In the early and mid-20th century, the manuals opposed isn’t it me? maybe because “not me” goes against traditional grammar rules. But the other options are Notdifficult to pronounce and Not, has long been rejected as non-standard. Today, isn’t it me? widely accepted and used like “I’m not”.
What happens when a grammatical error commonly made by speakers of our language is deemed “correct” (or at least no longer considered an error)? Have a parade? Was there a small private ceremony where the previous infringing use was given a certificate of good conduct and a cigar? Is there a memo sent out to all speakers and writers of that language, notifying them of the change? No, none of these things happened. In fact, based on the available evidence we have, these changes tend to occur with whimpers rather than bangs. Let’s look at the case of isn’t it me?.
George Fox was so annoyed with the few ‘friends’ that he wrote an entire book complaining about it. However, our language still exists.
‘Not me’ is broken
If you check the version of isn’t it me? without contractions, it quickly becomes clear what the problem is: “isn’t it me.” Not only is the word order unreasonable, but the pronoun doesn’t match the verb at all. However, despite the fact that this violates some basic rules of grammar with which most of us are comfortable, isn’t it me? managed to see used in the speech of educated people on a daily basis, without causing much fuss.
“So why not – why don’t I care more?” —The Wall Street Journal(record, interview with John Williams, President, San Francisco Fed.), May 17, 2016
“Why don’t I lead by 50 points?” a heated question that Clinton asked last week during a video address ahead of a meeting of the International Labor Union of North America in Las Vegas. —Amy Chozick, New York TimesSeptember 29, 2016
“So maybe I’ll eat those words, right. Yeah.” -Reply. Paul Ryan (Political scoreboard wire), press conference, September 29, 2016
In fact, it is not only used in speech, but can often be found in written and edited prose (especially when it is in a somewhat formal register):
Am I not too generous to break my own one-a-week prize rule to give him a $5 cup or bag and a $1 “air freshener”? —Pat Myers, washington articlesApril 17, 2014
That’s right—I’m obeying the stop sign. Isn’t it great? Am I not an extremely law-abiding cyclist? —Barbara Brotman, Chicago CourtJune 17, 2013
Although I don’t play Scrabble to make new friends, every time I see this message, I always feel a little offended. Come on, “scrabblerocks121,” don’t I deserve the bare minimum of conversation? —Meg Wolitzer, New York TimesSeptember 18, 2011
Why am I not accepted?
So why do we use this phrase? One possibility is Not is to blame. If we match our verbs and pronouns correctly, we’ll say “I’m not,” instead of “I’m not”; This version of the contract can be written as Not (sounds awkward to most American English speakers) or like Not. Some grammarians have argued in favor of Not accepted as a shortened version of “not,” but the word was so radically altered that the meaning was never accepted. Therefore, if you feel social pressure to not speak Notand feel awkward phonetically speaking Notat last you said isn’t it me?.
In the early and mid-20th century, some American manuals complained about the use of isn’t it me?. However, in recent years the word has gained a degree of acceptance in colloquial speech and prose. There is no official decree and no statement signaling this change; although the use of isn’t it me? was accepted relatively quickly, but it still took several decades of differing opinions before it was widely accepted.
This isn’t the first time we’ve changed the usage of a particular pronoun in the face of objections from some who wish it remained unchanged. In 1660, George Fox, founder of the Religious Friends Association, was furious that people used the pronoun Friend in the few. Instead of writing a brief letter to his local newspaper, Fox wrote an entire book on the subject.
Fox’s book has the catchy title of The battle door for teachers & professors to learn singular & plural; You are with many people, and you are with one person; Singular One, Thou; Plural Plural, You. An example of how he feels about the issue comes early in the book, when he writes “he is not a Newbie, and Unpolite, and a Fool, and a Fool. , speak Friend ARRIVE onethat is not to talk to a singularbut to much?”
Despite such accusations, English speakers continue to use Friend to refer to a single person, and somehow our language persists to this day. not me will appear well on the path of joining the singular Friend as part of our accepted language. Still no sign of it not me Will be joining it anytime soon.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
