Thursday October 20, 2011

Still in to use ‘on’

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I FEEL compelled to e-mail in reference to the question titled ‘On’ or ‘in’? in your column, Your Questions Answered, last Thursday.

I have not the time, energy or motivation to refer to the OED in composing this e-mail. However, I would like to point out that your conclusion would be patently obvious to be incorrect to any individual having English as his mother tongue.

“Are you in?” is indeed the correct phrase to use in this sense. Analogy: “We’re going to play cards. Are you in?” In this context, “on” would make no sense.

I would be interested in receiving a response. – J Wood

Thank you Mr/Ms Wood for your comment on my answer. After a discussion with two native English speaker friends living in England, I realise that “Are you in?” has almost replaced “Are you on?” and become common usage in England, especially among young native speakers.

I agree that I was wrong in dismissing “Are you in?” as a correct expression to use in the advertisement referred to in my answer. But I think you are also wrong in dismissing “Are you on?” altogether. My evidence is in the OED and a few websites on the Internet.

“Are you in?” is more commonly used in America, and I was not surprised to find out that the advertisement comes from a company that has its parent company in the United States and uses American English in its promotional literature. Interestingly, “Are you in?” is also the slogan used in Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

“Are you on?” however, continues to be used in Britain, both in that form or as “Are you on for ...” An example of the former can be found on the website of the Bicester Hash House Harriers: “Are you on? For regular bulletins join the Bicester H3 Googlegroup.”

bicesterh3.org/index.html

An example of the latter can be seen in the Happy City website: “Are you on for helping us balance out all the ‘buy, buy, buy’ messages on our streets with some more positive and constructive messages – but always keeping it fun and engaging?”

happycity.org.uk/campaigns-events-volunteers

These two expressions are related to to the idiom “be on for something” recorded in the online Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as an informal expression that means “to want to do something”, as in the example given: “Is anyone on for a drink after work?”

My native speaker friends told me that variations of this sentence are often spoken in their circle, like “Are we still on for the gym tomorrow?”

I think I have written enough by way of response to you. Thank you again for your e-mail. – Fadzilah Amin (Mrs)

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Thursday October 20, 2011

Still in to use ‘on’

Open Channel