eggcorn or flubbed dialect? non-standard uses of non-standard 'oughtened'

[Jonathan Lighter]

These exx. are most likely simple stupidisms.

  JL

Erik Hoover <grinchy at GRINCHY.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Erik Hoover
Subject: eggcorn or flubbed dialect? non-standard uses of non-standard
'oughtened'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I doubt this is an eggcorn, but I want each of you to read my post.

I just this morning stumbled across an oddly used word, 'oughtened',
while reading an entry at the nytimes.com reader forum.

A female physician with the handle doccarie posted this:

I have found that if a lover of any stripe complains about a woman's
equipment, he's probably doing something he oughtened--he's used to
equipment that somehow is not standard issue. It is really rare that
women don't look just fine. Besides, in the heat of it all, who's
looking exactly?

Above excerpted from
(http://forums.nytimes.com/top/opinion/readersopinions/forums/magazine/
thefutureofplasticsurgery/index.html?offset=3&fid=.f891118/3)

The poster may have a firm grip on what she intends, jocular dialect
perhaps, but Google shows us that 'oughtened' has seemingly
contradictory applications. Google has 127 hits for 'oughtened'. Some
convey "ought not" and others "ought to"

exx:

"Mebbe I oughtened have spoken. I oughter remembered that times this
sort o’ thing must be rather rough on you and her. You follow me?"
Bret Harte ('authentic' jocular dialect!) (30 Googlits are versions of
this)

"I fergot the link I reckon I oughtened to have hung fire a little
before I hit that ol' Submit button."
- forum poster (confused jocular dialect)

"So the menu from CD1 is pretty much on its own while I eject cd1 to
insert cd-2, but there is no access to that folder on cd 2 when i press
the button that oughtened to open the folder. "
- forum discussant (just plain confused)

It is these latter two exx that I find interesting.

I won't go further ( thank you, boss, for paying me to post to ADS-L)
but will warn that if you also are interested in looking at 'oughten',
which is logical, you'll contend with the fact that Oughten as a proper
name is preponderant.

Cheers,

Erik




In spite of what I wrote a few moments ago, I couldn't resist a short
foray where I oughtened:

And they therof merveileden gretly, and seide
that sholde never betyden, with Goddes grace, and wele oughten he to
have shame
that this shame hath purposed to his liege man.

- Uther and Ygerne, line 255 (old school authentic dialect)




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