English language possibly regional or cultural idiom question.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I say by accident. I'm not sure if it's a New England thing or just me or what, but whenever someone says on accident like CPD did in Open Bar a few minutes ago it becomes immediately noticeable to me.

[Golden Applesauce]

I say both. It's entirely possible this is from living in more than one region of the US, though.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I say both. It's entirely possible this is from living in more than one region of the US, though.

You're in the Eastern Midwest, correct?

[Golden Applesauce]

I say both. It's entirely possible this is from living in more than one region of the US, though.

You're in the Eastern Midwest, correct?

Yeah. My dad is also from Eastern Midwest, my mom is from the DC area, and I spent years 2 - 12 in North Carolina / Tennessee.

I used to make fun of my cousins for saying "pop" instead of "soda" but now I say "pop" too...

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I say both. It's entirely possible this is from living in more than one region of the US, though.

You're in the Eastern Midwest, correct?

Yeah. My dad is also from Eastern Midwest, my mom is from the DC area, and I spent years 2 - 12 in North Carolina / Tennessee.

I used to make fun of my cousins for saying "pop" instead of "soda" but now I say "pop" too...

Ah that. Yeah, if you say pop you're definitely not from the Northeast. Older Northeasterners say tonic.

You also get this sort of thing with footwear. I would say sneakers. Canadians apparently have the tendency to say runners and Irish people say trainers.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I've never said "on accident" in my life. I've rarely heard it anyplace, and when I did, I always assumed it was mangled grammar, like "He weren't doin' nothin'."

[Sita]

All of the above. They all sound fine to me.
Guess it depends on my mood or something at the time for which one I'll use.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I've never said "on accident" in my life. I've rarely heard it anyplace, and when I did, I always assumed it was mangled grammar, like "He weren't doin' nothin'."

Maybe it's a specifically Midwestern thing, since you're both accustomed to Massachusetts and Texas.

All of the above. They all sound fine to me.
Guess it depends on my mood or something at the time for which one I'll use.

Where do you hail from?

Also, that said, everyone voting, say where you hail from, and what your preference is even though it seems overwhelmingly by at this point.

Boston is a college town so we get people speaking English from all across the planet.

[Sita]

Florida. Never have lived anywhere else.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Florida. Never have lived anywhere else.

Interesting.

Not that you're from Florida, but that would be a crossroads for all of the above.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

That said, my permanent residence is in the Metro-Boston area. I am a Masshole. I've never been away from this part of the US for more than 2 months. And I've never had a "permanent" residence further away from Boston than bordering Boston.

Blight,
Lives in Somerville; Charlestown, a neighborhood of Boston, is down the street.

[Golden Applesauce]

Paper on "by accident" vs "on accident":
http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_4/barratt16.htm

She finds that (within the US) it's an age thing, not a region thing. People born before 1975 use "by accident" exclusively. Around 1990 birthdays "on accident" reaches parity with "by accident".

Now if someone can figure out why the switch happened with nobody noticing until it was already done...

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Paper on "by accident" vs "on accident":
http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_4/barratt16.htm

She finds that (within the US) it's an age thing, not a region thing. People born before 1975 use "by accident" exclusively. Around 1990 birthdays "on accident" reaches parity with "by accident".

Now if someone can figure out why the switch happened with nobody noticing until it was already done...

This doesn't match up with my admittedly anecdotal data.

Blight,
Only heard people born BEFORE 1990 say "on accident"

[East Coast Hustle]

I would say "by accident" or "accidentally" depending on context. "On accident" sounds dumb.

[Dildo Argentino]

Science says it's an age thing.

http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_4/barratt16.htm