Edith, There's an alternate source of /h/ in words like this a number of dialects -- it's a side effect of English "losing" /h/ on other words. Speakers feel that they're supposed to say some /h/s on words they aren't, and they overcompensate and put them in where they never were (the same thing happens with /r/ on the east coast; those people who pronounce 'car' as roughly /ka/ also tend to pronounce 'Africa' as "Afriker"). I have a friend from Australia who inserts the occasional /h/ this way. I'd have to do some digging to find out what's going on with the Ohio dialect, but as an initial guess, I'd suspect overcompensation. Sincerely, Bill Spruiell -----Original Message----- From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Wollin, Edith Sent: Wed 6/3/2009 10:44 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: training wheels & ain't I've been wondering if there is any connection between the "ain't" for "have" and the dialect that uses "hain't." My father-in-law from Ohio used to say "hain't." Anybody know? Edith Wollin From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 7:07 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: training wheels & ain't I'd do it but I ain't got the time. On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 2:36 PM, Larry Beason <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Herb, Can you give examples of people who use 'ain't' for a contraction of 'has/have not.' I might not be thinking it through, but I cannot think of any such instances myself. Just curious. Larry ____________________________ Larry Beason, Associate Professor Director of Composition University of South Alabama Mobile, AL 36688-0002 Office: 251-460-7861 FAX: 251-461-1517 To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/