Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
There is a type of dog called the Pyrenean Mountain Dog or, more often in the USA, the Great Pyrenees, presumably named after the Pyrenees Mountains, which themselves were named after a paramour of Herakles in Greek mythology. The Italian suffix ”-ese” adjectivizes place names, as in “Bolognese” (Bologna) or “Milanese” (Milan). Today I encountered this online post:
Looking for Great Pyranese puppy
Looking for a female great pyranese puppy for guard dog.
want ad
It turns out that there are lots of examples of “Pyranese” online, mostly referring to the dog. There are also some examples of “Pyrenese”. The perps would seem to be presuming that the “great pyranese” breed must have originated in some town called Pyran or Pyrana (neither of which exists, as far as I can determine). I think this is an eggcorn, one which falls into Lehmann territory due to the involvement of proper nouns, though I don’t know whether to call it a Lehmann (common noun acorn >> proper noun eggcorn), an Aunty Lehmann (proper noun acorn >> common noun eggcorn), or some third kind, due to the fact that both acorn and eggcorn are proper nouns.
Last edited by Dixon Wragg (2019-01-29 03:31:39)
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I think it’s just a spelling error modeled after Siamese and other animal breeds, and based on a lack of knowledge of the origin of the name.
“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
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yanogator wrote:
I think it’s just a spelling error modeled after Siamese and other animal breeds, and based on a lack of knowledge of the origin of the name.
I agree that it’s likely just a spelling error in some cases. It’s probably, as you say, “modeled after Siamese and other animal breeds” in most cases. The question is: “Is the perp aware of the meaning of the ”-ese” ending (“from” or “of”) and intending that implication (in which case it’s an eggcorn), or is he/she unaware of the meaning of ”-ese” and just thoughtlessly replicating a familiar spelling pattern, or even just spelling it phonetically (in which case it’s a mere misspelling as you suggest)? I think the most reasonable assumption is that both occur. In fact, if I’d never seen the term “Great Pyrenees” (referring to the dog breed) written down, I might well have eggcorned it that way myself. It makes sense.
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When you consider that the most common occurrence of that sound at the end of the word is in nationalities, with the -ese ending, my position is reinforced, I think. Remember, we’re dealing with a population that now commonly uses ’s to make nouns plural much of the time.
“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
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I wrote:
Is the perp aware of the meaning of the â€-ese†ending (“from†or “ofâ€)...
yanogator wrote:
When you consider that the most common occurrence of that sound at the end of the word is in nationalities, with the -ese ending, my position is reinforced, I think.
Bruce, we seem to be saying the same thing about the meaning of the ”-ese” ending. I don’t see how that leads us to preferring to interpret “Pyranese” as a mere misspelling as opposed to an eggcorn. My bias is still that both are going on. Absent a perp confession, I guess we’ll never know for sure, as is the case in so many instances.
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Actually, Dixon, I said more than I actually meant. I’m just saying that the ”-eez” sound is most often spelled ”-ese” (at least in multi-syllable words). I would have made my point better by not saying the rest. So, if a person hears the word, the spelling “Pyranese” would be more likely to be the spelling the person would imagine, without any meaning implied. “Yeah, I’ve heard of Siamese, Maltese, Pekingese, Chinese, Japanese, etc., so I’ll spell this word that’s new to me ‘Pyranese’.” I would never fight anybody over it, but that’s how I see it.
“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
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yanogator wrote (quoting a hypothetical “Pyranese” speller):
“Yeah, I’ve heard of Siamese, Maltese, Pekingese, Chinese, Japanese, etc., so I’ll spell this word that’s new to me ‘Pyranese’.”
I’m with you on this, Bruce, but notice that it’s not only the spelling ”-ese” all your examples share in common; they also share the same meaning for that suffix, and this meaning of ”-ese” is nearly universally understood, so your own list of examples supports my contention that the meaning is likely to contribute to “Pyranese” for at least some perps. Thus, it’s an eggcorn for them.
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I’ll go halfway with you on that, Dixon, but I still think you’re ascribing more thinking to the situation than actually happens (even if not on the conscious level). Remember, the average person in the US thinks that “three times as much” and “three times more” are the same.
“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
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