Where does INNIT come from and is it bad English?

[@chriflu]

Having spent almost two years of my life in England, most of it in the North, I immediately understood how you needed eventually to shorten the sentence "It's a beautiful day, is it not?" to "Beautiful day, innit?". Because otherwise by the time you finished the sentence, it would already have started to rain.

[@crepuscularwintersky]

When you mentioned "है ना" (heyna) my jaw literally dropped with astonishment. Growing up in northeastern Pennsylvania, everyone used "heyna" as a question tag, kind of a quirky regional colloquialism, only used by people in and around Scranton. When I asked my brother about it, he confirmed there was a large population of Indian immigrants who had come to work in the silk mills in Scranton. All these years we had assumed "heyna" was short for "ain't it", but apparently not. Thank you for an informative video!

[@isabelatence7035]

We're lucky to have Gideon's videos, they're great! Innit?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

This is an inspiring comment, innit?

[@stephenlee5929]

@@LetThemTalkTV Not sure your question mark was needed, innit?

[@greenbelly2008]

@@LetThemTalkTV I think it is, innit?

[@Fetherko]

@@isabelatence7035 Arnt'em?

[@djrivers3986]

watch GEMATRIA EFFECT NEWS 25

[@leopard36cat]

Innit's gentle cadence flows free, A London twang, a colloquial spree, Isn't it, in its informal guise, Mate, I should coco, with surprised eyes. In streets of London, it's often heard, A phrase so casual, yet oh so blurred, Between the lines of formal speech, Innit slips in, with a cheeky breach. So here's to innit, a word so bright, A linguistic gem, in urban light, May it forever hold its place, In the hearts of Londoners, with a smile on its face.

[@gaufrid1956]

In the various languages in the Philippines, we often affirm a statement with "diba", a contraction of "hindi/dili" (Tagalog and Cebuano "no" and the question particle "ba"). I use it all the time in chat online. "Innit" is essentially the same.

[@Sauvageonne]

I've heard innit as the one-size-fits-all question tag only in London. I've not been everywhere though, but moved around a bit. I think I use innit in that context. In the US my ears have heard "right" more than they've heard question tags.

[@mzaliwa]

Isnit is widely used as a one-for-all question tag in Wales

[@nickclarke2599]

I've always seen it, as conveying to someone, do you agree with me, with what I've just said, or ain't that the truth

[@amyfromflorida4518]

Here in the southern US we say “idnit” and “itnit”

[@chamuuemura5314]

@Sauvageonne I first heard it on Doc Martin which was supposed to be Cornwall. That show had a great first season and then went downhill… “Dinnit”?

[@patrickcon1]

In the mid 90s I used to give private lessons to a young boy of Indian heritage. He would use 'innit' all the time, despite his father's constant protestations. So, it goes back at least thirty years.

[@consiousness7612]

The theme of the content of your videos is so aligned with us! I love your teaching skills and humour. Simply Love the British accent! The video on cockney language & choice of words was fabulous too! Well done!

[@lostjackets4006]

There is a great scene in the film 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" where the character Doug The Head accosts a young man man who is loitering in front of his shop somewhere in London. On the demand that he move on, the young man says 'It's a free country, innit" to which Doug retorts 'But it's not a free shop, is it? Now f*** off!'. It's a nice interplay between the spoken contraction and the phrase being contracted.

[@francescotassini4321]

It's from "Snatch", innit?🤣

[@lostjackets4006]

@@francescotassini4321 yes you are correct - my apologies

[@Fetherko]

@@lostjackets4006 American culture seemed so vulgar to me as a preteenager in the 1970s. You Brits had a head start on that.

[@tommyvictorbuch6960]

Fun fact: It's faster to say "World Wide Web" than "WWW."

[@alfyryan6949]

“dub-u-dub-u-dub-u”

[@hanoord9412]

"Wee wee wee"

[@wolf1066]

Our standard, when vocalising an address to someone, was "dub-dub-dub dot ..."

[@gabrieldomocos7570]

Triple double -u innit

[@ericwolff6059]

Not here in New Zealand. It's dub dub dub. Dub, short for double U.

[@julezyme]

My favorite "innit" is my colleague from India who moved to the UK in their twenties. They often say, "isn't it" at the end of a sentence in a mild Indian accent, and it's delightful.

