<div style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)">=====================================================<br> L O W L A N D S - L - 02 January 2012 - Volume 02<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt">From:
R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>></p>
Subject: Phonology<br><br>Dear Lowlanders,<br><br>Lately we have been mentioning phonological metathesis again, namely triggered by the words <i>sporkel</i> and <i>sprokkel</i>. There are numerous cases of metathesis amongst the Germanic languages, the Lowlands group included.<br>
<div><div><br>First of all, what are we talking about here?<br><br>Wikipedia (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_%28linguistics%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_%28linguistics%29</a>):<br><p style="color:rgb(0,0,153);margin-left:40px">
<b>Metathesis</b> (<small>English pronunciation:</small> <span title="Pronunciation in IPA" class="IPA"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English">/məˈtæθəsɪs/</a></span>; from Greek μετά-θε-σις, from μετα-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication#Proto-Indo-European" title="Reduplication">τί</a>-θη-μι "I put in a different order": <i>Latin trānspositiō</i>) is the re-arranging of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoneme" title="Phoneme">sounds</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllable" title="Syllable">syllables</a> in a word, or of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words" title="Words" class="mw-redirect">words</a> in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as <b>adjacent metathesis</b><sup id="cite_ref-Strazny_0-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_%28linguistics%29#cite_note-Strazny-0"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> or <b>local metathesis</b>:<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_%28linguistics%29#cite_note-1"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<ul style="color:rgb(0,0,153);margin-left:40px"><li>fo<b>li</b>age → **fo<b>il</b>age</li><li>ca<b>val</b>ry → **ca<b>lva</b>ry</li></ul>
<p style="color:rgb(0,0,153);margin-left:40px">Metathesis may also involve switching non-contiguous sounds, known as <b>nonadjacent metathesis</b>, <b>long-distance metathesis</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-Strazny_0-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_%28linguistics%29#cite_note-Strazny-0"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> or <b>hyperthesis</b>:<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_%28linguistics%29#cite_note-2"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<ul style="color:rgb(0,0,153);margin-left:40px"><li>Latin pa<b>r</b>abo<b>l</b>a > Spanish pa<b>l</b>ab<b>r</b>a 'word'</li><li>Latin mi<b>r</b>acu<b>l</b>um > Spanish mi<b>l</b>ag<b>r</b>o 'miracle'</li>
</ul>
<p style="color:rgb(0,0,153);margin-left:40px">Many languages have words that show this phenomenon, and some use it as a regular part of their grammar (e.g. the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_language" title="Fur language">Fur language</a>). The process of metathesis has altered the shape of many familiar words in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English language</a>, as well.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(0,0,153);margin-left:40px">The original form before metathesis changed may be deduced from older forms of words in the language's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexicon" title="Lexicon">lexicon</a>, or, if no forms are preserved, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_reconstruction" title="Phonological reconstruction" class="mw-redirect">phonological reconstruction</a>.</p>
<div><div></div></div>Within the context of <i>sporkel</i> and <i>sprokkel</i>, our Heiko
mentioned his child's "acts of metathesis." To further our understanding
of this phonological phenomenon, I really do believe that it behooves us
to look at child's language.<br><br>In actual fact, I wonder if what is at play here is a preference for more "natural" or "primeval" syllable structures, and I wonder if this preference is programmed in us (in the form of ease of pronunciation) and at least in part accounts for cases of metathesis. In other words, certain syllable structures are "more natural" and possibly more archaic than otherstructures are perceived as being easiest to pronounce.<br>
<br>Among phonologists, much has been made in recent decades about primeval syllable structure, and it has been postulated that the structure #CV# is the mother of all syllable types. (C = consonant, V = vowel, # = syllable boundary) To put it simply, <i>papa</i> would be more natural than <i>pap</i> or <i>ap</i>, not to mention <i>arp</i>, <i>parp</i>, <i>palp</i>, <i>pamp, plap</i>, <i>plarp</i>, etc.<br>
<br>Little Jonah, my rabbi's 1+-year old son, tends to throw his arms up at adults and say, "Puh!" ([pʰʌ]). I interpret this as a metathesized form of "Up!" ([ʔʌp]). (In other words, he wants you to pick him up.) Would you agree with this?<br>
<br>Do you have any further thoughts or inside into the phenomenon of metathesis and "naturalness" of syllable structures?<br><br>Regards,<br>Reinhard/Ron<br>Seattle, USA<br><br></div>
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