Today I got an email one line of which read
Aren’t I mean
I have seen this sort of usage before but for some reason today it struck me as odd, I mean
Aren’t I mean is equivalent to Are not I mean isn’t it? and that sounds just plain odd.
Is “Aren’t I mean” correct grammatically?
No.
“Am I not mean?”
or
“Amn’t I mean?”
are both correct.
“Am I not mean?”
Well 2 answers the same seems a good indication to me.
Thanks guys.
It’s quite a common thing here in the north of England to say ‘Aren’t I awful’, or something. At least now I’ll know it’s wrong.
You’re kidding, right? How is this more correct than “Aren’t I mean?”?
It is actually substituted for the correct contraction ain’t which itself went out of fashion when people began to misuse it. The full story is here for we pedants.
I’d read about the history of “ain’t” a few times before, and an example phrase of correct usage always includes “ain’t I.” I’m wondering, if “ain’t” is a contraction for “am I not” then isn’t the phrase “ain’t I” redundant, because the “I” is repeated?
We real pedants would say, “for us pedants” in the above quote.
As don’t ask’s link states, “ain’t” is a contraction for “am not” (not for “am I not”), so there is no redundancy.
A lot of people whose families suffered under the Nazis may be offended by frivolous use of the term. And I don’t think you endear yourselves to the people whose advice you seek by calling them Nazis.
Oh, dear God. :rolleyes:
Dear Grammar Nazis, is this correct usage**?**
Today I got an email**;** one line of which read**,**
"Aren’t I mean?****"
I have seen this sort of usage before**,** but for some reason**,** today it struck me as odd, I mean**,**
"Aren’t I mean?****" is equivalent to “Are not I mean?****” , isn’t it? And that sounds just plain odd.
Is "Aren’t I mean**?" correct,** grammatically?
I do not find the term offensive.
Why, you “nazi” nazi!
RK 
Since the phrase “Aren’t I _______?” is usually used in informal conversation and meant to be coy, I just go all the way and use the incorrect (because it’s now archaic) ain’t. “Amn’t” will not replace ain’t because amn’t sounds stilted and unnatural. Go on; try to say it–“Amn’t I mean?” That’s more work than saying am not; thus, it fails as an abbreviation.
Really, since there is no way to make the phrase sound natural and be grammatically correct, either let it be incorrect or rephrase it as “I’m mean, right?”
Um…Why a semi-colon in the beginning there? It should be a comma so far as I know. The final comma is unnecessary. You could put it there, but especially with today’s trend toward open punctuation, it would most likely be dropped by most editors.
Dear Grammar Nazis, is this correct usage?**
Today I got an email**,** one line of which read**,**
"Aren’t I mean?****"
I have seen this sort of usage before**,** but for some reason**,** today it struck me as odd, I mean**,**
"Aren’t I mean?****" is equivalent to “Are not I mean?****” , isn’t it? And that sounds just plain odd.
Is "Aren’t I mean**?" correct,** grammatically?**
Satisfied, you Punctuation Nazi Nazi? 
The OP already demonstrated enough open punctuation, thank you.
I stand by that final comma. Qualifying adjectives usually precede the main adjective.
Is “Aren’t I mean?” grammatically correct? doesn’t need the comma.
Thanks for all the info everyone.
Total thread Hijack for another grammar question:
A majority of students is expected to…
or
A majority of students are expected to…
A majority of students is. (According to the 2003 Associated Press Style Book.)
Majority is a singular noun.