[Ads-l] on accident

[Laurence Horn]

> On Jun 17, 2016, at 6:24 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Some years ago I suggested that "My bad!" had  similar origin.

My sources suggested that "my bad!" began as African-American slang, particularly on the (pick-up) basketball court, with one player acknowledging to another that he had fouled him.  The players in question were also young, I assume.  I don't know for sure whether that origin is accurate, but that seems to be the prevailing wisdom; as far as I know, there's no significant ethnic breakdown of the same kind for "on accident".  
> 
> "Borrowing" in this case, however, may well include toddlers retaining
> the form throughout life.
> 
> JL
> 
> On Fri, Jun 17, 2016 at 3:35 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>> Basically, with some wiggle room for just how conscious the process was or is.   It would be useful to have some empirical support on who is likely to use the "on accident" form but as I say I 'm hoping to blame it on the kids.   LH
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Jun 17, 2016, at 3:09 PM, Gordon, Matthew J. <GordonMJ at MISSOURI.EDU> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Could you clarify what you mean by “borrowing from children’s language”? Are you suggesting a process of more or less conscious imitation/repetition by adults of a form that was analogically created by L1 learners?
>>> 
>>> Matt Gordon
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 6/17/16, 12:10 PM, "American Dialect Society on behalf of Laurence Horn" <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU on behalf of laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
>>> 
>>>>> On Jun 17, 2016, at 12:10 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Typed sign under doorknob in doctor's office:
>>>>> 
>>>>> "Be careful of doorknob button. Please do not lock door on accident."
>>>>> 
>>>>> Clearly infl. by "on purpose."
>>>>> 
>>>>> JL
>>>>> 
>>>>> --
>>>> 
>>>> I think we've had threads about "on accident" in the past.  It's certainly been around for decades and speculated (at least by me) to be a borrowing from children's language.
>>>> 
>>>> LH
>>>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
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