Ekegusii
- Language Family
- Niger-Congo
- Subgroup
- Bantu, Kuria
- Area
- —
Summary
Metathesis of velar and labial fricatives over a vowel occurs in free variation.
Voiced velar fricatives and laryngeals undergo metathesis as part of a series of sound changes from Proto-Bantu.
Type(s) of metathesis
| Type | Status | Optionality | Position | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. CC | Synchronic | Optional | Non-adjacent | Root-internal | |
| b. CC | Diachronic | Obligatory | Non-adjacent | Root-initial, root-internal |
Case types and qualities
-
- CC
-
- C1:
- Velar fricative
- C2:
- Bilabial fricative
-
- CC
-
- C1:
- Velar fricative
- C1:
- Bilabial fricative
- C2:
- Glottal fricative
Examples
| Ekegusii | Proto-Bantu | |||
| ó-kò-βàɣà | ~ ?ó-kò-ɣàβà | 'divide' | < *gàb-a | |
| mà-rɔ̀ɣɔ̀ɔ̀βa | ~ ?mà-ɣɔ̀rɔ̀ɔ̀βà | 'evening' | < *gòdòbà |
Bickmore proposes a diachronic metathesis to account for the pattern:
(Proto-Bantu) *kV1pV2 > (Ekegusii) V1FV2
| Ekegusii | Proto-Bantu | ||
| é-kì-rɔ̀óɣɛ́ | 'eyelash' | < *kópé | |
| rí-↓úɣá | 'bone' | < *kú̹pà |
With the Proto-Bantu labial undergoing deletion after a process of metathesis. The progress of the sound change as proposed by Bickmore is the following: first, Dahl's law, a law of voicing dissimilation found in many Bantu languages, applies to voice the velar. Then, Proto-Bantu *p undergoes lenition to h. This creates the environment for metathesis of the voiced velar fricative and the laryngeal:
*FV1hV2 > *hV1FV2
Finally, the laryngeal fully lenites. Note that Proto-Bantu roots without rounded vowels do not undergo Dahl's Law. Not coincidentally, these forms also do not undergo metathesis. Thus, the metathesis process must be viewed as applying only in the environment given above.
Conditions
No conditions could be found
Motivations
No motivations could be found
Symbols
Comments
Bibliography
- Bickmore, Lee. 1998. Metathesis and Dahl's Law in Ekegusii.