Hypercorrection

In <a href="/facts/Sociolinguistics/TVzMJRjV">sociolinguistics</a>, hypercorrection is the <a href="/facts/Nonstandard_dialect/H6jyeQwE">nonstandard</a> <a href="/facts/Usage_(language)/arBgNK1u">use of language</a> that results from the overapplication of a perceived rule of <a href="/facts/Prescriptive_grammar/B8KvsTEf">language-usage prescription</a>. 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", <a href="/facts/Standard_language/1AV0uont">standard</a>, or otherwise preferable, often combined with a desire to appear formal or educated.
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 <a href="/facts/Otto_Jespersen/EjGNp8SJ">Otto Jespersen</a> and Robert J. Menner.
Hypercorrection can be found among speakers of less <a href="/facts/Prestige_(sociolinguistics)/PCApCH33">prestigious</a> <a href="/facts/Variety_(linguistics)/QyllMQha">language varieties</a> 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.
Hypercorrection can occur in many languages and wherever multiple languages or language varieties are in contact.

Hypercorrection open-in-new

Hypercorrection