[@patrickskelton6482]

I first encountered 'innit' when I started in teaching in Leicester in n1985. At the moment I'm escaping the English winter in Bohol in the Philippines. Here in Bisayan init means hot, very warm.

[@guillaumeromain6694]

Such great content at the fingertips of anyone ready to learn. Thank you Gideon. You are quite a master! Warm regards.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Congratulations to being a trustworthy source on contemporary english usage, and pronunciation! Thank you, Let them talk TV, for your research and delivery!

[@djrivers3986]

watch GEMATRIA EFFECT NEWS 25

[@gezarimanoczy7484]

What a great teacher, inee?

[@charlesmeyrick8906]

For me, "innit" makes more sense if I think of it as a translation and contraction of the French "n'est-ce pas". "Is it not" strikes me as a phrase that easily collapses into "innit": drop the s, t and o and one gets iint. It's a bit difficult to pronounce the double "i", much easier to slide the 2nd "i" to behind the "n". So "iint" becomes "init". And the expression seems to serve the same person in Englash as "n'est-ce pas" does in French, a sort of affirmation of what preceded the expression. As Asteryx might say, "Ils sont fous ces Romains, n'est-ce pas?"

[@RobinNewbrough]

We definitively have "innit" in American English too. I want to say I've heard it across the other pond from Australia and New Zealand too.

[@alexrafe2590]

Very interesting and insightful. Thanks very much Gideon.

[@johnlabus7359]

If I had to guess by personal experience, you are more likely to hear innit in some of the (perceived) less educated parts of the USA, but certainly not everywhere. Where my parents come from in the Midwest, I hear the variation ainnit. This is a very interesting video. Thank you!

[@inarticulateutterlymonolingual]

I've never heard an American say innit; however, it's true that I've not interviewed every last American, innit? I live in one of those "less educated" parts of America. We frequently say "idn't it?" instead of "isn't it?". This is just a simple phonological change from standard English. The S in "isn't" is altered in anticipation of the N; it's turned from a fricative to a stop, but with the same point of articulation. Since there's no such thing as a sibilant stop, this change is more jarring than it otherwise would be.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

In Canada an approximate equivalent of "innit" is "eh". "It's sure a nice day eh?"

[@DMLand]

And, as Gideon says, and my Canadian friend taught me, it is not for actual questions. Do you have the $5 you owe me, eh? is just nonsense.

[@zak3744]

I think there's perhaps a missing usage? Yes, there's "innit" as a contraction of a specific question tag, and there's "innit" as a universal question tag, but I get the feeling that even the universal question tag is relatively conservative. It seems to me (and I don't really have this usage myself, but I recognise it in others) that in some usages "innit" seems to have developed from that universal question tag to become something more akin to a modal particle. I remember learning about modal particles in German and thinking: "Ah, it works kind of like innit!" I'm not sure how to put it exactly into words (and I suppose that's kind of the point of modal particles), but it seems like it invokes a sense something in the region of asserting something to the listener, but at the same time suggesting it should be obvious, mutually-understood or expected. "He's down the pub innit." is not, it seems to me, equivalent to: "He's down the pub." or to: "He's down the pub, isn't he?" instead it's more akin to: "I'm telling you, he's down the pub, and obviously where else would he be?"

[@iainmc9859]

Okay, I'm going to disagree with you on two points. Firstly I think you're confusing Britain for England. Everybody in Britain certainly does not say innit. I've never heard it used in Wales or Scotland. Sean Connery, doing his best to fit in in his first movie role, opposite Sid James and Stanley Baker, would never say Innit or Mate in his native Edinburgh milkman accent ... it would be Pal, Bud or Buddy. The Innit would probably simply be a Eh or Ah. Which bring me on to the second point. Innit, as far as I'm aware (and I have lived all over the UK) is only used in London, the Home Counties and the Thames Valley accent. This accent has spread up the east coast as far as southern Norfolk, and possibly as far west as Bristol. However the Midlands and the North of England, both Lancashire and Yorkshire say Ent'it, with no glottal stop. A variant granted, but not the same. And some of us working class heroes still say ' Isn't it ''

[@БогданКостюченко-ц4о]

Thanks for the info! :-)

[@Fetherko]

I say "is it not" sometimes for emphasis. Ohio

[@iainmc9859]

@@Fetherko Yeah, I do this as well; usually in a formal meeting. It can finalize a point or 'dare' people to question your logic. Guaranteed to put people off responding 🤨

[@Gmackematix]

But we all use it when we are making fun of Londoners innit?

