Hypercorrection appears to be a form of analogical change. Analogical change takes place in language when a normally used form is replaced by another form under the analogy of a similar construction. Usually, but not always, the direction is from an irregular form to a regular one. A typical case is the replacement, among some NW Ohio speakers, of "frost the cake" by "frosten the cake" by analogy to "thicken the gravy" or "soften the butter." Turning a verb or adjective into a causative verb involves adding -en to the stem, so the pattern extends to "frost."
Many weak verbs in English (past tense in -d or -t) used to be strong verbs and became weak by analogy to the more highly regular formation of weak verbs. Even as recently as Elizabethan English (Early Modern) the past participle of "help" was the strong form "holpen." In older versions of the KJV translation, Luke 1:54 reads "He hath holpen his servant Israel," as I still remember it from the Lutheran liturgy when I was a child. Sometimes analogy causes irregularity rather than eliminating it as in the cases of strong verbs becoming weak. For example, the historical past tense of "dive" is "dived," but by analogy to the strong verb "drive," "dived" has been replaced by "dove," especially in this country.
Given all of the analogical changes that no one even notices, I'm wondering what it takes for such a change to be labeled a hypercorrection. Obviously such a label presupposes a standard dialect, like what we teach our students, but even then not all analogical changes are hypercorrections. The usage "on accident" appears to be very widespread in speakers under 40, probably by analogy to "on purpose." Speakers over 40 prefer "by accident." I've had students who professed never to have heard "by accident." So this appears to be an analogical change that takes place under the radar. The question is, what causes the prescriptivist radar to detect some changes and call them hypercorrections.
Herb
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Don Stewart
Sent: 2009-08-02 20:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: hypercorrection examples
Dick,
My mother-in-law, now 91, worked for years in a clothing store, where
she could often be heard telling a customer, "That suit looks well on
you."
--
Don Stewart
www.writeforcollege.com
______________________
Keeper of the memory and method
of Dr. Francis Christensen
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