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#1 2007-09-05 16:54:28

JonW719
Eggcornista
From: Colorado
Registered: 2007-09-05
Posts: 285

Simular

Hello, all: First post here.

I grew up in Michigan, and my mother and siblings all say “simular” vs. “similar.” I believe this may be a regionalism. But it does make sense: Something similar simulates something else. Does this qualify as an eggcorn? I’m new enough to this that I’m not sure how to categorize it.

Thank you.


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#2 2007-09-05 20:04:06

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: Simular

The explanation sounds good to me. It would be nice if we could get a firsthand account from the utterer. Is your mom available for comment?

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#3 2007-09-06 09:24:15

AdamVero
Eggcornista
From: Leeds, UK
Registered: 2007-09-04
Posts: 69
Website

Re: Simular

I’ve heard similarity pronounced more like simularity, but I think the speaker would probably spell it correctly.
Library often sounds more like libry, February almost always like Febuary or Febry, is this not just a sloppy or regional pronunciation?

I like the implication of a similar simulation, but I don’t think this is an eggcorn for two reasons: – the substituted (“wrong”) word is not more comon than that it replaces – most eggcorns seem to move down in level of complexity or rarity of the words (in this case I would wager that most pepole would think simular is not even a real word, it is so obscure) – it is not written down, leaving it open to interpretation as pronunciation, not word-swapping


Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will buy a ridiculous hat – Scott Adams (author of Dilbert)
Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day; set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life – Terry Pratchett
http://blog.meteorit.co.uk

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#4 2007-09-06 09:54:28

JonW719
Eggcornista
From: Colorado
Registered: 2007-09-05
Posts: 285

Re: Simular

Next time I talk with my mom, I’ll ask her. I’m not even sure she is a aware that she pronounces it differently. All my siblings, most of whom have stayed in the area where we grew up, also say simular. (Nor was I until I went away to college and noticed my peers didn’t pronounce it that way.)

Here is an example of it I found on Google:

Amazon.com: see simular booksA community about see simular books. Tag and discover new products. Share your images and discuss your questions with see simular books experts.
www.amazon.com/tag/see%20simular%20books – 120k – Cached – Similar pages

AdamVero: I didn’t realize “simular” was an archaic word until I looked it up in an unabridged dictionary. It does seem that the meaning was different from the way my family uses it (first definition is as a noun: a person or thing that simulates; second is as an adjective: simulated, false, counterfeited.) The third definition, also an adjective comes closest to their usage, meaning imitative or simulative.

Last edited by JonW719 (2007-09-06 10:18:32)


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#5 2007-09-23 10:34:24

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: Simular

Looks like the linguists now have a name for this term: “esculators”

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/language … 04805.html

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#6 2007-09-23 11:26:58

JonW719
Eggcornista
From: Colorado
Registered: 2007-09-05
Posts: 285

Re: Simular

Cool! I once got my shoelace caught in an “esculator.”

It’s nice to know our family pronunciation falls into a category. I think it dips its toe in the eggcorn pool, so to speak, because of its correlation to simulate or simulation, but I like that it has its own linguistic category.

Thanks, Jorkel.


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#7 2007-09-27 07:15:05

AdamVero
Eggcornista
From: Leeds, UK
Registered: 2007-09-04
Posts: 69
Website

Re: Simular

Aha!
So ‘authentification” would be an esculator, not an eggcorn.


Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will buy a ridiculous hat – Scott Adams (author of Dilbert)
Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day; set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life – Terry Pratchett
http://blog.meteorit.co.uk

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