[@VictorGarcia-lb9wz]

1:29

[@kadowaluna1]

Hello, as usual, you have tons of information, and stuff, wow! Thank you very much Mr. Guideon. Greetings from a Mexican person living in Japan…gracias Sr Guideon es muy difícil vivir en otro país “innit”.. salu…

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Arigato amigo. Glad you found it useful.

[@БогданКостюченко-ц4о]

"Gideon", "not "Guideon". In English "g" followed by "i" or "e" can be pronounced /g/ sometimes: "give", “get”, “girl”, “gift”, “gear”, “gild”, "gilt", “git”, “gimmick”, “geld” and “gill” (although the name “Gill” is pronounced /d͡ʒɪl/, not /gɪl/).

[@bordershader]

​@@БогданКостюченко-ц4оbut he is a guide, a guide to navigating the silliness of English!

[@joseantoniodavila2752]

@@БогданКостюченко-ц4о It's a mistake that appears from time to time when Spanish speakers write English. It's something imprinted when we are little children. Spanish needs an u after a g to pronounce Gideon correctly. Without the u, the Spanish g is a different sound. Spanish also has a special u, the ü, to tell among sounds when G, U and I come together. It's a slippery step of Spanish and we don't have that much English has.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

@@bordershader

[@lawrencecarlstrom3465]

Sean Connery wasn't born using "innit". He was saying lines written by a script writer. Love the video.

[@lexicornfell7361]

Aye and he’s clearly no comfortable wi it. ‘Innit’ is not common in Edinburgh, although it might be now, wot wiv all the Mockerney accents onna telly, innit.

[@RudeboyGroot]

I grew up in North Carolina in the American South, & we say “itn’t”, “doetn’t”, “watn’t”, & even “ain’t’t”…I feel like they’re very close cousins of innit, but maybe influenced by how we say coultn’t (instead of couldn’t it). Cheers

[@feliciapate7926]

My family is mostly from Tennessee (but I grew up in Alabama). We often pronounce “watn’t” as “wad-n’it” without a heavy accent on the “d”. Similar with “innit” as “id-n’it” with the glottal stop instead of the final “t”. The “d” isn’t really pronounced, but it’s the closest thing I can type to the sound.

[@artiomsinelnikov9664]

Thanks for another marvellous video! I was genuinely surprised when looking for the pronuciation of the word "experience" in both Cambridge and Oxford online dictionaries. Both had the same phonetic transcription for this word but the audio was completely different, one sounding in a manner Lord Bertrand Russel speaks and the other like it is normally pronounced nowadays.

[@jpofgwynedd3878]

Thus spake Shakespeare, in't. Aye.

[@producedbypodcast]

I've never really included this in my vocabulary but might as well try. Very interesting to learn more about it!

[@germulqueen3002]

That was interesting...!! Here, in Ireland, we use, "in't" a lot; eg. "In't s/he?" "In't it." "Innit" & "ain't" have yet to make it into everyday, spoken & written english, ocer here.

[@feelthejoy]

Ha, love the little Seth Meyers clip you included. He’s great. Now you’ve got me pondering regional American question tags.

[@jesseestrada8914]

I love your take on language. Taking spoken language for what it is instead of trying to dictate rules to people is my way too. As an American I never use innit but I do use kinda gimme and lemme.

[@CJLloyd]

I knew a girl at uni, who came from South London, and she used "innit" for question tags, but also used the positive form "isit?" for confirmation questions in response to things others had said. Eg. "There's a party at ours tonight." "Isit?" I'm not sure if I've heard that from other speakers since, but it always stuck out as an interesting extension of the "innit" tag.

[@garyinspain]

im from south london. but i aint never 'eard this.

[@carlitoz82718]

From the bradford up north and we use innit for everything

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

True northerners are more likely to say intit.

