Is there such a phenomenon as "undercorrection/hypocorrection?

[Mullins, Bill]

>From Hee-Haw
Roy Clark:  "I'm a-pickin' . . ."
Buck Owens: ". . . and I'm a-grinnin'".

Also heard:  Hootin' and a-hollerin'.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 7:00 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Is there such a phenomenon as
> "undercorrection/hypocorrection?
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Is there such a phenomenon as
>               "undercorrection/hypocorrection?
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> 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
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Benjamin Barrett
> Subject: Re: Is there such a phenomenon as
> "undercorrection/hypocorrection?
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> 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
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------
> ---
>
> 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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