Metathesis in Language 2.0

Aghem

Language Family
Niger-Congo
Subgroup
Benue-Congo
Area
—

Summary

Noun-class prefixes reconstructed as *i- and *u- cause the root-initial consonant to be palatalized or labialized. In Aghem, the class 3 noun prefix *u- is synchronically realized as o- and a labial glide infix -w-.

 

Type(s) of metathesis

Type Status Optionality Position Location
a. CV Diachronic Obligatory Adjacent Between root and prefix

Case types and qualities

Examples

Singular (class 3)
Plural
 
ó-kwɨ́ŋ
é-kɨ́ŋ
'mortar'
 
ó-kwá̀ʔ
é-káʔà
'hill, mountain'
 
ó-twíi
ń-tíi
'medicine'

 

Conditions

Takes place in the class 3 noun prefix synchronically in Aghem.

 

Motivations

Blevins and Garrett (1998) attributes this process to "the resegmentation of elongated palatalizationa nd labialization phases, an extreme version of the common type of change where high-vowel loss results in distinctive secondary articulations on adjacent consonants" (Blevins and Garrett 1998: 514).

 

Symbols

V́ = high tone
V̀ = low tone
V́̀ = falling tone

 

 

Comments

 

 

Bibliography

Blevins, Juliette, and Andrew Garrett. 1998. The origins of consonant-vowel metathesis. Language 74.3 (September): 508–556. doi:10.2307/417792