View source for Hypercorrection

{{short description|Non-standard language usage from the overapplication of a perceived prescriptive rule}}
{{about|language usage|the psychology use|Hypercorrection (psychology)}}

In [[sociolinguistics]], '''hypercorrection''' is the [[nonstandard dialect|nonstandard]] [[usage (language)|use of language]] that results from the overapplication of a perceived rule of [[Prescriptive grammar|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 language|standard]], or otherwise preferable, often combined with a desire to appear formal or educated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Kenneth G. |author-link=Kenneth G. Wilson (author) |url=http://www.bartleby.com/68/62/3062.html |title=The Columbia Guide to Standard American English |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=1993 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021120153706/https://www.bartleby.com/68/62/3062.html |archive-date=20 November 2002 |url-status=dead}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Labov |first=William |title=Sociolinguistic patterns |date=1991 |publisher=University of Philadelphia press |isbn=978-0-8122-1052-1 |series=Conduct and communication series |location=Philadelphia |pages=126}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Menner |first=Robert J. |date=1937 |title=Hypercorrect forms in American English |journal=[[American Speech]] |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=167–78 |doi=10.2307/452423 |jstor=452423}}</ref>

Hypercorrection can be found among speakers of less [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestigious]] [[Variety (linguistics)|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''.<ref name="MWDEU">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1994 |title=hypercorrection |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage |publisher=Merriam-Webster |location=[[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield, Massachusetts, US]] |isbn=978-0-87779-132-4}}</ref>

Hypercorrection can occur in many languages and wherever multiple languages or language varieties are in contact.

==Types of overapplied rules==
Studies in [[sociolinguistics]] and [[applied linguistics]] have noted the overapplication of rules of [[phonology]], [[syntax]], or [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], resulting either from different rules in varieties of the same language or [[second-language acquisition|second-language learning]]. An example of a common hypercorrection based on application of the rules of a second (i.e., new, foreign) language is the use of ''octopi'' for the [[Plural form of words ending in -us#Octopus|plural of ''octopus'']] in English; this is based on the faulty assumption that ''octopus'' is a [[Latin declension#Second declension (o stems)|second declension]] word of [[Latin in English|Latin origin]] when in fact it is [[Ancient Greek nouns#Third declension|third declension]] and comes from [[Greek and Latin words found in species names|Greek]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2voh0q |title=Ask the editor: octopus |last=Stamper |first=Kory |author-link=Kory Stamper |access-date=29 January 2024 |via=[[Daily Motion]] |website=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref>{{Better citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Sociolinguists often note hypercorrection in terms of pronunciation (phonology). For example, [[William Labov]] noted that all of the English speakers he studied in [[New York City]] in the 1960s tended to pronounce words such as ''hard'' as [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic]] (pronouncing the "R" as {{IPAc-en|h|ɑr|d}} rather than {{IPAc-en|h|ɑː|d}}) more often when speaking carefully. Furthermore, [[middle class]] speakers had more rhotic pronunciation than [[working class]] speakers did.

However, lower-middle class speakers had more rhotic pronunciation than upper-middle class speakers. Labov suggested that these lower-middle class speakers were attempting to emulate the pronunciation of upper-middle class speakers, but were actually over-producing the very noticeable R-sound.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Social Stratification of English in New York City |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-52805-4 |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge |orig-year=1966}}</ref>

A common source of hypercorrection in English speakers' use of the language's morphology and syntax happens in the use of pronouns {{xref|(see {{slink||Personal pronouns}})}}.<ref name="MWDEU" />

Hypercorrection can also occur when learners of a new-to-them (second, foreign) language try to avoid applying grammatical rules from their [[native language]] to the new language (a situation known as [[language transfer]]). The effect can occur, for example, when a student of a new language has learned that certain sounds of their original language must usually be replaced by another in the studied language, but has not learned when ''not'' to replace them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carey |first=Michael |title=Interlanguage Phonology Sources of L2 Pronunciation 'Errors' |url=http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonology/interlanguage/pronerrors.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050702041001/http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonology/interlanguage/pronerrors.html |archive-date=2 July 2005 |website=Phonetics and Phonology |publisher=[[Macquarie University]] Department of Linguistics}}</ref>

