LINGUIST List 4.730

Tue 21 Sep 1993

Disc: Metathesis

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Directory

1. Geoffrey Russom, Re: 4.725 Metathesis
2. Larry Horn, Re: 4.725 Metathesis
3. "J\\%org Knappen", Re: 4.725 Metathesis
4. Richard Hirsch, Re: 4.725 Metathesis

Message 1: Re: 4.725 Metathesis

The process creating "an adder" from "a naddre" or "an apron" from
"a naperon" is called juncture displacement.

Message 2: Re: 4.725 Metathesis

I suspect that in using "metathesis" to describe the development of a
nadder-->an adder, Dennis Baron was inadvertently blending that term with one
of the standard appellations of the process in question, viz. "metanalysis"
(whose label itself nicely illustrates another oldie but goodie, "syncope").
Along with adders, we have of course aprons, oranges, and umpires (who are, of
course 'non-pairs', or odd people out), whose wayward initial n's migrated to
newts, Shakespearean nuncles, and whole nother things. Metanalysis is also
called (morphological) reanalysis, but the latter term is sometimes used more
inclusively: in my dialect folk etymologies as in 'duck tape', '4-stair
furnaces' and 'spitting images' (see last year's extensive discussion of these
pullet surprises in this space) are instances of morphological REanalysis (how
can they not be?) but don't count as METanalyses or (to use a more judgmental
label) misdivisions. Y'all agree? --Larry Horn

Message 3: Re: 4.725 Metathesis

In german the phenonmenon an ekename -> a nickname is called
"Sandhi-Verschiebung". Allthough I haven't encoutered that term in english
literature yet, "sandhi shifting" would sound perfect to me.

J"org Knappen.

Message 4: Re: 4.725 Metathesis

>Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1993 08:48:59 -0500 (EST)
>From: MARC PICARD <PICARDVax2.Concordia.CA>
>Subject: From y'all to metathesis to...

 In his diatribe against prescriptivism, Dennis Baron refers to the
change of A NADDER to AN ADDER as metathesis, which it ain't. Now in French
this type of misdivision is called "deglutination" (with AN EKENAME > A NICK-
NAME being an instance of "agglutination") but I've never seen or heard that
 term used in English.
 Can anybody tell us if there IS an English term for this type of change?
 Marc Picard

I refer you to Bolinger "Aspects of Language" second edition 1975 pp.412-13.
 There he calls this sort of phenomena 'metanalysis' following Otto Jespersen
 1914. Of any help?

Rich Hirsch