Malapropism

Amalapropism(/ˈmæləprɒpɪzəm/;also called amalaprop,acyrologiaorDogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorousutterance.An example is the statement attributed to baseball playerYogi Berra,regardingswitch hitters,"He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious",with the accidental use ofamphibiousrather than the intendedambidextrous.Malapropisms often occur aserrorsin natural speech and are sometimes the subject of media attention, especially when made by politicians or other prominent individuals.

Etymology

Louisa Lane Drewas Mrs. Malaprop in an 1895 production ofThe Rivals

The word "malapropism" (and its earlier form, "malaprop" ) comes from a character named "Mrs. Malaprop" inRichard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 playThe Rivals.Mrs. Malaprop frequently misspeaks (to comic effect) by using words which do not have the meaning that she intends but which sound similar to words that do. Sheridan chose her name in humorous reference to the wordmalapropos,an adjective or adverb meaning "inappropriate" or "inappropriately", derived from theFrenchphrasemal à propos(literally "poorly placed" ). According to theOxford English Dictionary,the first recorded use of "malapropos" in English is from 1630,and the first person known to have used the word "malaprop" specifically in the sense of "a speech error" isLord Byronin 1814.

The synonymous term "Dogberryism" comes from the 1598 Shakespeare playMuch Ado About Nothingin which the characterDogberryutters many malapropisms to humorous effect.Though Shakespeare was an earlier writer than Sheridan, "malaprop/malapropism" seems an earlier coinage than "Dogberryism", which is not attested until 1836.

Distinguishing features

An instance of speech error is called a malapropism when a word is produced which is nonsensical or ludicrous in context yet similar in sound to what was intended.

Definitions differ somewhat in terms of the cause of the error. Some scholars include only errors that result from a temporary failure to produce the word which the speaker intended.Such errors are sometimes called "Fay–Cutler malapropism", after David Fay and Anne Cutler, who described the occurrence of such errors in ordinary speech.Most definitions, however, include any actual word that is wrongly or accidentally used in place of a similar sounding, correct word. This broader definition is sometimes called "classical malapropism",or simply "malapropism".

Malapropisms differ from other kinds of speaking or writing mistakes, such aseggcornsorspoonerisms,as well as the accidental or deliberate production of newly made-up words (neologisms).

For example, it is not a malapropism to useobtuse[wide or dull] instead ofacute[narrow or sharp]; it is a malapropism to useobtuse[stupid or slow-witted] when one meansabstruse[esoteric or difficult to understand].

Malapropisms tend to maintain thepart of speechof the originally intended word. According to linguistJean Aitchison,"The finding that word selection errors preserve their part of speech suggest[s] that the latter is an integral part of the word, and tightly attached to it."Likewise, substitutions tend to have the same number ofsyllablesand the samemetrical structure– the same pattern ofstressedand unstressed syllables – as the intended word or phrase. If the stress pattern of the malapropism differs from the intended word, unstressed syllables may be deleted or inserted; stressed syllables and the general rhythmic pattern are maintained.

Examples from fiction

The fictional Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's playThe Rivalsutters many malapropisms. In Act 3 Scene III, she declares to Captain Absolute, "Sure, if Ireprehendany thing in this world it is the use of myoraculartongue, and a nicederangementofepitaphs!"This nonsensical utterance might, for example, be corrected to, "If Iapprehendanything in this world, it is the use of myvernaculartongue, and a nicearrangementofepithets",—although these are not the only words that can be substituted to produce an appropriately expressed thought in this context, and commentators have proposed other possible replacements that work just as well.

Other malapropisms spoken by Mrs. Malaprop include "illiteratehim quite from your memory "(instead of" obliterate ")," he is the verypineappleof politeness "(instead ofpinnacle) and "she's as headstrong as anallegoryon the banks of the Nile "(instead ofalligator).

Malapropisms appeared in many works before Sheridan created the character of Mrs. Malaprop.William Shakespeareused them in a number of his plays, almost invariably spoken by comic ill-educated lower class characters.Mistress Quickly,the inn-keeper associate ofFalstaffin several Shakespeare plays, is a regular user of malapropisms.InMuch Ado About Nothing,Constable Dogberry tells Governor Leonato, "Our watch, sir, have indeedcomprehendedtwoauspiciouspersons "(i.e.,apprehendedtwosuspiciouspersons) (Act 3, Scene V).

Malapropism was one ofStan Laurel's comic mannerisms. InSons of the Desert,for example, he says thatOliver Hardyis suffering a nervous "shakedown" (rather than "breakdown" ), calls the Exalted Ruler of their group the "exhausted ruler" and says that he and Oliver are like "two peas in a pot" (instead of "pod" ); inThe Music Box,he inadvertently asked a policeman, "Don't you think you're bounding over your steps?" meaning "overstepping your bounds",which has much in common with the transposition of a Spoonerism. Sometimes even Laurel's partner,Oliver Hardy,also practiced malapropism, particularly correcting Stan's; inThe Live GhostStan tells a captain that he heard the ocean isinfatuatedwith sharks. Oliver is quick to call out Stan's malapropism only to correct him with another: "Notinfatuated!He meansinfuriated."The correct word in question is actuallyinfested.

