Enit?

[Nadja Adolf]

I believe innit is actually a contraction of "isn't it."
The word "ain't" is only used in presence of tourists from suburbia in my
experience. B^)

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey Kopp [mailto:jeffkopp at TELEPORT.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 9:31 PM
To: CHINOOK at LINGUIST.LDC.UPENN.EDU
Subject: Re: Enit?


Well, thanks for the informative replies; the consensus (well, it's
unanimous) seems to be that "enit" is non-native and simply a
contraction for "ain't it (the truth)."  But at least it gave me an
excuse to mention the remarkable local-interest story which appeared
in TNY.

It appears that Don Boucher gets the prize for the most distant
sighting, as reported below:

On Tue, 22 Jun 1999 18:01:01 -0700, you wrote:

>Klahowya,
>
>Where I grew up in NE Pennsylvania, the word "eh-nah" was used as "ain't
>it" or a general ending to a question, much like Canadians use "eh". I
>had to break myself of this embarrassing habit when I moved out west.
>
>I'm sure glad I don't say dat no more, eh-nah?
>
>Don Boucher
>Corvallis, OR
>bouchdon at juno.com
>http://greenfield.fortunecity.com/dwellers/161/

I kinda wonder what "embarrassing habits" we Westerners might need to
break when going back East.  I don't recall any offhand, but when I
was in SE Mass 20 years ago, I did get odd looks when I ordered a
milkshake (called a "frappe" there), or drive around in the daytime
with my headlights on.