When responding to an invitation, I was tempted to say, we will be there, “if the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise;” (1955 Jerry Reed) because you just never know what that day may bring. Then I rethought that and just said, “we’ll be there.”
English grammar rules are fraught with exceptions. This makes our beloved language one of the most difficult languages to learn for the non-English speaker.
Grammar mistakes circulate through families, as does “good grammar.” Exceptions to the grammar rules are also handed down from one generation to another. From a young age, we learn language through example and our teachers are those with whom we spend the most time.
If your daddy said, “I seen a bear in the woods today,” and your mama said, “Well, I saw a wild turkey during my walk along the trail,” it’s possibly a toss-up whether you’ll inherit your dad’s grammar mistake or your mom’s crisp understanding of the rules regarding the word, see and its variants.
Most of us remember from school, an oft-used spelling ditty involving a familiar spelling rule: “I before E except after C.” But there are over seven thousand words in the English language that defy this rule. As I said, there are so many exceptions in English. We native English speakers have learned to accept the rule that “it’s this way, except when it isn’t.”
We accept most exceptions. For example, the homophones in my previous sentence have got to be a conundrum for non-native speakers. To “accept” is to receive without question, but to “except” is to exclude.
Have you ever been the exception, been excluded for some reason or another? Have you ever been the other, or an outsider? If so, then welcome to English-based civilization. I think we’ve all been the exception at one time or another.
I’m not necessarily a rule breaker, although there has been a rule on the books that stipulates not to use contractions in writing. But I write how I talk. There is another rule, not to start a sentence with but.
I really like that there are exceptions to the rules just in case I’m not all that keen on a certain rule in the first place. From a writer’s perspective, it seems like the rules sometimes restrict personal expression, creativity, and even clarity.
About song lyrics and the story of “ain’t.” I was under the impression that “grammar rules be damned,” originated with song lyrics, such as the one quoted in the first sentence of this tome. Music is a famous vehicle of rebellion, communion, antipathy, and agreement, all balled up in one very influential enigmatic medium.
But when I did a bit of research, I found that the “word” ain’t was used way back before the 1955 hit, “Ain’t that a Shame” sung and popularized by Fats Domino. What’s with the bad grammar in these 1955 songs?
The controversial word, ain’t is one of the most pervasively non-standard English language vernacular words ever used. And, incorrect usage of don’t for doesn’t and seen for saw, pervades our cultural landscape in songs, rhymes, and everyday conversation.
Ain’t is used widely in song lyrics, presumably because it rhymes better than the more cumbersome but grammatically correct, is not, are not, isn’t, etc. For example, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” wouldn’t quite cut it as “He Isn’t Heavy, He’s, My Brother.” Nor would “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” sound right as “It Isn’t Necessarily So.”
There’s a certain flow to familiar phrases such as “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” “you ain’t seen nothin yet,” and “say it ain’t so, Joe,” that their grammatically correct counterpart can’t achieve. The word usage of ain’t may not be grammatical but it is acceptable in certain instances.
Ain’t is okay nowadays, but like it or not, it is sometimes associated with the non-standard speech of the less educated and is socially unacceptable in some situations. In fact, in the 18th and 19th centuries the word, ain’t became stigmatized as the perfect example of a shibboleth, a word used to determine inclusion in or exclusion from those who were educated. “Ain’t that a shame?”
General Douglas MacArthur said, “rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind.” Well, ain’t that somethin’? I guess the good general adapted well to the myriad of English language grammar exceptions. I think I’ll go and lie down after I lay this piece to rest.…..