OFF: misbe"gotten"?

[Ron Jennings]

> not really!   The words "was" "were" or "haven't been" are almost
> always used.   "Gotten" can still be found in "ill-gotten" gains or
> "misbegotten" in the case of an illegitimate child (tho' this usage
> is fairly old and unacceptable now!) but in this part of the UK I
> know of no other use for the word at all.   Probably like "yard"
> meaning a garden in the US (I think?) it went over with the early
> colonists and retained its original meaning in the States while
> the meaning shifted and/or disappeared over here.
>
> Yrs offtopically
>
> jill

i see your point jill, and think that your idea is probably accurate.
however, in the US, we call a garden a garden. a yard is a flat of grass,
the area that surrounds your home.
yard, lawn, lot, plot, etc.
garden, flower bed, etc.
gotten as a word is probably almost as rare here as there, but is still
used, and i _think_ acceptable.(here)
as for that 'off of' thing that someone mentioned, yes i've heard people
say that here, but i don't,
and here, someone might say it on the street, but when in a business
atmoshere, the phrase gets
smitten from memory. i speak like a moron most of the time, because it
drives some uptight individuals crazy. but i can turn it on and off at
will.
rj