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Nowadays, I'm seeing a drastic increase in usage of cause in place of because, especially in written English. People are in such a hurry, that a statement like below passes off like Standard English:

It rains cause clouds form in the sky, and that happens cause of water vapor, and vapor forms cause of trees and forests.

Is this particular use of cause in place of because in danger of getting into the Standard English Dictionary? Do you think it is correct?

Dan Bron
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Prahlad Yeri
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  • Where did you find that phrase ? It does not looks like standard English at all. – P. O. May 20 '15 at 16:53
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    That is horrid English and whoever wrote it should be sent back to remedial English classes. – Catija May 20 '15 at 16:55
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    No--only in informal writing situations, like personal letters, texting, and Facebook conversations. That being said, I think it will happen eventually: The conjunction for began in OE as part of the phrase for þy, which in ME became for that, and in EMoDE just for. The word because has already been truncated from the ME phrase by cause that, so there's no reason to expect it not to follow the same path as for, becoming a monosyllabic conjunction. – Anonym May 20 '15 at 16:55
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    I should also mention that at least one of Shakespeare's plays uses 'cause, though I can't remember which; it's one of the co-written plays. – Anonym May 20 '15 at 16:57
  • What others said. One might hear it being used in informal speech/writing, but not any any kind of speech writing where you'd want to not look uneducated. If it did show up in a dictionary, it would most likely be labeled as informal. – Mitch May 20 '15 at 16:58
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    Definition of *'cause* in English: (conjunction)
    • informal

    (short for because.) (ODO) http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/%E2%80%99cause?q=%27cause

     –  May 20 '15 at 16:59
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    @Anonym - I don't know why people insist on using Shakespeare as the formal standard of English. He was writing 400 years ago, half in poetry, made up half his words, slurred and contracted like a sailor, used singular 'they' and prepositions at the ends of sentences, and probably threw a shoe at a kitten. – Mitch May 20 '15 at 17:00
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    Yes, it's informal but the important thing there is the apostrophe... it's showing the fact that the word has been shortened. – Catija May 20 '15 at 17:01
  • Definition of *cos* - conjunction (British informal) Short for because. (ODO) http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cos?q=%27cos#cos-3 –  May 20 '15 at 17:06
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    The Standard English Dictionary? Is that figurative? –  May 20 '15 at 17:13
  • @Mitch I don't think they do--but, if use by influential writers legitimizes a word at all, then we can find none better than Shakespeare. – Anonym May 20 '15 at 17:17
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    'Cause, @Mitch, he did more to form modern English than any other individual we know of. English is something like a popularity contest with the words as contestants, and Shakespeare's words won the popularity contest so decisively that we still use them. Cruelty against animals might become more popular if someone demonstrated that he actually did throw a shoe at a kitten ;-) – ScotM May 20 '15 at 17:17
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    @snailboat Yeah. Its a figurative, imaginative and ephemeral dictionary residing in the unconscious psyche of the English speaking masses. – Prahlad Yeri May 20 '15 at 17:19
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    I would say that 'cause is as legitimate as, say, what're, but the apostrophe must be included when written. – Hot Licks May 20 '15 at 17:47
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    You ask "Is it in danger of getting into the Standard English Dictionary?" Too late; it's already in the OED. Although it says "now only dial., or vulgar." – Peter Shor May 20 '15 at 17:49
  • @Mitch - Besides, don't blame Shakespeare, blame the authors who actually wrote the stuff he takes credit for. (If any angry mobs are looking for me, I'll be in the next county.) – Hot Licks May 20 '15 at 18:24
  • @Mitch Of course Shakespeare used prepositions at the ends of sentences. How could he have followed a (so-called) rule that didn't exist when he was alive? – phoog May 20 '15 at 19:22
  • @Mitch Shakespeare used singular they? My appreciation of him has further increased. – Edwin Ashworth May 20 '15 at 19:36
  • @EdwinAshworth Well, I remember the 'singular they' thing vaguely from hearsay. But... someone did the needful. – Mitch May 20 '15 at 19:54
  • ... I'm glad he used present-day logical linguistic devices. A man ahead of the game. – Edwin Ashworth May 20 '15 at 22:00
  • Shakespeare was writing for the common folk of his day, and used vernacular extensively. His plays were the Elizabethan equivalent of our soap operas. – Barmar May 21 '15 at 21:14
  • @Josh61: ODO included cos? Without even the apostrophe? I just died a little. – Tushar Raj May 24 '15 at 17:47
  • @Barmar That is why he has so much fame. And lord Byron... Well, that's a whole different story, isn't it? – Konrad Gajewski Nov 01 '15 at 13:30
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    I wanna know when I can shorten it to cuz. Far more efficient, just as effective at communicating intent. Why'd ya doit? Cuz i could. – OneProton Aug 04 '17 at 19:24
  • '[I]n danger of getting into the Standard English Dictionary [assume 'lexis']' is overly prejudicial. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 15 '21 at 12:55

1 Answers1

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Cause can be said in different forms, such as "the cause of the forming of clouds". In your case, cause is used like an abbreviation, which is 'cause. So, 'cause is technically an abbreviation.

Hope this answers your question :)

ethanc
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    But some abbreviations are standard, others aren't. This does not address the question (as it is presented here and now). – Edwin Ashworth Jul 15 '21 at 12:54