Common Speech Errors

According to many theoretical linguists, the object of linguistic study is unbroken successions of unrelated yet grammatical utterances generated by a system of rules. Actual speech is characterized by a grammatical utterances, fragments, restarts, and errors.

Freud claimed that speech errors are resulted from repressed thoughts which are revealed by the particular errors which a speaker makes. While it possible that Freud is correct in some case, such errors reveal as much if not much more about the structure of language as they do about repressed thoughts.

Definition of Common Speech Errors

Speech errors are errors in linguistic output occur in spoken language, sign language, written language, and typed language. Speech errors are extremely frequent about 1-2/1000 words. They indicate a breakdown between competence and performance; it may tell us something about how linguistic competence is organized (cited from www.unc.edu).


Speech errors can occur at all level of language processes:
- Phrasal level (syntax)
- Word level (lexicon)
- Morphology (subdivision)
- Phoneme level
- Phonological feature

Dell (1968) identifies three levels of speech errors, particularly slips of the tongue; sounds errors, morpheme errors, and word errors. Sounds errors are accidental interchanges of sounds between words. Thus “snow flurries” might become “flow snurries”. Morpheme errors are accidental interchanges of morphemes between words. Thus “self-destruct instruction” might become “self instruct destruction”. Word errors are accidental transpositions of words. Thus “writing a letter to my mother” might become “ writing a mother to my letter “.