Another possibility on "hain't" is that it's from an /h/-insertion dialect. Those are mostly British, but there are restricted instances of it in Appalachia, including "hain't" and "hit" for "it." The latter form occurs in Old and Middle English, but I don't know if the Appalachian form descends from that or is a local innovation. Herb From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wollin, Edith Sent: 2009-06-03 10:45 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]<mailto:[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/