Metathesis in Language 2.0

Kwara'ae (Fiu)

Language Family
Austronesian
Subgroup
Malayo-Polynesian, Malaita
Area
—

Summary

A consonant metathesizes with a following vowel.

Type(s) of metathesis

Type Status Optionality Position Location
a. CV Synchronic Obligatory Adjacent Root-final

Case types and qualities

Examples

Sohn (1980)

/daluma/
da.luəm
‘bailer, to bail’
dəul.ma:
‘bail it’ (-a = 3rd pers. obj. suffix)
/abeani/
ʔæ:bɛ:n
‘to help’
?æ:.ba.nia
‘help it’ (-a = 3rd pers. obj. suffix)
/adola/
an.doal
‘public area’
aond.ləum
‘your pbulic area’ (-um = ‘your’)
/sata/
sa:t
‘name’
sa.ta:nd
‘their name’ (-ad = ‘their’)
/babalili/
ba:b.li:l
‘cheek’
ba:b.li.liuk
‘my cheek’ (-uk = ‘my’)
 


Pawley (1982) a. When the underlying ‘v1cv2’ is aCi, aCu, aCo, uCi or eCo, and C is not a nasal, it is realized as [v1v2 cv^2] or [v1v2c(v2)], where v^ denotes a partially devoiced vowel, and (v) denotes a completely devoiced vowel (that is to say, the lips form or retain the shape of the preceding vowel but no sound can be heard).

/kado/
[kaodo^]
[kaod(o)]
'thin'
/ago/
[aog(o)]
 
'to shelter'
/selo/
[seol(o)]
 
'sail'
/husi/
[huisi^]
[huis(i)]
'cat'
 


b. When the underlying sequence ‘v1cv1’ contains identical vowels, it is realized as [v1:cv^1] or [v1:c(v 1)]. That is, the second vowel shows up as additional vowel length before C, as well as appearing after C as a devoiced vowel. Before glottal stop, there is no preconsonantal vowel lengthening.

/oso/
[o:so^]
 
'lie, tell untruth'
/sata/
[sa:ta^]
[sa:t(a)]
'lie, tell untruth'
/satada/
[sa:ta:da^]
[sa:ta:d(a)]
'their name'
/maʔa/
[maʔaʔ]
[maʔ(a)]
'father'
 

Conditions

A consonant which is not preceded by a vowel is never metathesized with the following vowel (Sohn 1980).

/sa/
[sa]
*[as]
person marker
/sulia/
[sulia]
*[uslia]
'because'
/bolebolea/
[bœ:lbolea]
*[bœ:loblea]
‘crazy’
 

Motivations

Economy of speech effort (Sohn 1980): Metathesis occurs in Kwara'ae to minimize the number of syllables by converting open to closed syllables, with a minimum loss of phonological features as well as communication.

Gradual sound change (Pawley 1982): The appearance of metathesis having taken place in Kwara'ae is the cumulative effect of two phonological processes, anticipatory vowel copying and vowel reduction.

Symbols

Comments

Bibliography

  • Deck, N. C. 1933-34. Grammar of the language spoken by the Kwara'ae people of Malta, British Solomon Islands. Journal of the Polynesian Society 42, 33-48, 133-144, 241-256; and 43, 1-16.
  • Pawley, Andrew. 1982. Kwara’ae ‘Metathesis’ as a Gradual Sound Change. Ling 83. 102.
  • Sohn, Ho-min. 1980. Metathesis in Kwara’ae. Lingua 52. 305-323.
  • Watson-Gegeo, Karen Ann, and David W. Gegeo. 1986. Calling-out and repeating routines in Kwara’ae children’s language socialization. Language socialization across cultures, ed. by Bambi B. Schieffelin and Elinor Ochs, 17-50. Cambridge University Press.