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Eggcorn

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In linguistics, an eggcorn is an idiosyncratic substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound similar or identical in the speaker's dialect. The new phrase introduces a meaning that is different from the original but plausible in the same context, such as "old-timers' disease" for "Alzheimer's disease".[1] An eggcorn can be described as an intra-lingual phono-semantic matching, a matching in which the intended word and substitute are from the same language. Together with other types of same-sounding phrases, eggcorns are sometimes also referred to "oronyms".

Etymology

The term eggcorn, as used to refer to this kind of substitution, was coined by professor of linguistics Geoffrey Pullum in September 2003 in response to an article by Mark Liberman on the website Language Log, a group blog for linguists.[2] Liberman discussed the case of a woman who substitutes the phrase egg corn for the word acorn, and he argued that the precise phenomenon lacked a name. Pullum suggested using eggcorn itself as a label.[3]

Similar phenomena

An eggcorn is similar to, but differs from, folk etymology, malapropism, mondegreens or puns.[4]

Unlike a folk etymology, a change in the form of a word caused by widespread misunderstanding of the word's etymology, an eggcorn may be limited to one person rather than being used within a speech community.[3]

An eggcorn differs from a malapropism, the latter being a substitution that creates a nonsensical phrase. Classical malapropisms generally derive their comic effect from the fault of the user, while eggcorns are substitutions that exhibit creativity or logic.[5] Eggcorns often involve replacing an unfamiliar, archaic, or obscure word with a more common or modern word ("baited breath" for "bated breath").[6]

A mondegreen is a misinterpretation of a word or phrase, usually in a song or poem. Like the word mondegreen (from a mishearing of "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen"), the word eggcorn comes as an example of the phenomenon it names: someone substituting egg corn for acorn.[3] Unlike mondegreens, though, speakers may use eggcorns widely, in contexts unrelated to the one in which the phrase was originally misunderstood.[7] Other than in the context of the song Purple Haze, there is nothing of note in someone saying they are about to "kiss this guy", but "old-timer's disease" can be used in any sentence to refer to Alzheimer's.

The form of wordplay known as the pun differs in that, by definition, the speaker or writer intends the pun to have some humorous effect on the recipient, whereas one who speaks or writes an eggcorn is often unaware that the word is non-standard.[8]

Examples

See also

References

  1. ^ "eggcorn n.". American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fifth ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2011. ISBN 0-547-04101-2.
  2. ^ Erard, Michael (June 20, 2006). "Analyzing Eggcorns and Snowclones, and Challenging Strunk and White". The New York Times. p. 4. Archived from the original on 2006-08-13. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  3. ^ a b c Liberman, Mark (September 23, 2003). "Egg corns: folk etymology, malapropism, mondegreen, ???". Language Log. Archived from the original on 2004-04-04.
  4. ^ Pullum, Geoffrey K (October 27, 2003). "Phrases for lazy writers in kit form". Language Log. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Peters, Mark (March–April 2006). "Word Watch: The Eggcorn – Lend Me Your Ear". Psychology Today. 39 (2): 18. Archived from the original on 2006-07-09. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
  6. ^ Staff (2006-08-26). "The word: Eggcorns". New Scientist. p. 52. Archived from the original on 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2006-12-21. LexisNexis link
  7. ^ Marko Ticak (24 Nov 2016). "Humanity's Best Eggcorn Examples". grammarly blog.
  8. ^ Zwicky, Arnold (2 Nov 2003). "LADY MONDEGREEN SAYS HER PEACE ABOUT EGG CORNS". Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  9. ^ Anu Garg (February 21, 2013). "eggcorn". A Word A Day. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  10. ^ "'For All Intensive Purposes': An Eggcorn". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Butterfield, Jeremy (2009). Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare. Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-19-957409-4. Archived from the original on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-06-18.

Further reading

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