Re: [OT Why GB English is different] Re: Mozilla firefox en-gb

[Clive Menzies <clive@clivemenzies.co.uk>]

On (06/05/04 10:05), Daniel B. wrote:
> Marty Landman wrote:
> 
> >Please. Ain't is the contraction of "are not".
> 
> That is obviously wrong.  If it were _the_ contraction of
> "are not", then "aren't" couldn't also be a contraction of
> "are not."
> 
> Perhaps you mean to argue that it is _a_ contraction of "are
> not."
"Ain't" is cockney slang as in the song "Things ain't what they used to
be"

Cockney originated in the East End of London (Cockneys are people born
within the sound of Bow Bells, a Church in the area, mentioned in the
song "Oranges and Lemons").  True cockneys are a rarity these days as
the East End of London has become more ethnically diverse and many of
the original cockneys moved out of London to Essex (eastwards along the Thames
Estuary).  Cockney has morphed into Essex or Estuary English.

Regards

Clive

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