[@carlitoz82718]

@@Lily_The_Pink972 Well in the north most say it Ennit where the i sounds like a E.. but i went to a private school and was taught RP so i say innit.. I have a mix accent from north and south and never hear the end of it from my mates 😂

[@Arbee1000]

In the back of my mind I’ve always assumed “innit” was connected to the Hindi “hai na”, because they’re used so similarly, and whenever I think of “innit” I think of it being used by British Indian youths (like in your clip from Bend It Like Beckham).

[@MarkPMus]

I’m so grateful you pointed out the difference between innit as a contracted form of isn’t it and the catch-all question tag, which I think is just awful. Part of me dreaded you making a video about the phrase, “I swear down”! Although I’m essentially a southerner who speaks I suppose something like RP, I do love the northern question tags. I like to use them myself to add a bit of colour and humour into my speech. I’ll refer to Techmoan on KZbin as an, “intit, antit, doontit”! It sounds so friendly, friendlier to me than innit or ain’t it. Maybe these are the ramblings of an old loon, but I hope others agree.

[@robtbarton9]

Grew up in the US deep south and some southern dialects have idnit used exactly the same way with the final glottal stop. Also have ain't and aks still in use.

[@Vadik-r2b]

this has some provocative and affirmative motives for agreement or complicity, if we understand formally, in a normal dialogue this can only be a manifestation of friendly approval for the statement of something

[@gilfreundlich4350]

*Great vide*. Note: "Judge people [...] not whether they drop a constant in a word" [around minute 8:10] You might want to edit and add an "asterisk comment" changing that to "consonant", or use that sentence in math class (students *do* tend to forget a constant in known mathematical formulas...) 🙂

[@Nehauon]

Innit strange how we don’t use this often in American English? I like it.

[@oscarbarrios6726]

Gideon, thanks a lot -very good video. I certainly learned a lot from it. Can you recommend a good Advanced English Grammar textbook?

[@adcashmo]

In certain German speaking regions they have similar contractions e.g. if you want to say "shall we go?", where "gehen wir?" gets shortened to "gemma?"

[@anpleidhceeireannach9498]

Coulda,should,woulda, gonna,innit They're contractions,perfectly acceptable for informal situations

[@bordershader]

There's also the use of it as a form of agreement. A: "I had a rough night's sleep last night" B: "yeah, innit" I was delighted when a friend of mine - who was pretty well-to-do - said "isn't it" instead of "innit" in this context! Obviously that's the posh form. 😂

[@Chris-mf1rm]

You’ll appreciate the Armstrong and Miller Spitfire pilot sketches where they use modern speech patterns with RP. “So this Gerry was like ‘bang’ and I was like ‘rat-a-tat-tat. Isn’t it!”

[@bordershader]

@@Chris-mf1rm I need to look that up, it sounds hilarious! In a similar vein, my dad's a guitarist and sometimes sticks Route 66 into his set - sung in a perfect RP accent!

[@KyleDean66]

I love content like this. Curious American about Britishisms.

[@Chris-mf1rm]

As a little working class kid in the 60s I often heard my mum correct my elder siblings saying there’s “no such words as innit, wannit and dunnit”. She was educated in the 30s and 40s with a lot of emphasis on “correct speech” (teachers were aspirational for their working class pupils). We grew up nowhere near London, and you could count the ‘Jamaican and Indian’ families on 1 hand.

[@mikestubbs5242]

As a native of the American South- we have 'itten' (for isn't- this is a distinction) and the more used and frankly more fascinating to me 'dutton' (for doesn't). These feel similar, but I'm not sure, and I'd like to know more

[@bobzimmerman1282]

I can attest that the use of innit as a catch-all sentence end, violating the conjugation of the previous verb, has been around for more than 20 years. I’m an American who lived in England 40 years ago. In Mill Hill, which is London but perhaps not quite London, innit? It grated on my ears then, and I would use it sometimes as a good-natured way to mock some of my colleagues.

