goes, words are made up, used and accepted widely, and becomes official. The word "ain't" and many others like it fits into this reasoning but people keep on saying it's not a word just because the dictionary says so.

So what then officiates a word? What the hell do I have to do to get people to recgonize that "ain't" (or other words) is about as *word* as any other words get? Why won't people recgonize "ain't" as a word?????????? Am I missing something that needs to be explained or hammer into my thick head?

g'night all
:icare:

Actually, "ain't" made it into the unabridged dictionary several years ago. Most people don't accept it because their mothers told them it wasn't a word. A generation ago "ain't" was considered slang for, or even a dumbed down version of, "is not". However, like all things from rock and roll to bikinis, the more they are used, the more they are accepted. "Ain't" made it to the dictionary in the middle 90s, if I remember correctly.

What blows my mind is how a letter (w) can have three syllables? It is a freakin' letter!

because if you think about the actual letter, it's 'double u', which is what the letter looks like (well, double-v, but hey...).

A word is a word if is in the lexicon of whatever you are using (you won't find some science words in the Oxford English).
I trust the Oxford English Dictionary, I suppose the American standard is different.

Ask webster? ;)I dont know quite how the technical definition applies to each series of letters we put together, but I say,If you wrote it,or said it aloud,and someone else understood exactly,It's a word. Pirates get to say,Yaaaaargh!

I would have to say if it is in the dictionary it is a word.

every so often these old guys that work for the OED get together and vote on which proposed new words should be recognized. i saw a great little documentary piece of this --- i wish i could remember the name. anyway, it was tons of fun because old guy #1 was very very mad that thing like "player" and "high five" were getting recognized, he saw this as the demise of civilization.

This made me laugh.


I think that, as long as people realize what you mean, any word you say is a word. Oh, and I'm a proud defender of "ain't", too. Keep on preaching!

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary


One entry found for ain't.


Main Entry: ain't
Pronunciation: 'Ant
Etymology: contraction of are not
1 : am not : are not : is not
2 : have not : has not
3 : do not : does not : did not -- used in some varieties of Black English
usage Although widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less educated, ain't in senses 1 and 2 is flourishing in American English. It is used in both speech and writing to catch attention and to gain emphasis <the wackiness of movies, once so deliciously amusing, ain't funny anymore -- Richard Schickel> <I am telling you--there ain't going to be any blackmail -- R. M. Nixon>. It is used especially in journalistic prose as part of a consistently informal style <the creative process ain't easy -- Mike Royko>. This informal ain't is commonly distinguished from habitual ain't by its frequent occurrence in fixed constructions and phrases <well--class it ain't -- Cleveland Amory> <for money? say it ain't so, Jimmy! -- Andy Rooney> <you ain't seen nothing yet> <that ain't hay> <two out of three ain't bad> <if it ain't broke, don't fix it>. In fiction ain't is used for purposes of characterization; in familiar correspondence it tends to be the mark of a warm personal friendship. It is also used for metrical reasons in popular songs <Ain't She Sweet> <It Ain't Necessarily So>. Our evidence shows British use to be much the same as American.

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You and I and we make the words.

this makes me so happy :icare:

I agree with Amethyst.

Then again I always remembered the saying as "Ain't ain't a word"

Anybody think that the debate (for ain't) started with songs like "Ain't no mountain high enough"?

As long as the sounds coming from your mouth makes sense to someone else, you are using words. Some are just better than others.

i would say it's not a word if it's not in the Oxford English Dictionary. that is THE dictionary of the english language. it has over 500,000 words, with over 2.5 million quotations, and comes in a 20 volume package. so that's how i would personally define whether a word is truly a word or not.

I would agree, but suggest that you supplement that with the regional and technical dictionaries of your choice. As someone pointed out above, many technical phrases do not appear in the dictionary, and it is often helpful to include your regional dialect.
(eg. American-English, Hiberno-English)

Hence the word for the french letter is pronounced "double-vey" or double-v like you said =)

Bollocks also made it's first appearance in the collin's dictionary this year, apparently. Thought that word would have made it in ages ago...