Metathesis in Language 2.0

Quileute

Language Family
Chimakuan
Subgroup
Area

Summary

Proto-Chimakuan root-initial and root-final consonants underwent metathesis across an intervening vowel in Quileute.


Type(s) of metathesis

Type Status Optionality Position Location
a. CC Diachronic Obligatory Non-adjacent Root-initial, root-final

Case types and qualities

Examples

Proto-Chimakuan Quileute  
*l'ay- yaʔl- 'near, toward'
*m'as- siʔb- 'to smell, nose'

Conditions

No conditions could be found

Motivations

Borrowing (Mielke & Hume 2000): Quileute roots that are reported to have undergone metathesis have corresponding roots in Salish languages. This may suggest that the existence of apparently metathesized forms in the language results from multiple borrowings rather than metathesis.


Symbols

ʔ = glottal stop
l' = glottalized lateral
m' = glottalized bilabial nasal
l̥ = voiceless lateral

Comments

Bibliography

  • Mielke, Jeff & Elizabeth Hume. 2001. Considerations of Word Recognition for Metathesis. In E.Hume, N. Smith & J. van de Weijer, Surface Syllable Structure and Segment Sequencing. Leiden: HIL. 2001.
  • Powell, J. V. 1985. An occurrence of metathesis in Chumakuan. In Acson, Veneeta Z., & R. Leed. eds., For Gordon H. Fairbanks. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.