Metathesis in Language 2.0

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

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.