"ain't" in Merriam-Webster's and mention of "Black English"

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Fooge
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"ain't" in Merriam-Webster's and mention of "Black English"

Post by Fooge »

There was a petition to remove the reference of "Black English" from Merriam-Webster's definition of "ain't" because it was viewed as offensive and discriminatory.

https://www.change.org/p/promoting-educ ... topic_page

Looks like the petition was successful. References to "Black English" have been removed from Merriam-Webster's entry for "ain't".

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ain't

This is what the entry for "ain't" was before the references to "Black English" were removed.

https://books.google.com/books?id=TAnhe ... 22&f=false

The petition
Most of us have been taught at a young age not to use “ain’t” because it is not proper English. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a reference trusted by millions of people, defines “ain’t” as am not, are not, and is not. Sounds simple enough, but investigate further and you will see that its definition is offensive and prejudiced.

Definition of AIN'T:
do not: does not: did not —used in some varieties of Black English

The definition goes on to state, “although widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less educated…”
So the question becomes what is Black English, who speaks Black English and how does it correspond to the word, “ain’t”?

Definition of BLACK ENGLISH:

A nonstandard variety of English spoken by some African-Americans —called also Black English vernacular
We, the undersigned, request for Merriam-Webster to modify the definition of the word “ain’t”, removing the reference to Black English and its use by those less educated for the following reasons:

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary's description of “ain’t” states it is used in Black English, spoken by African Americans, and described as a nonstandard language used by those less educated which is offensive and discriminatory.

“Ain’t” is currently one of the top 10% of words searched in the dictionary and used by people from many different ethnicities not just African-Americans.
A word by definition should not be used in a disparaging manner to stereotype or incite prejudice towards a particular group of people.
Allowing even one single word to advocate prejudice will only perpetuate the type of discriminatory behavior that continues to affect African Americans and people who are perceived as less educated!!

We are concerned citizens. Sign this petition today and let your voice be heard!! Together we can impact change to create a positive perspective free from discrimination!!!

“Words used carelessly, as if they did not matter in any serious way, often allowed otherwise well-guarded truths to seep through.”― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Here are some comments in the Seen or Heard part of Merriam-Websters "ain't" entry.
REALLY! Merrian-Webster? You define the word "Ain't" as "commonly used in some varieties of Black English" and then follow with an explanation that it is "...most common in the habitual speech of the less educated." WOW! Maybe I am reading into this a little too much - but it just sounds wrong.
My kids informed me that "ain't" is a word, so I looked it up in THE dictionary...but I had no idea I would find that it is "used in some varieties of Black English"...like white people don't use this word. I'm feeling some kind of way...and then I was enlightened further that "Black English" is an actual term for the way black people talk...WOW!
I guess I might be black from this definition. And I am less educated for using ain't. Good Lord! Now I know where my life went wrong.
This definition is making me madder by the second! First of all what is "Black English?" Secondly, where do they teach you that because I certainly have never learned it as a language or anywhere else! Is this the new PC term for Ebonics? Lastly, by definition black = bad, so why not say bad english? Is it "cleaned up" by calling it nonstandard? Or is it infact the way it seems & meant to reflect race/ethnicity thus calling blacks &/or "black english" speakers less educated? How did this discussion make it? And who wrote it?
I don't like the part in the definition which says 'more common in the habitual speech of the less educated', which is clearly just reflecting a stereotype. The word 'ain't' has been part of my lexicon, and part of many other people's vocabularies where I come from - among lower, middle and upper classes. I wouldn't write it in a formal situation... but it's clearly part of common dialect that was persecuted by prescriptivism, and definitely not an indicator of lower education levels.
#3: : do not : does not : did not —used in some varieties of Black English

That doesn't sound stereotypical at all *rolls eyes*.

Side note: Is there a yellow, brown, green, red, blue, purple, pink, or orange English? If so, please inform the masses.
Is this the Sacalia definition of Ain't? "used in some varieties of Black English " "Although widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less educated..." Webster revision on page 17 for racisit definitions....thank you.
Americans always trying to divide races with stupid subliminal messages like "Black English" and then linking it to being less educated. Truth of the matter is, the word was/is highly used in the southern states and spread throughout the country with the migration of blacks after the Emancipation. Who talk early black americans english ??? So how in the hell is it "BLACK" english.........SMMFH

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Re: "ain't" in Merriam-Webster's and mention of "Black Engli

Post by mèþru »

I think that Merriam-Webster used poor wording. Just say that it is not standard. Nonstandard speech shouldn't be discriminated against. Ain't is not a uniquely "Black" word; it is very common in English varieties across ethnicities and across classes. But Merriam-Webster was, in a very insensitive and kind of racist way, referring to a real thing: The preferred term for it is African-American Vernacular English or Black Vernacular English, and there are many black linguists studying it. But the American public, regardless of racial identity, has barely heard of the concept and call BEV "improper speech".
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Re: "ain't" in Merriam-Webster's and mention of "Black Engli

Post by Imralu »

Weird, I had no idea about it being particularly associated with AAVE in particular ... it's not in my idiolect and, as far as I know, not really naturally in my dialect at all*, but I'm pretty sure I've heard it in both UK English and US English in basically any variety except formal standard language. I can imagine it in Cockney and any other working class English English dialect, and for Americans, I can just as easily imagine a white Southerner saying it as I can a black speaker of AAVE. Is it not just roughly a Southern/inland/rural thing in the US?

*I do remember the principal of my primary school telling a small group of us "Ain't ain't in the dictionary and ain't ain't in the Bible so ain't ain't a word," so I suppose he probably said that in response to someone saying "ain't", but I remember him kind of finding it funny, so maybe he had some other reason for telling us that saying. In any case, I can't imagine an Australian naturally saying "ain't", and I think we mostly get exposed to it from foreign dialects and use it in borrowed phrases like "Say it ain't so!" or, recently, "Ain't nobody got time for that."
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Re: "ain't" in Merriam-Webster's and mention of "Black Engli

Post by Astraios »

I mean, really. The dictionary very clearly states in the exact entry linked in the OP that the use of ain’t as a replacement for ‘does not’ is what is associated with AAVE; this is entirely correct: the vast majority of other dialects don’t use ain’t for ‘does not’, and utterances like “I ain’t (do not) know that” do not occur even in dialects where “I ain’t (am/have not) going/been there” is common. M-W also makes it explicit that it is not that usage, but the use of ain’t as a replacement for ‘is not’ and ‘has not’, which is “widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less educated” (and which is also “flourishing in American English”); this is also correct: ain’t is widely disapproved of, and the more highly educated a person is, the less likely they are to use informal/nonstandard forms, and ain’t is widely used all over the Anglosphere in the place of ‘is not’ and ‘has not’. Seriously, properly parsing a paragraph break is all it takes to understand the intended meaning.

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Re: "ain't" in Merriam-Webster's and mention of "Black Engli

Post by Pole, the »

I think it's the inclusion of “Black” and ”less educated” in the same entry that caused most of the backlash. Similar thing happened recently to a certain cartoon character that had “can't read” as a part of her description.
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