Regularization is a
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
phenomenon observed in
language acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language. In other words, it is how human beings gain the ability to be aware of language, to understand it, and to produce and use words and s ...
,
language development, and
language change
Language change is the process of alteration in the features of a single language, or of languages in general, over time. It is studied in several subfields of linguistics: historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and evolutionary linguistic ...
typified by the replacement of
irregular forms in
morphology or
syntax
In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...
by regular ones. Examples are "gooses" instead of "geese" in child speech and replacement of the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
plural form for "
cow", "kine", with "cows".
Regularization is a common process in
natural language
A natural language or ordinary language is a language that occurs naturally in a human community by a process of use, repetition, and change. It can take different forms, typically either a spoken language or a sign language. Natural languages ...
s; regularized forms can replace irregular ones (such as with "cows" and "kine") or coexist with them (such as with "
formulae" and "
formulas" or "
hepatitides" and "
hepatitises").
Erroneous regularization is also called ''overregularization''. In overregularization, the regular ways of modifying or connecting words are mistakenly applied to words that require irregular modifications or connections. It is a normal effect observed in the language of beginner and intermediate language-learners, whether native-speaker children or foreign-speaker adults. Because most
natural language
A natural language or ordinary language is a language that occurs naturally in a human community by a process of use, repetition, and change. It can take different forms, typically either a spoken language or a sign language. Natural languages ...
s have some irregular forms, moving beyond overregularization is a part of mastering them. Usually, learners' brains move beyond overregularization naturally, as a consequence of being immersed in the language.
The same person may sometimes overregularize and sometimes say the correct form. Native-speaker adults can overregularize, but this does not happen often.
Comparison and contrast with phonetic overcompensation
Phonetic overcompensation, one form of
hypercorrection
In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is the nonstandard use of language that results from the overapplication of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription. A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a ...
, can be compared and contrasted with overregularization.
In both cases, a learner must master the automatic overriding of a rule to the point that it happens unconsciously and instantly—one case being phonetic, the other being morphologic. (The neurologic mechanisms of how that happens are still being investigated. Perhaps the brain needs practice in sidestepping the rule entirely as the needed objects
.g., phonetic strings or past-tense inflected verb formsare called directly instead of being derived on-the-fly via the rule.)
Native-speaker children do not make phonetic overcompensation errors in the same manner or degree that foreign-speaker adults do, because they do not carry the baggage of an earlier language's differences. But it does not seem correct to say that overcompensation cannot happen at all to a monolingual speaker, because some minor tongue-twisting and some minor
Freudian slips could possibly involve neurologic processes that are analogous to phonetic overcompensation.
See also
*
Errors in early word use
*
Spelling pronunciation
A spelling pronunciation is the pronunciation of a word according to its spelling when this differs from a longstanding standard or traditional pronunciation. Words that are spelled with letters that were never pronounced or that were not pronoun ...
References
{{reflist
Language acquisition
de:Übergeneralisierung
acquisition-stub