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Ask-A-Linguist - Message details
Subject: Word Substitution Based on Sound, not Meaning
Question:
I have just experienced something that colleagues have told me they have also had happen to them:

I was typing an e-mail to a colleague and aimed to write ''How can I make sure I get your signature?'' Instead, I substituted, ''How can I make *your I get your signature?'' Naturally, I didn't notice it, despite having read through the e-mail before sending it. My colleague pointed this out to me and wonders whether it has something to do with the sound of the words. That is, ''your'' and ''sure'' can be pronounced similarly.

Any thoughts?

Reply:
Hi, Kyle,

Dr. Pyatt is quite right in her observations. To go a little further into her observation about the similarity of the sounds:

It has been observed many times that, when we look at 'segment' substitutions in slips of the tongue (which turn out to be quite similar in many ways to 'slips of the pen'), the two segments involved very much tend to be extremely similar phonetically/phonologically (same point of articulation OR same manner of production OR (less commonly but not rarely) a combination of the two factors. Another way to characterize this phenomenon is that there is usually a change in only one 'distinctive feature', as such minimal features of articulation/phonology are referred to in the literature. In your case, this could turn out to be the 'psychological' reason referred to by Dr. Pyatt (lousy proofreading) or the feature-based reason. The motive for entertaining the first of these reasons is that, if it is the latter, at least two feature differences are involved (both are palatal, but the archetypical articulatory production of has a glide as the initial sound, which *could* be produced as [ž] [as in ], which only differs in one feature [voicing] from with [š]; nevertheless, it is usually pronounced as [yur], and the palatal glide [y] differs in two features from [š] -- voicing and [consonantal], thus making it a rather less likely candidate; note: there are other factors). Further note: as well as the last point, there are other types of explanation for the 'slip'.

Hope this rather sketchy comment helps.

Jim

James L. Fidelholtz
Posgrado en Ciencias del Lenguaje
Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México

Reply From: James L Fidelholtz    click here to access email
Date: Aug-31-2009
Other Replies:
  1. Re: Word Substitution Based on Sound, not Meaning Nancy J. Frishberg    (Sep-09-2009)
  2. Re: Word Substitution Based on Sound, not Meaning Elizabeth J Pyatt    (Aug-31-2009)
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