==English==
English has no authoritative body or [[language academy]] [[codification (linguistics)|codifying]] norms for [[standard language|standard usage]], unlike some other [[language]]s. Nonetheless, within groups of users of English, certain usages are considered unduly elaborate adherences to formal rules. Such speech or writing is sometimes called ''hyperurbanism'', defined by [[Kingsley Amis]] as an "indulged desire to be posher than posh".{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Personal pronouns===
In 2004, Jack Lynch, [[assistant professor]] of English at [[Rutgers University]], said on ''[[Voice of America]]'' that the correction of the subject-positioned "you and me" to "you and I" leads people to "internalize the rule that 'you and I' is somehow more proper, and they end up using it in places where they should not – such as 'he gave it to you and I' when it should be 'he gave it to you and me.'<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 July 2007 |title=Wordmaster: Hypercorrection Is Not Simply Being Fussy or a Nitpicker or a Pedant |url=http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/a-23-2007-07-23-voa3-83133807/117349.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015120201/http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/a-23-2007-07-23-voa3-83133807/117349.html |archive-date=15 October 2012 |access-date=28 January 2024 |website=[[Voice of America|VOA: Learning English]]}}</ref>

However, the linguists [[Rodney Huddleston]] and [[Geoffrey K. Pullum]] write that [[utterances]] such as "They invited Sandy and I" are "heard constantly in the conversation of people whose status as speakers of Standard English is clear" and that "[t]hose who condemn it simply assume that the case of a pronoun in a coordination must be the same as when it stands alone. Actual usage is in conflict with this assumption."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=Rodney D. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm57574762 |title=A student's introduction to English grammar |last2=Pullum |first2=Geoffrey K. |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-84837-4 |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |pages=107 |oclc=ocm57574762}}</ref>

===H-adding===
Some British accents, such as [[Cockney#Cockney speech|Cockney]], drop the initial ''h'' from words; e.g. ''have'' becomes ''{{'}}ave''. A hypercorrection associated with this is [[H-dropping#H-insertion|H-adding]], adding an initial ''h'' to a word which would not normally have one. An example of this can be found in the speech of the character [[Aloysius Parker|Parker]] in the [[marionette]] [[TV-series|TV series]] ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', e.g. "We'll 'ave the haristocrats 'ere soon" (from the episode "Vault of Death").  Parker's speech was based on a real person the creators encountered at a restaurant in [[Cookham]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voiceover: Gerry Anderson |url=http://davidgraham.co/blog/?page_id=27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901173717/http://davidgraham.co/blog/?page_id=27 |archive-date=1 September 2013 |access-date=5 March 2013 |website=David Graham Official Site}}</ref>

The same, for the same reason, is often heard when a person of Italian origins speaks English: "I'm ''h''angry ''h''at Francesco", "I'd like to ''h''eat something". This should not be expected to be consistent with the h-dropping common in the Italian accent, so the same person may say "an edge-og" instead of "a hedgehog", or just say it correctly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Beauty of Italian-American "Broken" English – Language Analysis |date=2 January 2021 |url=https://hardcoreitalians.blog/2021/01/02/the-beauty-of-italian-american-broken-english-language-analysis/}}</ref>

===Hyperforeignism===
{{main|Hyperforeignism}}
Hyperforeignism arises from speakers misidentifying the distribution of a pattern found in loanwords and extending it to other environments.  The result of this process does not reflect the rules of either language.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wells |first=John Christopher |author-link=John C. Wells |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJQwf05yzqYC&q=Accents+of+English:+An+Introduction&pg=PA108 |title=Accents of English: An Introduction |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-521-29719-6 |page=108}}</ref> For example, ''[[habanero chili|habanero]]'' is sometimes pronounced as though it were spelled "habañero", in imitation of other Spanish words like ''jalapeño'' and ''piñata''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of HABANERO |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/habanero |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Machismo]]'' is sometimes pronounced "makizmo", apparently as if it were Italian, rather than the phonetic English pronunciation which resembles the original Spanish word, {{IPA|/mɑːˈtʃiz.mo/}}. Similarly, the z in ''[[chorizo]]'' is sometimes pronounced as /ts/ (as if it were Italian), whereas the original Spanish pronunciation has {{IPA|/θ/}} or {{IPA|/s/}}.

