French (Cajun)
- Language Family
- Indo-European
- Subgroup
- Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian
- Area
- —
Summary
Non-obligatory CV metathesis occurs between a retroflex consonant [r] and schwa.
Type(s) of metathesis
| Type | Status | Optionality | Position | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. CV | Synchronic | Optional | Adjacent | Root-initial |
Case types and qualities
-
- CV
-
- C:
- Rhotic
- V:
- Mid central lax
Examples
a. Type 1 metathesis: A consonant /r/ in a obstruent + /r/ context metathesizes with a schwa.
grenier > [grənje] > [gərnje] > ‘attic’
prenait > [prənɛ] > [pərnɛ] > ‘took’
vendredi > [va~drədi] > [va~dərdi] > ‘Friday’
b. Type 2 metathesis: A word-initial single consonant /r/ metathesizes with a following schwa when the preceding word ends in a consonant.
pour retourner > [purrəturne] > [purərturne]
‘to go back’
d’êt’ revenue > [dɛtrəvəny] > [dɛtərvəny]
‘to be back’
Sosthèn’ regrettait > [sɔstɛnrəgretɛ] > [sɔstɛnərgretɛ]
'Sosthèn regretted'
* When a preceding word ends with a vowel, there is no metathesis.
a's'a retournée > [asarəturne] > [asarturne] > *[asaərəturne]
'she went back'
s'en a r'venue > [sɑ̃arvəny] > [sɑ̃arəvəny] > *[sɑ̃aərvəny]
'she came back'
* When the onset consonant is not /r/, no metathesis occurs.
encor'm'nacé > [ɑ̃kɔrmnase] > *[ɑ̃kɔrəmnase]
'threatened again'
pour v'nir > [purvnir] > *[purəvnir]
'to come'
Conditions
No conditions could be found
Motivations
From Lyche (1995):
Assuming a prosodic analysis where the initial syllable is degenerate in that it lacks a vocalic nucleus, schwa metathesis in Cajun French can be viewed as the result of a epenthesis process which will save the deficient syllable.
Symbols
ɛ = mid-low front vowel
ɑ̃ = nasalized low back vowel
ɔ = mid-low back vowel
Comments
Bibliography
- Lyche, Chantal. 1995. Schwa Metathesis in Cajun French. Folia Linguistica XXIX/3-4. 369- 393.