In her speech Mrs Malaprop has confused the following: This, Sir Anthony, is what I would have a woman know…’ ‘ Then, sir, she should have a supercilious knowledge in accounts -and as she grew up, I would have her instructed in geometry, that she might know something of the contagious countries -but above all, Sir Anthony, she should be mistress of orthodoxy, that she might not mis-spell, and mis-pronounce words so shamefully as girls usually do and likewise that she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying. She gets very involved in the affairs of the young lovers in the play, and uses a lot of malapropisms in her speech (which is why she is called Mrs Malaprop).Īt one point she is explaining to Sir Anthony (father of Lydia’s suitor Jack) how she thinks young women should be educated (the words in bold are malapropisms): In Sheridan’s The Rivals, Mrs Malaprop is the aunt of Lydia Languish, and also her guardian. Malaprop ( The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan) Temporary slips of the tongue occur because of memory glitches or association of ideas (we know the word we want and our brains grasp the one that sounds closest). Classical malapropisms happen because the speaker genuinely confuses meaning with form for example, Mrs Malaprop is self-educated, and genuinely believes ‘pineapple’ is the correct word for ‘pinnacle’. There are classical malapropisms and t emporary or accidental ones. Gradually over time, the handy reference to a funny character in a comedy evolved into ‘ malapropism’. Mrs Malaprop was the name Richard Brinsley Sheridan gave his character in The Rivals (1775), as she continuously mixes words up. The origin of malapropism is French - Mal à propos, meaning inappropriate. This can be accidental, or deliberate (for humorous effect). It can be funny, or embarrassing, and it happens to pretty much everyone! Have you wondered, though, what the function of malapropism is in a literary text? Why do authors deliberately make these 'mistakes' in their word choices? Malapropism: MeaningĪ malapropism happens when one word is mistakenly used instead of another - usually because it sounds similar, yet has a different meaning. Do you ever find yourself searching for a word like ‘historical’ and find yourself saying ‘hysterical’ instead? You’ve just used a malapropism.
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