>Hypercorrection strikes again
Hypercorrection occurs when a learner of a foreign language applies a rule to such an extreme that they ignore perfectly normal grammar rules or change unfamiliar words into words they know.
June is a pro at this. For her, Sprite became ‘Spirit’. ‘Proctor’ became ‘Protector’, though if you think about (and stretch) it, ‘protector’ does make sense. And best of all, this exchange:
Me: Where is your cousin’s apartment?
June: Next to Wal-Market.
She calls it Wal-Market because Wal-Mart is an unfamiliar, nonstandard word. Ditto for Sprite. And proctor is just unfamiliar. In all three cases, her mind switches to the familiar (and in the context of the conversation, incorrect) words.
