Date:  Mon, 21 Nov 1994 11:35:10 -0500

From:  Donald Larmouth <LARMOUTD[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]GBMS01.UWGB.EDU>

Subject: "All-purpose tag ain' so?



There is a tag-question in east central Wisconsin whose distribution appears to

be wider than I first thought. The tag is ain' so? [enso] or [Enso], as in the

following:



    It was a nice party, ain' so?

    We're having a really cold winter, ain' so?



This isn't quite an all-purpose tag; there appear to be some limits to its

appearance, as in the following:



    *You didn't REALLY do that, ain' so?

    *Of course I will--I promised, ain' so?

    *That's not the right way to do it, ain' so? (reprimand)



I've heard this form many times in Green Bay and in the Door Peninsula, where

there are many Belgian-Americans (Flemings and Walloons), but a student of mine

from Reedsville (well south of Green Bay) has recorded it there among Czech

(Bohemian) people.



Have you (1) heard this tag elsewhere in Wisconsin or in other states, and if

so (2) are there limits on its grammatical distribution?



Thanks.