There is, for example, the tip of the tongue phenomenon in which we feel that some word is just eluding us, that we know the word, but it just won’t come to the surface. Studies of this phenomenon have shown that speakers generally have an accurate phonological outline of the word, can get the initial sound correct and mostly know the number of syllables in the word. This experience also mainly occurs with uncommon words and names. It suggests that our “word-storage” system may be partially organized on the basis of some phonological information and that some words in the store are more easily retrieved than others.

When we make mistakes in this retrieval process, there are often strong phonological similarities between the target word we’re trying to say and the mistake we actually produce. For example, speakers produced secant, sextet and sexton when asked to name a particular type of navigational instrument (sextant). Other examples are fire distinguisher (for “extinguisher”) and transcendental medication (instead of “meditation”).

Mistakes of this type are sometimes referred to as malapropisms after a character called Mrs. Malaprop (in a play by Sheridan) who consistently produced “near-misses” for words, with great comic effect. Another comic character in a TV program who was known for his malapropisms was Archie Bunker, who once suggested that We need a few laughs to break up the monogamy.