===English as a second language===
Some English-Spanish [[cognate]]s primarily differ by beginning with ''s'' instead of ''es'', such as the English word ''spectacular'' and the Spanish word {{Lang|es|espectacular}}. A native Spanish speaker may conscientiously hypercorrect for the word ''escape'' by writing or saying ''{{Not a typo|scape}}'', or for the word ''establish'' by writing or saying ''{{Not a typo|stablish}}'', which is [[Archaic word|archaic]], or an informal pronunciation in some dialects.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Huebner |first1=Thom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BGdnKa2zcUC&pg=PA124 |title=Crosscurrents in Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theories |last2=Ferguson |first2=Charles A. |date=1 January 1991 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=978-90-272-2463-7 |pages=124}}</ref>

==Serbo-Croatian==
As the [[locative case]] is rarely found in [[vernacular]] usage in the southern and eastern dialects of Serbia, and the [[Accusative case|accusative]] is used instead, speakers tend to overcorrect when trying to deploy the [[standard variety]] of the language in more formal occasions, thus using the locative even when the accusative should be used (typically, when indicating direction rather than location): "{{Transl|sh|Izlazim na kolovozu}}" instead of "{{Transl|sh|izlazim na kolovoz}}".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arsenijević |first=Boban |date=2016-01-18 |title=Burek koji se može poneti |url=https://www.pismenica.rs/jezicke-nedoumice/boban-arsenijevic-burek-koji-se-moze-poneti/}}</ref>

==Hebrew and Yiddish==
{{One source section|date=September 2024}}
[[Ghil'ad Zuckermann]] argues that the following hypercorrect pronunciations in [[Israeli Hebrew]] are "snobbatives" (from ''[[snob]]'' + ''-ative'', modelled upon [[Comparison (grammar)|comparatives and superlatives]]):<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |title=Language contact and lexical enrichment in Israeli Hebrew |date=2003 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4039-1723-2 |series=Palgrave studies in language history and language change |location=New York, N.Y |pages=77}}</ref>

*  the hypercorrect pronunciation {{Transl|he|khupím}} instead of {{Transl|he|khofím}} for {{Script/Hebrew|חופים}} 'beaches'.
*  the hypercorrect pronunciation {{Transl|he|tsorfát}} instead of {{Transl|he|tsarfát}} for {{Script/Hebrew|צרפת}} 'France'.
*  the hypercorrect pronunciation {{Transl|he|amán}} instead of {{Transl|he|omán}} for {{Script/Hebrew|אמן}} 'artist'.

The last two hypercorrection examples derive from a confusion related to the [[Kamatz|Qamatz Gadol]] Hebrew vowel, which in the accepted [[Sephardi Hebrew language|Sephardi Hebrew]] pronunciation is rendered as {{IPA|/aː/}} but which is pronounced {{IPA|/ɔ/}} in [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]], and in Hebrew words that also occur in [[Yiddish]]. However, the [[Kamatz|Qamatz Qaṭan]] vowel, which is visually indistinguishable from the Qamatz Gadol vowel, is rendered as {{IPA|/o/}} in both pronunciations. This leads to hypercorrections in both directions.

