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date: 18 March 2025

Hypercorrection. 

Source:
Garner's Modern English Usage
Author(s):

Bryan Garner

Sometimes people strive to abide by the strictest etiquette, but in the process behave inappropriately. The very motivations that result in this irony can play havoc with the language: a person will strive for a correct linguistic form but instead fall into error. Linguists call this phenomenon “hypercorrection”—a common shortcoming.... ...

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