| Examples: |
 |
Metathesis is a regular process in Kui.
It can be observed in the second conjugation of verbs where the present
participle and infinitive is typically formed by the addition of the suffixes
/-pi/ and /-pa/, respectively. However, when the stem ends in a velar stop,
the suffix-initial labial stop occurs to the left of the stem-final consonant.
A similar situation holds in the fourth conjugation, although in this instance
the stem-final consonant involved in metathesis is [g], while the prefixal
consonant surfaces as [b]. Examples from the second conjugation are
shown.
| Verb Stem |
Future |
Past |
Present
Participle |
Infinitive |
Gloss |
| bluk- |
bluki |
blukte |
blupki |
blupka |
'to break down' |
| kok- |
koki |
kokte |
kopki |
kopka |
'to sit down' |
| mlik- |
mliki |
mlikte |
mlipki |
mlipka |
'to turn over' |
| lek- |
leki |
lekte |
lepki |
lepka |
'to break' |
| cf. |
|
|
|
|
|
| gas- |
gasi |
gaste |
gaspi |
gaspa |
'to hang oneself' |
| mil- |
mili |
milte |
milpi |
milpa |
'to turn over' |
|
| Conditions: |
|
Metathesis occurs only across a morpheme
boundary. |
| Motivation: |
|
Perceptual Optimization:Hume
(1998, 2001) argues that consonant/consonant metathesis like that observed
in Kui occurs in contexts of low salience and serves to enhance the syntagmatic
and paradigmatic contrast of the sounds in that context. The low
salience of the sequence stems from the observation that the labial and
velar stop are acoustically and auditorily similar. The metathesized sequence
of sounds is superior to the expected unmetathesized form in terms of the
overall perceptual salience of the segments involved. In Kui, this is achieved
by reordering segments in order to improve the salience of a neighbouring
sound or sounds; that is, placing the velar consonant in prevocalic position
and the labial in postvocalic position. Evidence suggesting that
the perceptibility of the segments in this order is greater than in the
reverse order comes from an experimental study by Winters (1999). In that
study, the salience of consonant place in the context VCCV suggests that
positioning a dorsal stop consonant in prevocalic position, even when unstressed
as is the case in Kui, provides a greater boost in perceptibility than
it does for a labial stop consonant (see Hume 2001 for additional discussion). |
| Additional
info: |
|
Stress falls on the monosyllabic root
and is manifested as increased prominence in the form of greater syllable
length. |
| Comments: |
|
Last modified: 2/20/2001 (EVH) |
| References: |
|
Hume, Elizabeth. 1998. The Role of Perceptibility
in Consonant/Consonant Metathesis. In Blake, Susan, Eun-Sook Kim, and Kimary
Shahin (eds.), WCCFL XVII Proceedings. Stanford: CSLI. 293-307.
Hume, Elizabeth. 2001. Metathesis: Formal
and Functional Considerations. In E. Hume, N. Smith & J. van
de Weijer, Surface Syllable Structure and Segment Ordering. Leiden, NL:
HIL.
Winfield, W. W. 1928. A Grammar
of the Kui Language. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Winters, Stephen. 2000. Putting place
in its place: Evaluating place perception in VCCV sequences. In E.
Hume, N. Smith & J. van de Weijer, Surface Syllable Structure and Segment
Ordering. Leiden, NL: HIL.
|
