Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Hi all,
This is my first post, hope you find it interesting. I’m not sure this is really an eggcorn as such (and it’s certainly not as interesting as some of the other submissions) but I’ve come across the word ‘granuality’ used in place of ‘granularity’.
A serach on google gives 5,000 hits (vs >2million for granularity), I can find no definition for granuality anywhere (dictionary.com, merriam-webster). I did find a log of a where a software project changing all occurences of granuality to granularity (http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-List … 03865.html). So I think it’s safe to say that granuality is not a real word and to my mind it seems like more than just a common mispelling (admittedly thats arguable). Some examples:
So – I’m not sure it’s an eggcorn as such – maybe there is a better term for this one or perhaps it’s just a mispelling afterall. Well, I’m interested to know what everyone thinks.
-mark
edit: fixed formatting
Last edited by macbutch (2008-10-15 10:30:07)
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Hi and welcome, macb!
My guess is that you’ve got a blend here, between gradual and granular . These are closely related semantically (as is typical with blends), in that as the granularity of something decreases (or increases!, depending on how things are construed), you get closer and closer to true graduality. The example you cite of 10-ms granuality has to do precisely with trying to get the granularity of a digital measure to approach full graduality.
In any case, it can also be seen as a kind of malapropism of the suffixes (an often overlooked, but, I believe, rather common phenomenon), substituting _-ual_ for _-ular_ . They in turn are etymologically related, and in fact if you think of the stem of granular as being gran rather than granule , _ -ual_ might be the more expected (more nearly regular) form.
This to my mind doesn’t prohibit its being an eggcorn, but _ -ual_ and _ -ular_ are near-synonyms, so close in meaning that there is if any only a barely discernible shift in imagery between them. So if it’s an eggcorn, it is a pretty marginal one.
The criteria I’m using for eggcornhood are (1) enough similarity to the acorn (the standard structure) both in sound and overall meaning that the eggcorn (the new structure) can be easily used in place of the acorn without calling attention to itself; (2) a significant shift in imagery nonetheless—the eggcorn arrives at its overall meaning by a different route from that taken by the acorn, and (3) standardness of the eggcorn for at least some speakers, who do not recognize it as a warped version of the acorn.
This example passes criterion (1) with flying colors on the semantic side, and well enough on the phonological side, and almost certainly (3) as well, but doesn’t do well on criterion (2).
Still, it’s fun.
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2008-10-19 23:43:47)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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Just checked, and sure enough there are examples of gradular and gradularity, e.g.
Order from the British Library: Recovery of organic phase from raffinate phase of uranium by congregator filled with F-AC gradular material
Withdrawal isn’t pleasant whether it is gradular or not. I think you should see your doctor; there’s no telling what they can give you
Product Description, Gradular extruded or spray hydrocarbon or alkyd thermoplastic. Intended Use, Reflective Pavement Marking
This analogy breaks down slightly when we get to Gradularity. .... (Gradularity also applies to the movement of hyperspace relative to realspace.
The problem with all this role stuff is it can get a little endless with permutations as you lower the gradularity.
Some seem to mean granularity, others graduality.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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