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Eggcorn

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File:Prefixed menu.jpg
Cafe chalkboard advertising a "pre fixed" menu, an eggcorn of the French prix fixe (fixed price)

An eggcorn is the alteration of a word or phrase through the mishearing or reinterpretation of one or more of its elements,<ref name="OED">Template:Cite OED, sense 2</ref> creating a new phrase which is plausible when used in the same context.<ref name="AHD">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Thus, an eggcorn is an unexpectedly fitting or creative malapropism. Eggcorns often arise as people attempt to make sense of a stock phrase that uses a term unfamiliar to them,<ref name="Butterfield">Template:Cite book</ref> as for example replacing "Alzheimer's disease" with "old-timers' disease",<ref name="AHD" /> or William Shakespeare's "to the manner born" with "to the manor born".<ref name="OED" /> The autological word "eggcorn" is itself an eggcorn, derived from acorn.

Language changeEdit

Eggcorns arise when people attempt to use analogy and logic to make sense of an expression – often a stock one – that includes a term which is not meaningful to them.<ref name="Butterfield" /> For example, the stock expression "in one fell swoop" might be replaced by "in one foul swoop", the infrequently used adjective "fell" (for "fierce", "cruel", or "terrible"<ref>[1] 'fell', adjective, at Merriam-Webster dictionary</ref>) being replaced with the more common word "foul" in order to convey the cruel/underhand meaning of the phrase as the speaker understands it.<ref name="Butterfield" />

Eggcorns are of interest to linguists as they not only show language changing in real time, but can also shed light on how and why the change occurs.<ref name="Butterfield" />

EtymologyEdit

The term egg corn (later contracted into one word, eggcorn) 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his article, Liberman discussed the case of a woman who had used the phrase egg corn for acorn, and he noted that this specific type of substitution lacked a name. Pullum suggested using egg corn itself as a label.<ref name="Blog2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ExamplesEdit

  • "baited breath" for "bated breath"<ref name="Butterfield" /><ref name="Wallraff">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • "beckon call" for "beck and call"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • "ex-patriot" for "expatriate"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • "the feeble position" for "the fetal position"<ref name="McG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • "free reign" for "free rein"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • "in one foul swoop" for "in one fell swoop"<ref name="Butterfield" />
  • "jar-dropping" for "jaw-dropping"<ref name="McG" />
  • "just desserts" for "just deserts"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • "to the manor born" for "to the manner born"<ref name="OED" />
  • "wet your appetite" for "whet your appetite"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Similar phenomenaEdit

Eggcorns are similar to but distinct from several other linguistic expressions:<ref name="Snowclone_Def">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Where a folk etymology is 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 generally within a speech community.<ref name="Blog2" /><ref name="Butterfield" />
  • A malapropism generally derives its effect from a comic misunderstanding of the user, often creating a nonsensical phrase; an eggcorn on the other hand is a substitution that exhibits creativity or logic.<ref name="PsyTod" />
  • A mondegreen is a misinterpretation of a word or phrase, often within the lyrics of a specific song or other type of performance, and need not make sense within that context.<ref name="Ticak">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> An eggcorn must still retain something of the original meaning,<ref name="Ticak" /> as the speaker understands it, and may be a replacement for a poorly understood phrase rather than a mishearing.

  • In a pun, the speaker or writer intentionally creates a humorous effect, whereas an eggcorn may be used or created by someone who is unaware that the expression is non-standard.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Where the spoken form of an eggcorn sounds the same as the original, it becomes a type of homophone.

ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

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External linksEdit

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