Can’t vs. Cannot
Friday, March 26th, 2010I heard someone say “can or can’t” during an MP3-based interview this morning.
And it was only because of the context that I could be sure that the interviewee said “can’t” after the conjunction.
This got me to thinking: The popular use of “can’t” instead of “cannot” in spoken American English is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis.
In other words, it is simpler to say the one-syllable “can’t” than the two-syllable form.
But “can’t” can be difficult to hear (to distinguish from “can”).
Recommendation: Be nice to your audience by saying “cannot” instead of “can’t” in interviews, speeches, telephone calls, etc.