[@Mister_Peppers]

I'm Native American and we also say "Innit" where i'm from. It's like saying "is it not" or "isn't it" but we would never say "is it not" or "isn't it" instead we'd say "Innit, john, he said that?" meaning "Didn't he say that, John?" or "Ho this guy, innit." Meaning "Wow, can you believe how this guy is acting". Growing up I always assumed this is how everybody in my state talked but when I went to an off-rez school I learned that a lot of people didn't understand some of my words. Some of these words are not even native to my ancestral language so I'm assuming they came from the Catholics. Words like "Ho", "Oaks" (or "Oax"), "Sauvavanaut" (or "saaaa", "Sah vah", or "Sa vaaah"). "Oaks" meaning something like "Ha!" or "Wow!" depending on the context is used to express humorous surprised disbelief. For example "Ho, she just bunnest, oaks!". "Sa va va naut" meaning something similar to "what are you talking about" or also surprised disbelief. For example, Person A: "Did you hear he got fired?" Person B: "Saaaa...!" The ellipsis meaning the sound is fading out but could go upward to be a question (Saaa...?}. I'm wandering if sa va vanaut initially came from something like "ça va, innit?"

[@EdiQ1985]

Thank you :)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

you're welcome.

[@B_Ruphe]

Usually it is pronounced with two stops, not just one (for the T), so the normal spelling INNI or INNIT can be a bit misleading for a learner. You need to listen very carefully (and if you can, slow a recording down) to catch the stop that comes at the start of the N sound. This could be rendered as I'NNI' where the apostrophes represent the two stops. This is the classic East End cockney way, not the way where the first stop is lost and the initial I runs directly into the N.

[@B_Ruphe]

*** not the way where the first stop is lost and the initial I runs directly into the N *** as most "online dictionaries" render it.

[@devendrabarthwal9413]

Great information related to contractions Gideon.

[@OceanChild75]

Gorgeous plant in the background, innit? I have purposely stayed away from "innit" for a long time because I thought it was a Gen Z trend (like "demure") but clearly I was wrong! Shall I use it? I am not too sure, maybe after a couple of drinks when I think I don’t sound overly foreign. I love the theory that "innit" comes from the Hindi "hei na", I always find those things fascinating. You know, there are linguists convinced Celtic and Semitic languages are related somehow and I fell down a rabbit-hole reading about that kind of theories, I was surprised to find out the Arabs and the Irish have the same name for Jesus (spelt "Íosa" in Irish, yet both languages pronounce it "Issa")-I digress but I thought it was too interesting not to be shared with you

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I heard about the Celtic/Phonecian theory. The say the Phonecians traded in the British Isles. It's fascinating. Try using "innit" for one month and report back. Tell us if it's enhanced your life.

[@rossd6809]

@LetThemTalkTV, what's your take on shudov , cudov.

[@kevinrichard100]

Spot on, innit. Good one Gideon.

[@bhojjadamotabanda]

From the sound perspective it is very to Hindi "hai na" (spoken like "henna"), which means exactly the same and is used in the same way.

[@victoryartist1641]

That’s not a contraction we readily use in American, but it does sound nice to the ear. To me it sounds like a very British way of speaking.

[@bruce6014]

An alternative to the "innit?" contraction for "isn't it?" is "isnit?" (is-nit?). That's what comes naturally in my speech. Context: I'm originally from Kent and have lived in SE England all my life.

[@kennethflorek8532]

I've heard a lot of delayed innit in a KZbin of Brits exploring some abandoned facilities, when no one indicated even a slight acknowledgement of their remark. So: "It's a desk." No response for ten seconds. "Innit." No response for ten seconds. A loud, "Innit." No response.

[@KristianKumpula]

I thought I was already very familiar with "innit" but I learned something new after all

[@DP-hw9uq]

Nice video! Can you do one about the contraction of "do you know what I mean"?

[@ahvavee]

I wanna say and I’m gonna say, the bass tone of Lemme is great. Innit.

[@ckv6]

I grew up in London in the 70s and 80s and remember the likes of Lenny Henry saying innit. Oddly we didn't use it in the school yard. My relatives in the southern part of London don't use innit. Is it regional within certain parts of London? In Australia we definitely don't use innit. I couldn't imagine using it. Would feel weird, innit.

[@andrewnbrown]

Surely the use of "innit" for all question tags means that it has become a contraction of "isn't that the case?" Also you didn't speak about Welsh English speakers who often do use the full "isn't it" rather than "innit." Great video.

