If hearing someone say “on accident” makes your skin crawl, you aren’t alone. For most Canadians, “by accident” is the only acceptable option. Yet, "on accident" is everywhere.
Where did this linguistic challenger come from?
Children learn the phrase “on purpose” early in life. When they need an expression for the exact opposite, their brains naturally look for structural symmetry. If an intentional act is done on purpose, it feels logical that an unintentional one was done on accident.
Fueled by American media and social pop culture, this childhood speech pattern crossed the border, stuck around into adulthood, and embedded itself into casual speech.
Languages are living, breathing things that evolve based on how we use them. While "on accident" might sound jarring to traditional ears, it has firmly established its place in modern, casual speech.
However, until the dictionaries and style guides officially declare a tie, "by accident" remains the gold standard for written Canadian English. So, if you drop your phone, you can say it happened on accident to your friends. But make sure you write that it happened by accident in your apology email to your boss!
Where did this linguistic challenger come from?
Children learn the phrase “on purpose” early in life. When they need an expression for the exact opposite, their brains naturally look for structural symmetry. If an intentional act is done on purpose, it feels logical that an unintentional one was done on accident.
Fueled by American media and social pop culture, this childhood speech pattern crossed the border, stuck around into adulthood, and embedded itself into casual speech.
Languages are living, breathing things that evolve based on how we use them. While "on accident" might sound jarring to traditional ears, it has firmly established its place in modern, casual speech.
However, until the dictionaries and style guides officially declare a tie, "by accident" remains the gold standard for written Canadian English. So, if you drop your phone, you can say it happened on accident to your friends. But make sure you write that it happened by accident in your apology email to your boss!
RSS Feed