*The consistent pronunciation of all forms of {{Transl|he|qamatz}} as {{IPA|/a/}}, disregarding {{Transl|he|qatan}} and {{Transl|he|hataf}} forms, could be seen as hypercorrections when Hebrew speakers of Ashkenazic origin attempt to pronounce Sephardic Hebrew, for example, {{Script/Hebrew|[[wikt:צהרים|צָהֳרָיִם]]}}, 'midday' as {{Transl|he|tzaharayim}}'','' rather than {{Transl|he|tzohorayim}} as in [[Standard Hebrew|standard Israeli pronunciation]]; the traditional Sephardi pronunciation is {{Transl|he|tzahorayim}}. This may, however, be an example of oversimplification rather than of hypercorrection.
*Conversely, many older [[British Jews]] consider it more colloquial and "down-home" to say {{Transl|he|Shobbes}}, {{Transl|he|cholla}} and {{Transl|he|motza}}, though the vowel in these words is in fact a ''[[patach]]'', which is rendered as {{IPA|/a/}} in both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Hebrew. 
Other hypercorrections occur when speakers of Israeli Hebrew (which is based on Sephardic) attempt to pronounce Ashkenazi Hebrew, for example for religious purposes. The month of [[Shevat]] ({{Script/Hebrew|[[wikt:שבט|שבט]]}}) is mistakenly pronounced {{Transl|he|Shvas}}, as if it were spelled *{{Script/Hebrew|שְׁבַת}}. In an attempt to imitate [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] dialects, {{Transl|he|qamatz}} (both {{Transl|he|gadol}} and {{Transl|he|qatan}}), which would normally be pronounced {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, is hypercorrected to the pronunciation of {{Transl|he|holam}}, {{IPA|[ɔj]}}, rendering {{Script/Hebrew|[[wikt:גדול|גדול]]}} ('large') as {{Transl|he|goydl}} and {{Script/Hebrew|[[wikt:ברוך|ברוך]]}} ('blessed') as {{Transl|he|boyrukh}}.

==Spanish==
In some Spanish dialects, the final intervocalic {{IPA|/d/}} ({{IPA|[ð]}}) is dropped, such as in ''[[wikt:pescado|pescado]]'' (fish), which would typically be pronounced {{IPA|[pesˈkaðo]}} but can be manifested as {{IPA|[pesˈkao]}} dialectically. Speakers sensitive to this variation may insert a {{IPA|/d/}} intervocalically into a word without such a consonant, such as in the case of ''[[wikt:bacalao|bacalao]]'' (cod), correctly pronounced {{IPA|[bakaˈlao]}} but occasionally hypercorrected to {{IPA|[bakaˈlaðo]}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Penny |first=Ralph |title=Variation and Change in Spanish |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-521-78045-2 |location=Cambridge}}</ref>

Outside Spain and in [[Andalusia]], the phonemes {{IPA|/θ/}} and {{IPA|/s/}} have merged, mostly into the realization {{IPAblink|s}} but [[ceceo]], i.e. the pronunciation of both as {{IPAblink|s̟}} is found in some areas as well, primarily parts of Andalusia. Speakers of varieties that have {{IPAblink|s|}} in all cases will frequently produce {{IPAblink|θ|}} even in places where [[peninsular Spanish]] has {{IPAblink|s|}} when trying to imitate a peninsular accent. As [[Spanish orthography]] distinguishes the two phonemes in all varieties, but the pronunciation is not differentiated in Latin American varieties, some speakers also get mixed up with the spelling.

Many Spanish dialects tend to [[Spanish dialects and varieties#Debuccalization of coda /s/|aspirate]] syllable-final {{IPA|/s/}}, and some even elide it often. Since this phenomenon is somewhat stigmatized, some speakers in the [[Caribbean Spanish|Caribbean]] and especially the [[Dominican Spanish|Dominican Republic]] may attempt to correct for it by pronouncing an {{IPA|/s/}} where it does not belong. For example, {{lang|es|catorce años}} '14 years' may be pronounced as {{lang|es|catorces año}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipski |first=John M. |author-link=John M. Lipski |title=La enseñanza del español a hispanohablantes : praxis y teoría |date=1997 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=9780669398441 |editor-last=Colombi |editor-first=M. Cecilia |location=Boston |pages=121–132 |language=es |chapter=En busca de las normas fonéticas del español |editor-last2=Alarconi |editor-first2=Francisco X. |chapter-url=https://johnlipski.github.io/normas.pdf}}</ref>

== German==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2024}}
The [[East Franconian dialect]]s are notable for [[lenition]] of stops /p/ /t/ /k/ to [b], [d], [g]. As such a common hypercorrection is the [[fortition]] of properly lenis stops, sometimes including aspiration as evidenced by the speech of [[Günther Beckstein]].

The [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] <ig> in word-final position is pronounced {{IPA|de|ɪç|}} per the [[Bühnendeutsch]] standard, but this pronunciation is frequently perceived as nonstandard and instead realized as {{IPA|de|ɪɡ̊|}} or {{IPA|de|ɪk|}} ([[final obstruent devoicing]]) even by speakers from dialect areas that pronounce the digraph {{IPA|de|ɪç|}} or {{IPA|de|ɪʃ|}}.

