METATHESIS AS A PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

This study examines one of the less given attention phonological rules
– ‘Metathesis’- to expound on the cases in which metathesis occurs in
English via the application of Hume’s (2004) Model of Metathesis.
Hence, reversal, reordering, or changes of some consonants/vowels
in words as well as borrowing are presented as causes of metathesis in
English. There are two broad classes of metathesis in English -
adjacent and non-adjacent. The language in focus borrows words
from Latin, German, Greek, Celtic, Slavic, French, Arabic, Chinese,
etc. and most of the borrowed lexis from these languages are usually
nouns with few verbs and adjectives. Other phonological issues that
can cause metathesis are in the context of sound usage. Furthermore,
most of the words in which metathesis occur in English are often
appeared or written strictly close or similar to the original words with
little reversal/reorder or change of some segments. However, in some
cases, the spellings/pronunciations of the borrowed words are altered.
In terms of language development, English metatheses are presented
from old and modern English as well as technological advancement
and economic/political progression. As regards dialectal
phenomenon, English posits metathesis from the dialectal difference
between British and American English. The result shows that
metathesis occurs in English either as a result of borrowing, language
development, dialectal differences, and the context in which sounds
are used or non-conformity of words to existing rules in a given
language.