Alsea
- Language Family
- Penutian
- Subgroup
- —
- Area
- —
Summary
A sonorant consonant metathesizes with a following vowel under certain morphosemantic conditions to derive a new form of the root.
Type(s) of metathesis
| Type | Status | Optionality | Position | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. CV | Synchronic | Obligatory | Adjacent | Root-internal |
Case types and qualities
-
- CV
-
- C:
- Nasal
- C:
- Lateral
- V:
- Any
Examples
| "Light" stem | Gloss | "Heavy" stem | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| tmús-χ | is closed | túms-a | door |
| stlák-sal-tχ | had been sliding | stálk-t | slide it! |
| qɬníp-al-χ | strip him often | qɬínp-ay | (don't) strip him! |
Conditions
a. Affects sonorant consonants only; obstruent stems do not show alternation.
| "Light" stem | Gloss | Expected "heavy" stem | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| tsxáp'-sal-nχ | threw it all away | tsxáp'-ay (*tsáxp'-ay) | (don’t) throw them away! |
| pk'ús-χ | urinates | pk'ús-a (*púk's-a) | (don't) urinate! |
b. Applies within stem only; does not affect consonant at beginning of stem.
| "Light" stem | Gloss | Expected "heavy" stem | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| látq-al | usually does (what) | látq-ay (*áltq-ay) | (don't) do anything! |
Motivations
Possibly originated in stems with echo vowels, with eventual deletion of unstressed stem vowel, e.g. *túmus > túms, *tumús > tmús. Location of stress likely due to particular suffixes present in word, leading to correlation of stem type with suffix choice (Buckley 2004).
Symbols
ts = voiceless alveolar affricate
χ = voiceless uvular fricative
ɬ = voiceless lateral fricative
C' = ejective consonant
Page prepared by Gene Buckley.
Comments
Bibliography
- Buckley, Eugene. 2004. Alsea metathesis and syllable structure. Ms., University of Pennsylvania.