I didn't know that hanged isn't strictly the past tense, it basically is through.
I think anyone can say what they want, I don't mind people making mistakes, I can Spell nor have Vocabulary to tell everyone else what to say. But routine and widespread misuse of word's/phrase's is just annoying. And yeah, usage is ultimately the decider, but it doesn't alway's make it right.
E.g. Most all Americans' say could care less to mean that they couldn't care less.
That's just nonsense. Of course thier's loads of UK examples to. No what I meant?
In the case in point, hang>hung is probably the original form, as irregular verbs tend to be older. However there is a tendency for irregular verbs (particularly those ending in 't') to be replaced by regular forms such as hang/hanged, simply because there's a system that you can learn with regular verbs that allows you to construct past tenses easily without having heard the past form already. Hence, dreamt becomes dreamed, learnt becomes learned, lit becomes lighted (in US English, mainly). It's been going on for a long time (Shakespeare switches between variants) and particularly before standard English was developed formally, both forms would likely have co-existed without any issues. Over time, many of these neologisms become accepted and the irregular form is lost. Likewise when new verbs are created, they are invariably regular in nature (text/texted or spam/spammed).
Your example regarding Americans is more to do with sarcasm or irony, and their general lack of facility with this means of expression.
In the case in point, hang>hung is probably the original form, as irregular verbs tend to be older. However there is a tendency for irregular verbs (particularly those ending in 't') to be replaced by regular forms such as hang/hanged, simply because there's a system that you can learn with regular verbs that allows you to construct past tenses easily without having heard the past form already. Hence, dreamt becomes dreamed, learnt becomes learned, lit becomes lighted (in US English, mainly). It's been going on for a long time (Shakespeare switches between variants) and particularly before standard English was developed formally, both forms would likely have co-existed without any issues. Over time, many of these neologisms become accepted and the irregular form is lost. Likewise when new verbs are created, they are invariably regular in nature (text/texted or spam/spammed).
Your example regarding Americans is more to do with sarcasm or irony, and their general lack of facility with this means of expression.