Is there such a phenomenon as "undercorrection/hypocorrection?

[Dennis R. Preston]

All before stressed syllables. Ain't no hypocorrection (structural)
goin on there.

dInIs



>By the way, for those of you who think a-prefixing is dead, or at least
>isn't used in Ohio, I heard a great example on local radio this
>morning.  Concerning a murder about 30 miles from here, in southeastern
>Ohio, the interviewee said "They were a-screamin' and a-hollerin', and
>a-hollerin' and a-screamin'"--four attestations!
>
>At 04:36 PM 3/16/2005, you wrote:
>>John Baugh has a nice piece on hypocorrection, a now standardized
>>term I think. Remember, however, it may mean structural or
>>statistical hypocorrection.
>>
>>1) statistical - when you use more nonstandard than you or the
>>situation might seem to call for, or when one groups uses more
>>nonstandard than would be expected from its position in social
>>structure.
>>
>>2) structural - when you try to use a "lower status" (presumably
>>covertly prestigious form) but get it wrong. Spose one of you
>>flatlanders wanted to sound like a hillbilly and got into
>>a-prefixing. You might utter "I  was a-rememberin what Ole Joe tole
>>me." But you would be wrong; a-pefixing doesn't occur before
>>unstressed syllables.
>>
>>dInIs
>>
>>>Spoken by a black TV-show guest:
>>>
>>>He aks me _whose, uh, who_ car was this.
>>>
>>>-Wilson


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages
A-740 Wells Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-3099
Fax: (517) 432-2736
preston at msu.edu