Is gotten a word?

[Coldand]

English is my second language. This a word I didn't know before. I just noticed it a few weeks ago. Is this a real word and what the correct way of using it

It's a real word, but only used by some people. The 'en' ending has a Germanic origin and was common in Old English (I think).

It's used in American English, which has some words that were used in British English but have fallen out of use now.

It's US English, which means that it used to be an English word but is now out of usage here. The Americans quite often still use words that we dropped years ago.

Sorry Pico X-Post!

Yes more of an Americanism than British English, it always sounds a bit awkward to me

I can't bear it. It's a horrible word!

It is an older English word that is still used mostly in other English-speaking countries (not just the US).

It's a real word but used in American English not British English. It's an old word that has just fallen out of use and been replaced, it's not wrong to use it but some people would be pedantic and assume its a new fangled Americanism rather than an older preserved word.

Think of the verb 'forget'. The simple past is 'forgot' and the past participle (the one where you say, eg, 'I have done it') is 'forgotten'. This is exactly how 'gotten' works, without the 'for-' bit. It used to be used this way in English in the 17th century, but then died out in British English and was replaced by 'got' for both the simple past and past participle. But in American English it survived and is widely used for both the past and participle. I get the impression it's wandering back into British English now via the influence of American media (in the same way that 'waiting for' is being replaced by 'waiting on').

It's common parlance in the USA, where they use 'gotten' in place of 'got' as standard. As a Brit, I used to think it really awkward, but when I lived in the south of the USA for a few years, it quickly began to sound normal (still don't approve though!)

I only noticed it on the newer American sit coms not the older ones. Thanks for all the info

In other parts of MN, there is a great deal of ignorance about "gotten" which is often displayed in the how-Americans-have-debased-our-lovely-language threads. But not in Pedants' Corner.

Another older word which we have kept in the US is "fall" for autumn.