"I'm sorry!" vs "My bad!"

bad is not a noun, so why "my bad"? I usually can find the logic behind English structures but this stupid sentence drives me crazy.

If you want an illogical phrase, try the ubiquitous "And he's like, ..." replacing "And he said, ..." (The older "And he goes, ..." at least used a verb.) I rarely hear anyone young using "said" in the States, other than in formal speech or writing. (And sometimes not even there.)

Endlessly using "like" in a sentence seems to be the upcoming standard. (Along with "uptalking"--but don't get me started.)

As for "my bad": It seems to be another in the endless line of phrases that white kids (and often adults) appropriate (often behind the times, and often sounding ridiculous) from black speech. (e.g., "What up?")

I agree with Matthew--work on your pronunciation and intonation. In that case, speaking informally is okay. But too much trendy slang--coming from the mouth or pen of a non-native speaker--makes you look silly.

It's not used in Britain. I only know what it means because of American films.

Just say 'I'm sorry'

<<If you want an illogical phrase, try the ubiquitous "And he's like, ..." replacing "And he said, ..." (The older "And he goes, ..." at least used a verb.) I rarely hear anyone young using "said" in the States, other than in formal speech or writing. (And sometimes not even there.) >>

I'm not sure it's illogical, even if it's incorrect. We would say "and he said something like..." to indicate that we're not sure of the exact statement, so "and he was like" is basically an informal shortening of that.

The only group of people that are going to take issue with the use of 'like' in this regard are jaded English teachers who, if they had it their way, would stop the evolution of language altogether. I'm not saying that I wouldn't wish away the usage completely if given the option, but it seems like such a waste of time to get worked up over it.

Getting rid of the rampant use of the double negative seems a much more worthy cause. "I don't want no more ketchup" is just wrong.

The double negative also falls into the category of something that people have been using for a LONG time, but "jaded English teachers" do not like.

And it was long ago quite standard in English, even in writing! Chaucer used double (and triple, and quadruple) negatives.

It is also grammatically CORRECT in many Slavic languages, all Romance languages, Greek, and Hungarian, among others.

So Matthew is right that languages evolve--and double negatives are also not worth getting worked up about, at least for informal spoken English. I wouldn't try it (or "he's like, ..." or "my bad") in writing, except for dialogue or emphasis.

The thought has just occured to me that 'my bad' could be a direct translation from the Chinese '我的错', meaning 'my fault' - is this possible, do you think?

Caspian - you're well wrong mate. It IS used in Britain or atleast here in England anyway. Your probably looking at the 30's and under lot but it is definitely getting said here more and more.

<<The thought has just occured to me that 'my bad' could be a direct translation from the Chinese '我的错', meaning 'my fault' - is this possible, do you think? >>

The connection could probably be made, but correlation does not equal causation. I believe the African-American vernacular is responsible for the creation and popularization of this phrase.