[Ads-l] "There are no backsies" -- an adult adopt's a feature of children's speech

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Gerald Cohen is interested in examples of “children's speech
influencing the speech of adults”. Well, sometimes children’s speech
induces adults to tell jokes about child-like malapropisms. This class
of jokes may contain forged examples of children’s speech. This
example is probably not what GC is collecting, but it might entertain
some readers.

[ref] 1893 April 1, Punch or The London Charivari, (Caption of
single-panel comic showing a boy and girl conversing), Quote Page 147,
Published at The Office of Punch, London. (Google Books Full View)
[/ref]

https://books.google.com/books?id=Lj5XAAAAMAAJ&q=%22lion+that%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
ASSISTED EDUCATION
Christabel. "I say, Jack, How ever do you define the Equator?"
Jack (who has been to the Circus). "Isn't it a Menagerie Lion that
goes round the World?"
[Jack has learnt about the "Imaginary Line," and go the answer a little mixed.
[End excerpt]

I encountered this joke because Nigel Rees included a version (from a
correspondent) in his January 2019 newsletter. Nigel gave a 1920
citation.
Garson

On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 7:00 PM Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu> wrote:
>
> I'm collecting examples of children's speech influencing the speech of adults, and on Dec. 18 I heard one more.
>
> MSNBC moderator and legal analyst Ari Melber said General Mike Flynn pled guilty to lying to the  FBI but later tried to take that plea back; Flynn implied he was really innocent due to being duped or entrapped in his FBI interview.
>
>
> Ari Melber's comment to all this: "You can't take it back.  There are no backsies in federal court when you plea."
>
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org