1. excessive or exaggerated adherence to urban speech patterns, pronunciation, or linguistic features, often resulting in artificial or affected speech.
Usage: linguistics; formal

Examples

• The speaker's hyperurbanism was evident in her overly precise pronunciation of every syllable.
• Linguists study hyperurbanism to understand how speakers sometimes overcorrect their regional accents.
• His hyperurbanism made his speech sound unnatural and forced compared to native urban speakers.
• The phenomenon of hyperurbanism often occurs when people move from rural to urban areas and attempt to adopt city speech patterns.
• Teachers sometimes notice hyperurbanism in students who are trying too hard to sound more educated or sophisticated.