Grammatical Variation refers to the different ways that speakers build sentences. The following maps ask respondents whether they are familiar with the sentence presented to them.
The sentences below all contain AIN’T in place of DIDN’T, which is unique to African American Language (AAL).

Using ain’t for didn’t is a unique feature of African American Language (AAL) and has been observed throughout the United States since the 1960’s. Ain’t in place of didn’t is growing more common among younger speakers (Howe, 2005; Fisher, 2022). Ain’t was preferred over didn’t by up to 50% of speakers in Harlem, New York (Labov, et al. 1968) and up to 60% of speakers in Philadelphia (Ash & Myhill, 1986). In a study of speakers from Columbus, Ohio, 38% of speakers used ain’t and 62% used didn’t in past tense negative sentences (Weldon, 1994). In a more recent sample of speakers in Philadelphia, Fisher (2022:12) found that only 22.3% of speakers used ain’t in past tense.