Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Hypercorrection
In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is the nonstandard use of language that results from the overapplication of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription. A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a misunderstanding of such rules that the form or phrase they use is more "correct", standard, or otherwise preferable, often combined with a desire to appear formal or educated.[1][2]
Linguistic hypercorrection occurs when a real or imagined grammatical rule is applied in an inappropriate context, so that an attempt to be "correct" leads to an incorrect result. It does not occur when a speaker follows "a natural speech instinct", according to Otto Jespersen and Robert J. Menner.[3]
Hypercorrection can be found among speakers of less prestigious language varieties who attempt to produce forms associated with high-prestige varieties, even in situations where speakers of those varieties would not. Some commentators call such production hyperurbanism.[4]
Hypercorrection can occur in many languages and wherever multiple languages or language varieties are in contact.
- ^ Wilson, Kenneth G. (1993). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press. Archived from the original on 20 November 2002.
- ^ Labov, William (1991). Sociolinguistic patterns. Conduct and communication series. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-8122-1052-1.
- ^ Menner, Robert J. (1937). "Hypercorrect forms in American English". American Speech. 12 (3): 167–78. doi:10.2307/452423. JSTOR 452423.
- ^ "hypercorrection". Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, Massachusetts, US: Merriam-Webster. 1994. ISBN 978-0-87779-132-4.
Previous Page Next Page