Emily Litella,a fictional character created and performed by American comedianGilda Radnerused malapropism to entertain viewers on the late-night comedy showSaturday Night Live,including one skit in which she was puzzled over the hubbub surrounding the "plight of Soviet jewelry" instead of "Soviet Jewry".

British comedianRonnie Barkeralso made great use of deliberate malapropisms in his comedy, notably in such sketches as his "Appeal on behalf of the Loyal Society for the Relief of Suffers from Pismronunciation", which mixed malapropisms and garbled words for comic effect – including news of a speech which "gave us a fewwell-frozen worms(i.e., well-chosen words) in praise of the society ".

Ring Lardnerused malapropism extensively for comic effect.For example, in his short storyThe Young Immigrunts,the four-year-old narrator repeatedly refers to a bride and groom as the "bride and glum".

Archie Bunker,a character in the American TV sitcomAll in the Family,used malapropisms frequently: he refers, for example, to "off-the-docks Jews" (Orthodox Jews) and the "Women'sLubricationMovement "(rather thanLiberation).Intending to refer to the medical specialized field ofgynecologyand to specialist in that field as a gynecologist, he would mispronounce the words as "groinecology" and "groinecologist".

Tyler Perry's fictional characterMadeais known for herSoutherndialectical usage of malapropisms, which some critics link to themammy archetype.

Real-life examples

Malapropisms do not occur only as comedic literary devices. They also occur as a kind ofspeech errorin ordinary speech.Examples are often quoted in the media:

• Australian prime ministerTony Abbottonce claimed that no one "is thesuppositoryof all wisdom "(i.e.,repositoryordepository).

• Similarly, as reported inNew Scientist,an office worker had described a colleague as "a vastsuppositoryof information ". The worker then apologised for his"Miss-Marple-ism"(i.e.,malapropism).New Scientistnoted this as possibly the first time anyone had uttered a malapropism for the wordmalapropismitself.

• Bertie Ahern,a formerTaoiseachofIreland,once warned his country against "upsetting theapple tart"(apple cart) of his country's economic success.

• Richard J. Daley,a formermayor of Chicago,referred to atandem bicycleas a "tantrum bicycle" and made mention of "AlcoholicsUnanimous"(Alcoholics Anonymous).

• Longterm Lithuanian parliamentarian and then Speaker of SeimasBirutė Vėsaitėhas misquoted an excerptsyllabifingthe nativecountry's nameas "El + ie = Lie, vė + a = tu, vė + a = va"during the celebration of theLithuania Independence Restoration Day.

• Hall of Famebaseball playerYogi Berrawas well known for corrupting speech, such as "Texashas a lot of electrical votes ", rather than"electoral votes".Berra was so adept at twisting both words and logic the term "Yogi-ism"was coined to describe his quirky utterances and observations, first recorded on his being honored in his hometown of St. Louis during his rookie season with," I want to thank everybody for making this day necessary. "

• Rick Perry,a formerGovernor of Texas,has been known to commonly utter malapropisms. For example, he described states as "lavatoriesof innovation and democracy "instead of" laboratories ".

• During a Senate hearing, Philippine presidential communications assistant secretaryMocha Usonstumbled on the legal phrase "right against self-incrimination" by invoking her "right against self-discrimination" instead.

• World heavyweight champion boxerMike Tyson,upon being asked about his next plans moments after losing in a world title fight withLennox Lewis,declared that "I might fade intoBolivian"(oblivion).

• During theCOVID-19 pandemic,a commonmeme formatwas introduced where Internet users feigned malapropism by substituting the word "pandemic"with similar sounding words (such as"panorama","pandemonium",or"panini"), a practice often attributed toBlack Twitter.

• United States congresswomanMarjorie Taylor Greenehas uttered various malapropisms, including "peach tree dish"(petri dish), "gazpachopolice "(Gestapo), and "fragrantlyviolated "(flagrantly), among others.

• During the lead-up to the2022 U.S. midterm elections,Republican Senate candidateHerschel Walkerwas mocked online after stating "thiserectionis about the people "(election), during an interview on Fox News.

See also

• Anti-proverb
• Bushism
• Catachresis
• Chernomyrdinka
• Colemanballs
• Dundrearyism
• Error (linguistics)
• Freudian slip
• Goldwynisms
• Homonym
• Johnny Dangerously
• Mondegreen
• Mumpsimus
• Norm Crosby
• Trailer Park Boys

Further reading

• Weingarten, Gene (2014-02-16)."Word up! Grammarian Gene Weingarten goes after add homonym attacks".The Washington Post.Retrieved2014-02-25.

External links

• The dictionary definition ofmalapropismat Wiktionary