Home › Glossary › Letter C

Cacography

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Deliberate or inadvertent bad spelling or word choice used for effect.

Detailed Definition
Cacography in poetry denotes deliberate misspelling or orthographic distortion for expressive effect—such as dialect representation, phonetic realism, or subversion of standard language; while risky, it can enhance authenticity (Dunbar’s dialect poems), signal rebellion (e.e. cummings), or evoke psychological states, though it may also alienate readers if overused or unclear.
Example
Example in poetry:
Cacography uses deliberate misspelling for dialect, satire, or sound effect; Twain’s "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" employs cacography for authenticity; E.E. Cummings’s lowercase “i” is stylized cacography; Modern text-speak poetry (“u” for “you”) continues this tradition; Cacography challenges standardization and empowers vernacular.
Additional Notes
Deliberate misspelling for effect or characterization. Used in dialect poetry, satire. Related to eye dialect. Tip: Distinguish intentional cacography from actual errors; consider author's purpose.
Also Known As
eye dialect misspelling
Skip to main content