[@ejlufpedersen742]

The teacher's name is Gideon,innit. He explains his stuff thoroughly, doesn't he? ... or should I sound younger and use innit instead.? Nope, Gideon tells me not to.😊 Thanks for a great video.

[@danielwarren3138]

That Asian and Jamaican communities line is hilarious - my great aunt says innit and shes 101!

[@illillyillyo]

This reminds me of what my coworker from Virginia with a southern (American) accent does. He says something like, “dunn/dudn” instead of “doesn’t.” For example, “She dudn like him much.”

[@feliciapate7926]

Betcha he also says “duh’n” (doesn’t) and “dun/doan” (don’t). My ancestors landed in what’s now Virginia and I’m guessing that they helped bring over part of what’s now the Southern (US) dialects. Yes, plural.

[@Born.Toulouse]

Question here from a German: When you don't pronounce the 't' at the end - do you just skip it? Or does it have that tiny little closing 'click' as/like a glottal T?

[@williamgeorgefraser]

If "Innit" becomes the standard question tag, what will the negative reply be? "No, it innin't"? 😂

[@LetThemTalkTV]

The negative of "innit" is "is it"? It's already simple enough. No need to change it.

[@sluggo206]

No, ain't it?

[@sluggo206]

Or no, ninnit? ---What, are you calling me a ninnit?

[@illillyillyo]

In German, they use, “oder?” as the question tag for all questions, which literally means, “or.” In the US and Canada, we use, “huh?” and “eh?” respectively, as the question tag for all questions.

[@trueopsimath]

It's not limited to the UK, though perhaps not used exactly the same way. I grew up in the Ozarks where it comes out more like "idnit" (similar to how it sounds in a couple of the film examples in the video). I don't know if that's because the contraction goes way back, or if it developed independently. It's a mystery, idnit?

[@pantelispanopoulos]

My guess would be that using innit in all tag questions must imply something like "isn't it so?" where it represents what has already been said. I think it is more logical then. Consider this: She has called already, innit=She has called already, isn't it so? I won't insist, though as English is not my mother tongue but this is the feeling I get when I hear it and (I dare confide) use it !!!

[@1974Muzak]

My husband is Menominee Indian (yes he and everyone I’ve met in his tribe call themselves Indians). They are in the North woods of Wisconsin. They say innit a lot in the same ways he speaks of. I assume it comes from when they were allied with the British during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. So possibly quite far back. If not then possibly working with lumberjacks, some of which were British later in the 19th century.

[@overlordnat]

‘Innit’ for ‘isn’t it?’ is quite widely used in the Midlands but its use as a question tag is still fairly unusual. In the South of Birmingham some locals say ‘ennit’ and in the Black Country ‘Ay it’ but elsewhere in Brum it’s ‘innit’.

[@Global_Unity]

That's correct!

[@oh2887]

I like the way some Scottish people say 'know?' at the end of sentence. Im assuming a contracted version of 'do you know what I mean? ' but I could be totally wrong

[@fluffymcdeath]

Back in the last century people from India would use "isn't it" as a question tag for everything. We had the super contracted innit, wonnit, dunnit etc. I remember because it was funny how they used it... Oh dear I'm late, isn't it. I don't like this weather, isn't it. It was akin to verily to make any statement emphatic - I presumed it was a literal translation of an idiom in their first language but I never linked it grammatically with my own usage of innit but I can see how the two could have influenced each other.

[@bilanovitch]

Indian speakers of English tend to use the term "Isn't it?" as a question tag, as an abbreviation of "isn't it so?". Thus it makes perfect sense that young people who have grown up with that would further abbreviate it to "innit". As for me, it was Karl Pilkington got me started saying "innit" in every situation. I don't know what his influences were.

[@FJWoods007]

Bob: Beautiful day, Innit? Joe: it in.

[@kaljic1]

From Snatch: "Its a free country innit?" "Well, its not a free shop, now f*** off."

[@franktreml3145]

I have a BSc and MSc and I use ‘innit’ when appropriate and yes I am from the working class I think,,,,,

[@walterallen4069]

Love your etymological essays. Should I seek medical attention for the cringing I do when I hear people say "different to" rather than "different from"? Is there a difference? What about the relatively recent trend of confusing "then" for "than"? Doubly aggravating.

