Monthly Archives: September 2013

You guys, you all and Kingsley Amis

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

When we were living in Cambridge, two years ago, I was struck by the pervasiveness of you guys as a plural pronoun. It is not as if it was new to me: in my history of the language lectures I … Continue reading →

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Hain’t

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Inge Otto

Have you ever heard anybody say hain’t?  Have you seen it written down somewhere for have not or has not? Until this morning I was totally unfamiliar with the expression. To be honest, I  only knew of the existence of … Continue reading →

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Ain’t: Bob Dylan vs. The Byrds

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

Whenever I listen to Bob Dylan’s song “Mr Tambourine Man”, I catch myself being surprised at the line: I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to. Shouldn’t it be ain’t in this context? Googling for the line, … Continue reading →

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“I judge you …

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

… when you use poor grammar” is the title of a picture book of grammatical and other linguistic bloopers. Viktorija brought it back with her as a present for our group when she returned from the States earlier this month. … Continue reading →

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Kind regards or best wishes?

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

During dinner at a conference last week, a British colleague raised the question of where the closing formula “kind regards” had suddenly come from. It is pervasive in emails nowadays, she said, but she waived my suggestion that it might … Continue reading →

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