I'm wondering if there's a dictionary defined expression for expressions like:
"There are many facets to the world in which we live in".
One of those "in"s is redundant. But I'm curious if there's a predefined way to describe that mistake.
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It seems to be a case of hypercorrection. – Jon Purdy Sep 30 '14 at 22:19
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I think Language Log had an article (or two) on that phenomenon -- preposition doubling. Here's one article: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1982 – F.E. Sep 30 '14 at 22:23
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It happens when you Pied-Pipe a preposition along with a relative pronoun -- in which we live vs which we live in. Pied-piping is a movement, but here it's treated as a copy, leaving the original preposition still stranded at the end. – John Lawler Sep 30 '14 at 23:06
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1Maybe the most famous example was from Paul McCartney in his lyrics to 'Live and Let Die': "But in this ever changing world in which we live in...". A triple! – Jim Mack Oct 01 '14 at 00:13
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Unnecessary duplication of any sort is a redundancy. My fave is Firesign Theatre's governmental Department of Redundancy Department (deliberate comedy, of course!) =]
Kibitzologist
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I believe it is a dangling or stranded preposition:
Where are you at?
The at is a dangling preposition because it is unnecessary.
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1Interesting. To me the "at" there seems reasonable in certain contexts because it implies some sort of progress rather than just general whereabouts. "Where are you at in your pledge drive?" seems more accurate than "where are you in your pledge drive?". – Yevgeny Simkin Sep 30 '14 at 23:01
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