[@FrostyDufour]

From New York City and ❤ innit

[@dougroberts2722]

Good stuff!!!

[@voornaam3191]

Nice innitiative!

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks!

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

Strewth! No sooner had you mentioned Harry potter today than Dame Maggie Smith kicked the bucket 😮 innit?

[@bordershader]

What?? Noooo :-(

[@lea6555]

This is great, as usual top work. Would you have a go at issit? Or more exactly, issit tho? 😂

[@paparmar]

"Albatross!" "What flavour is it?" It's a bird, innit? It's a bloody seabird - it's not any bloody flavour! Albatross!"

[@alpha7B5]

Hahaha, these are THE BEST and funniest language lessons around ever, innit❗️😄😉🙂 I am very serious. 👍🏻✌🏻

[@frankgradus9474]

Thanks awfully, that's a huge help.

[@19overlookR]

Although positioned upfront in a sentence isn't wholly port out to my ear, and further as a suffix tag isn't quite starboard home either, one does appreciate the proposed derivation from something vaguely Oriental, doesn't one? To circumvent being cheeky, one notes I didn't say "innit". One pictures a Mrs. Slocum or her equivalent claiming "One doesn't, doesn't one?"

[@harryburleigh8358]

Wouldn’t want to completely dismiss the South Asian connection. In Hindi ‘ हैं न ?‘ (hain na ?) is used similarly to English ‘innit?’ हैं न (hain na) and innit require just about the same vocal investment, and convey the same sort of non-interrogative intensifier function on overlapping levels. It probably can’t be determined whether this is a serendipitous convergence, or, if it is a ‘borrowing,’ which version is a calque of which.

[@peppepappa]

Dear Master Gideon, standard dictionaries never indica' the glottal stop, inni'? Same as they don' show i' in the Cockney pronunciation of anything. I do enjoy your videos, by the way. :)

[@SnarkNSass]

😮.... gonna hafta work on dropping that T at the end 👍🏻 but I refuse to drop the T out of the middle of water 😆

[@VideoGraham]

"Innit?" as the only question tag has always reminded me of the French "n'est-ce pas?", which I suppose means more or less the same thing.

[@tbessie]

I definitely heard some of your movie examples saying "isnit" (with a very reduced 's') and "idnit", so I didn't think those are great examples.

[@chrisrovai9625]

Great stuff but i don't agree you can't use innit for a question tag, I do

[@feliciapate7926]

Would you believe “innit” and its relatives are in use in the southern USA? I was born in the early 80s and have heard them my whole life. Either the usage is centuries old (which is my guess) or it came over with returning GIs after WW2. Many families down here can trace back to Scots-Irish or southern English ancestors.

[@RichardDworkin]

The expression 'innit' may have had its genesis in the speech of native speakers from the lower strata of society, yet it was revitalised in the 21st century by Asian speakers, with particular prominence among the Indian diaspora. 'Isn't it' serves as a universal question tag amongst Indians in all manner of situations. It comes to them quite naturally to utter, "You are his, isn't it?" or "She is going to Durham, isn't it?" or "I must study hard, isn't it?" These examples, though grammatically incorrect by traditional standards, reflect a common linguistic habit. To Indians, the phrase 'isn't it' functions not merely as a question tag but also as a discourse marker. This linguistic habit of theirs is observable in other regions of Asia, notably in Singapore and Malaysia, where not only Indians but also Chinese, Malays, and Eurasians employ 'isn't it' in a similar fashion. In my considered opinion, based upon the manner in which 'innit' has propagated, I am able to assert with absolute certainty that it was indeed the Indian community in London that popularised the term. Furthermore, it is but a matter of time before all English Caucasians who adhere to the tenets of descriptivism come to speak in a manner resembling that of Indians.

[@woodennecktie]

so you do read the comments ! . me friends say "we was to the pub" at times . being certainly a non brit , that worried me a wee ... , the most proper place to say innit , is when some mate wants you to come and see a business deal . you awnser whats innit for me !

[@MENSA.lady2]

INNIT ? I don't , but I often work abroad so I speak "oxford English" That's what is taught across European schools and no doubt further abroad.