Shania knows it ain’t good grammar!
QUESTION Is there a term to describe intentional grammatical errors in songs, such as Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much?
The intentional misuse of ‘don’t’, instead of the grammatically correct ‘doesn’t’, is a form of code switching. This is the process of shifting from one linguistic code (a language or dialect) to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting.
The ‘don’t’ form is characteristic of working-class, south-eastern Americans, who are the target audience for country music. Shania Twain was born in Ontario, Canada, so this might be considered an attempt to establish authenticity and connect with her audience.
Rhythm and rhyme also play a part in song-writing, especially when the tune is composed first. Richard Marx once explained this was the reasoning behind his song Don’t Mean Nothing. he demonstrated this by singing Doesn’t Mean Anything — though grammatical, it’s aurally unappealing.
A famous example is The Beatles lyric ‘She’s got a ticket to ride, but she don’t care’. This may have been an imitation of southern/midwestern U.S. rock ’n’ roll, though such syntax would also have been common in Liverpool.
The requirements of meter and rhyme could have been satisfied with ‘She’s got a ticket to ride, but she cares not’, but that would have been rubbish!
Charles Dickens used a similar trick. When he wrote The Mystery Of edwin Drood, he put the non-standard ‘it don’t’ into the mouth of auctioneer Mr Sapsea, a conceited fool who has pretensions to good breeding.
Ellen Watts, Twyford, Oxon.
QUESTION What is the oldest rolling stock still in use on the London Underground?
The London Underground 1972 stock on the Bakerloo line is the oldest in use on the Tube system.
The Mark I replaced the ageing 1938 Tube trains on the Northern line. Like the 1967 stock on the Victoria line, the 1972 trains were finished in unpainted aluminium, though they had a guard and door controls in the rear car.
A further 33 trains were ordered for the Northern line later that year. In 1987, these Mark II trains were transferred to the Bakerloo line, where they remain in service. Three Mark I units were converted to Mark II, making up the Bakerloo line’s fleet of 36 trains. The remaining Mark Is were scrapped.
Other than the red-painted passenger doors, the Mark II body design was the same as its cousin stocks, with wraparound driver’s windows and no side door into the driving cab.
There are seven carriages on each train, with a total of 268 seats.
The fleet was refurbished from 1991 to 1995 and again from 2014 to 2019. The trains are expected to remain in service until 2035. By 2024, the 1972 stock can claim to be the longest serving stock on the London Underground, taking the mantle from the A-stock used on the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012.
Jeremy Southam, London W15.
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