on line

[Lynne Murphy]

Bob Haas (I think) asked:
> >"On line" is a very non-southern construction.  I've always waited "in
> >line."  I'm satisfied that this has been discussed on the list before.  Can
> >anyone verify?

I started saying 'on line' when I was in college in Amherst, MA.  Not sure why I
started or why it lasted, but it's what I always say now (except when I want to
be understood by the English, and then I say 'on the queue' or some such thing).
 I'm not sure where I got 'on line' from--the mix of Boston, Long Island and
western Mass influences at UMass were pretty indistinguishable to me at the
time, but no where else that I have lived in the US  (western NY, Illinois,
Texas) uses 'on line'.

Between that and my South African "hey" (which took the place of my
near-Canadian "eh"), I'm a dialect unto myself.

Lynne

M Lynne Murphy
Lecturer in Linguistics
School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

phone +44-(0)1273-678844
fax   +44-(0)1273-671320