Basilectically speaking...

Sometimes I wonder whether other people have to wonder as much as I do about speaking, before they speak. Thinking before they speak, I mean. Oh, you know what I mean.

For example, today I was in the car with my sister and we were listening to 'oldies music' - you know, music from the 50's and 60's on AM radio. Anyhow, a song came on and the guy singing used the word "ain't" instead of "isn't" - probably in a sentence like "ain't it a shame" or "this house just ain't no home anymooooore" (which makes me also think about how often song-writers overuse the same old tired phrases). But anyways, hearing the word 'ain't' made me start thinking about how rarely we use it in conversation - you usually only hear it in a song. If you heard someone actually say ain't out loud in a sentence you wonder about their education level or you assume they're doing it to be amusing. But if you hear it in a song, you just think... well, you either think nothing of it because you're not overly analytical or maybe you think "Wow, this guy can get away with bad grammar because he's so cool." Or whatever.

Then I was thinking about how maybe singers prefer the word ain't instead of isn't because isn't is such an ugly sounding word - I mean, say it out loud and it sounds scratchy like sandpaper. And also, ain't is only 1 syllable rather then 3! So it would probably suck to have sing the word isn't over and over again.

The point is - this was just one of those stupid little conversations you have with yourself in your head in the span of about 3 seconds. And usually you keep them to yourself because they're so trivial. But sometimes when I'm tired or feeling extremely giddy (usually due to caffeine overload) I actually have to question whether sharing the thought I had about the word ain't would be wise or not. I mean, would my sister go, "Wow! I'd never thought about that! Thank you for enlightening me!" Or would she just stare at me blankly and wonder about my IQ...

I think this is a case for Calvin & Hobbes.

Too bad they took the decade off. *sigh*