[[Palatinate German language]] speakers are among those who pronounce both the digraph {{angbr|ch}} and the trigraph {{angbr|sch}} as {{IPA|de|ʃ|}}. A common hypercorrection is to produce {{IPA|de|ç|}} even where standard German has {{IPA|de|ʃ|}} such as in [[Helmut Kohl]]'s hypercorrect rendering of "Geschichte", the German word for "history" with a {{IPA|de|ç}} both for the <sch> (standard German {{IPA|de|ʃ|}}) and the {{angbr|ch}}.

Proper names and German loanwords into other languages that have been [[reborrowing|reborrowed]], particularly when they have gone through or are perceived to have gone through the English language are often pronounced "[[hyperforeign]]". Examples include "Hamburger" or the names of [[German-American]]s and the companies named after them, even if they were or are first generation immigrants.

Some German speakers pronounce the [[metal umlaut]] as if it were a "normal" German umlaut. For example, when [[Mötley Crüe]] visited Germany, singer Vince Neil said the band could not figure out why "the crowds were chanting, 'Mutley Cruh! Mutley Cruh!{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Eric Spitznagel |date=November 27, 2009 |title=Motley Crue's Vince Neil is Finally Bored With Boobs |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/11/motley-crues-vince-neil-is-finally-bored-with-boobs |magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref>

==Swedish==
{{One source section|date=September 2024}}
In Swedish, the word {{Lang|sv|att}} is sometimes pronounced {{IPA|/[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]]/}} when used as an infinitive marker (its conjunction homograph is never pronounced that way, however). The conjunction {{Lang|sv|och}} is also sometimes pronounced the same way. Both pronunciations can informally be spelt {{Lang|sv|å}}. ("{{Lang|sv|Jag älskar å fiska å jag tycker också om å baka}}.") When spelt more formally, the infinitive marker {{IPA|/'ɔ/}} is sometimes misspelt {{Lang|sv|och}}. ("{{Lang|sv|Få mig och hitta tillbaka}}.*")

The third person plural pronoun, pronounced {{Lang|sv|dom}} in many dialects, is formally spelt {{Lang|sv|de}} in the subjective case and {{Lang|sv|dem}} in the objective case. Informally it can be spelled {{Lang|sv|dom}} ("{{Lang|sv|Dom tycker om mig}}."), yet {{Lang|sv|dom}} is only acceptable in spoken language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frågelådan |url=https://www4.isof.se/cgi-bin/srfl/visasvar.py?sok=dem&svar=79604&log_id=842877 |access-date=2021-09-22 |website=www4.isof.se}}</ref> When spelt more formally, they are often confused with each other. ("{{Lang|sv|De tycker om mig}}." as a correct form, compared to "{{Lang|sv|Dem tycker om mig}}"* as an incorrect form in this case). As an object form, using {{Lang|sv|dem}} in a sentence would be correct in the sentence "{{Lang|sv|Jag ger dem en present}}" ('I give them a gift.')

==See also==
*[[Hypocorrection]]
*[[English usage controversies]]
*[[Eye dialect]]
*[[List of English words with disputed usage]]
*[[Mondegreen]]
*[[Regularization (linguistics)]]
*[[Shibboleth]]
*[[Szadzenie]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|1=30em}}

===Sources===
* {{Cite book |last=Blau |first=Joshua |title=On Pseudo-Corrections in Some Semitic Languages |publisher=[[Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities]] |year=1970 |author-link=Yehoshua Blau |location=Jerusalem |asin=B001B3JHWM}}
* {{Cite book |last=Labov |first=William |author-link=William Labov |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110856507-008/html |chapter=HYPERCORRECTION BY THE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS AS A FACTOR IN LINGUISTIC CHANGE |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |year=1985 |isbn=978-3-11-085650-7 |editor-last=Bright |editor-first=William |title=Sociolinguistics: Proceedings of the UCLA Sociolinguistics Conference, 1964 |pages=84–113 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110856507-008 |access-date=2024-09-04 |issue=Sociolinguistics}}
[[Category:Sociolinguistics]]
[[Category:Speech error]]
[[Category:Linguistic error]]