Computational eggcornology
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Chris Waigl, keeper of the Eggcorn Database, brings to our attention a paper that was presented at CALC-09 (Workshop on Computational Approaches to Linguistic Creativity, held in conjunction with NAACL HLT in Boulder, Colorado, on June 4, 2009). As part of a session on "Metaphors and Eggcorns," Sravana Reddy (University of Chicago Dept. of Computer Science) delivered a paper entitled "Understanding Eggcorns." Here's the abstract:
An eggcorn is a type of linguistic error where a word is substituted with one that is semantically plausible – that is, the substitution is a semantic reanalysis of what may be a rare, archaic, or otherwise opaque term. We build a system that, given the original word and its eggcorn form, finds a semantic path between the two. Based on these paths, we derive a typology that reflects the different classes of semantic reinterpretation underlying eggcorns.
You can read the PDF of Reddy's paper here. Yet another advance in the recognition of eggcornology as a legitimate linguistic subdiscipline.
Janice Huth Byer said,
August 17, 2009 @ 5:51 pm
I'm tickled to learn of the invention of "The Cornalyzer", which conjures up an image of a mighty language robot setting out on a solitary mission to secure the planet's eggcorns.
Alexandra said,
August 17, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
Neat paper, and very accessible to a layperson such as myself. Thanks for the link!