Egg Corns
Yesterday we took my son shopping for new clothes as his growth is like a lightening rod's at the moment. Nothing fits him, all his trousers are flying at half mast. He is now taller than his Dad, who is not taking this reversal very well!
It was fun to see him choosing things, and we found a great jacket, which has a bit of a military twist which looks really good on his skinny frame.
Tuesday night I was at Poetry School, and a poem I'd written about a plantation of trees was really well received, which pleased me a lot, especially as one guy, who has just come runner up in a major competition here, said it needed no revision whatsoever, and that he could tell I'd put a lot of work in on it. It was really encouraging, as I always turn up half expecting to be shown the door!
But I was asked about a phrase I'd put in it, which was stalk-still, which I meant as a deliberate play on stock-still. People were interested in knowing if I had actually meant to do it. And I had, because I'd caught a programme on the BBC that relates to this site on eggcorns. Here's a wee quote from the site that explains the term more fully:
"In September 2003, Mark Liberman reported (Egg corns: folk etymology, malapropism, mondegreen, ???) an incorrect yet particularly suggestive creation: someone had written “egg corn” instead of “acorn”. It turned out that there was no established label for this type of non-standard reshaping. Erroneous as it may be, the substitution involved more than just ignorance: an acorn is more or less shaped like an egg; and it is a seed, just like grains of corn. So if you don’t know how acorn is spelled, egg corn actually makes sense.
Mark Liberman’s colleague Geoffrey Pullum chimed in and suggested that this type of linguistic error should be called an eggcorn."
I really like the whole idea of eggcorns, they provide the perfect cover for my poor dyslexic brain, so I think I will be dreaming up a few more.
If you can think of any please feel free to list them here!
I also got a lovely e-mail from the poet Judi Benson, who now has a copy of my book. She said she thinks it is a "wee masterpiece" and that "it says it all in such a succinct space. I feel it is where experience transcends into art and you have succeeded."
I can't begin to say what effect those kind words had on me.
It was fun to see him choosing things, and we found a great jacket, which has a bit of a military twist which looks really good on his skinny frame.
Tuesday night I was at Poetry School, and a poem I'd written about a plantation of trees was really well received, which pleased me a lot, especially as one guy, who has just come runner up in a major competition here, said it needed no revision whatsoever, and that he could tell I'd put a lot of work in on it. It was really encouraging, as I always turn up half expecting to be shown the door!
But I was asked about a phrase I'd put in it, which was stalk-still, which I meant as a deliberate play on stock-still. People were interested in knowing if I had actually meant to do it. And I had, because I'd caught a programme on the BBC that relates to this site on eggcorns. Here's a wee quote from the site that explains the term more fully:
"In September 2003, Mark Liberman reported (Egg corns: folk etymology, malapropism, mondegreen, ???) an incorrect yet particularly suggestive creation: someone had written “egg corn” instead of “acorn”. It turned out that there was no established label for this type of non-standard reshaping. Erroneous as it may be, the substitution involved more than just ignorance: an acorn is more or less shaped like an egg; and it is a seed, just like grains of corn. So if you don’t know how acorn is spelled, egg corn actually makes sense.
Mark Liberman’s colleague Geoffrey Pullum chimed in and suggested that this type of linguistic error should be called an eggcorn."
I really like the whole idea of eggcorns, they provide the perfect cover for my poor dyslexic brain, so I think I will be dreaming up a few more.
If you can think of any please feel free to list them here!
I also got a lovely e-mail from the poet Judi Benson, who now has a copy of my book. She said she thinks it is a "wee masterpiece" and that "it says it all in such a succinct space. I feel it is where experience transcends into art and you have succeeded."
I can't begin to say what effect those kind words had on me.
Labels: eggcorns
posted by apprentice at
9:57 am
8 Comments
