Is there such a phenomenon as "undercorrection/hypocorrection?

[Jonathan Lighter]

I can't speak for Ohio, but I hear "a-" prefixin' almost daily here in East Tennessee.  Hardly ever from college students, though.  And I don't believ I've ever seen it in a freshman theme.

JL

Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Benjamin Barrett
Subject: Re: Is there such a phenomenon as
"undercorrection/hypocorrection?
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Isn't "a-screamin and a-hollerin" just a set phrase? The interviewee then
just reversed the internal order of this phrase for emphasis.

Benjamin Barrett
Questioning in Seattle

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Beverly Flanigan
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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!


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