I've heard a few people (all native English speakers) recently use "otay" in place of "okay", both in writing and when speaking. Where does that word come from? For that matter, is it a word at all?
I'm guessing it means the same thing as "okay", but are there any nuances in its usages that I'm missing?
Answer
When I use it, I'm deliberately emulating baby talk. It doesn't really mean anything different than "okay" (pronounced properly); it's just a way to be, I dunno, cutesy.
I didn't know about the Little Rascals/Buckwheat connection, possibly because I grew up without a TV. I'm sure Buckwheat contributed to at least some of the popularity of "otay", and possibly I absorbed it from someone who (unbeknownst to me) was imitating the TV show, but it's also possible that this is something that each generation/school/user invents anew.
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