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l-1"'" "' 't'"t'"tt ono
AraDlc
:
A
Comparative
Study
Lecturer
Raja
Lecturer
Sami
University
of
At
tatheg.is
in
English
and
Arabic
:
:".|
*
Qomparative
Study
vih
d
Coflege
of
Education
Abstract
This study
tackles
the notion
of metathesis
in English
compared
with that in
Arabic' The central goal of this paper is to erucidate
the cases
in which
metathesis
occurs
in both
English
and
Arabic
reaching
at the
points
of sim'arities
and
differences
between
them' To explicate
the linguistic phenomenon
at hand,
an introductory
idea about metathesis
is gi'en vieu,ed
from historical and
psychological
aspects.
Then
a
particular
aftention
is paid
to its causes
and
context
in English and Arabic. Finally, the findings of this paper are sumned up.
1. Metathesis
in English
1.1
Metathesis:
Definition
Language
is a set
of units
that
are
catenated.
in aunique system
of rules
to
have communicative value based on the iinguistic situations speakers
find
themselves
in' It is possible
to say
that
two languages
share
the
same
sounds
but
differ in the way they combine.
To be well-formed,
these
sounds
are
ananged
according
to phonotacticrules-
In cerlain
linguistic
contexts,
speakers
sometimes
unconsciously
misarrange
their segments
to have
either
a meaningjess
wor-d
". ",.
a different
meaning
depending
on the
nature
of linguistic system
of the speakers,
language'
variation in the linear ordering
of elernents
is typical in the dornain
of
syntax'
but comparatively
striking in phonology,
differing in nature
froin most
other
phonological
processes
which are
typically defined
in terms
of a single
sound,
or target,
which undergoes
a change
in a specified
context.
Thus,
the
change
from /nbr to [mb] can be described
in simpre terms as a f ort of
assimilation
of the target
/rt/ in the context
of a followi
ng /b/,thereby
yielding
[mb]' In cohtrast,
the
reversar
of sounds
such
as
/sI<J
-> [ks] defies
such
a simpre
formalism
given
that
such
a case
of transposition
or rnetathesis
seems
to in'o],,-e
347
li=!L" :{l peJ*Jl
:t*
:ri.o iarsetsj rvith each essentially providing
rl00t: 100),
metathesis
is the rearrangement
of rvords
in a sentence.
As a cornmon
term.
nnore
adiacent
sounds:
the context for the other. To Carr
of sou+ds or syllables
in a word,
or
it refers,to the switching
of two or
Tareet Output
-. Integral intergal
2.
Foliage foilage
Due to the distinct
nature
of the process,
metathesis
has
traditionally
posed
a
chailenge
to theorists attempting
to develop a unified and predictive
account
in
phonological
theory.
Though
some
linguists see the
metathesized forms as
a sofi
of speech
elrors, historically
speaking,
some of those forms
have
gradually
become a
linguistic mark
for language change (Carr,200B:100).
1.2 Metathesis
and
Historical Linguistics
Speakers'
errors represent
significant sources for historical linguistic change,
as
a means
fol velifying the
mechanism of speech
production plocess,
in addition
to their
role in understanding
the reality
of the
phonological
units and
ru1es, and
the relationship
between competence
and
performance
( Fromkin,7967:47)
and
(Green,
1969:80). To Sturteland
(1947:38),
such
speech-errors,
or 'lapse',
are
defined
as "an intentional
iinguistic innovatiol". It sometimes
occurs in both
leamers'
performance,
as
in [r f iktn] for 'kitchen',
and
that of the native
speakers.
)'Ietathesis
is known as a process
of switching the linear ordering of segments.
It
has generally been treated as a minor sound change.
Sporadic and ircegular
eramples
of metathesis
are
often
treated
as
if they
were
explaining
it. To Powell
r1985:106),
"Rules
of metathesis
are
rarely productive.
This
is why
they
are
most
i:sel}-
to be discussed
from the point of view of historical
linguistics;
and
even
--:3:3. iheir sporadic natule gives them a definitely rnarginal character".
Sr:*-::'::-;;a111-
iteiathesis
is vieu'ed
more as
"a perfolmance
factor
responsible
::: --.s'=3::-i-s =c o-::r3:
e::atic
-.urface
deviations." (Montler
, i ggg:67)
I
)
3+2
Metathesis
in English and Arabic
:A Comparative
Study
\ccording to linear formalism, metathesis is not a basic
process
or operation.
3:ing unlike assimilation and other speech
processes
and productively or
.::iculatorily driven, metathesis is given relatively less attention.
Though
::rpossible not to hear or commit metrathesized forms in daily communication
:roducing either a funny or a well-formed
word but contextually
of a different
=eaning, metathesis
is seen as a marginal
process
for being perceptually,
'or
=;oustica11y,
driven
(Kiparsky,1995:33).
Unlike perceptually-driven
processes,
=iculatory driven
processes
generally
develop
due to ph,vsiological
constraints
r:r the vocal tract apparatus
and, as a result, tend
to be more
automatic
and
hence,
: rdespread.
As such,
it is not surprising
to find metathesis affecting
only a
:estricted portion
of a
given
phonological
system.
A fur1hel' reason for -uiving
that
--rited attention
to metathesis
in phonological theory stems
from
the
obserr,'ation
:-:t metathesis is often
used as a means of distinguishing
between morphological
:-asses.
So one
might argue, metathesis lies outside
the realm
of phonology
and,
rurrlSeQUerrtly, phonological theory need not provide an account
of it. For a
oiiterent
and
positive
view
to metathesis,
see Chomsky
and
Halle
(1968:56
), as
::dicated
in (1.3).
Being connected
with the sense
of linguistic change,
metathesis is well
::,-oenized in historical linguistics, see Crystal (2003:343),
and gradually
::;omes a common one
that
leads
to a change in language, in its all aspects, as
-:: :he u-ord,
'bird, in Modern English that is developed
from the
word, 'brid, in
r-'
i English
or'hros',
as stated by Crystal
(1992:249),
for 'horse'.
Lass(19B4:188)
=:;-. sar ing that most metathesized forms sporadic, for instance, there have been
:--:-3r examples in the history of English. Thus, it is possible
to find in Old
=:=--sh
interchanges of lpl and
lsl,as shown
in spelling variants: lpsl----rlspl in
'.:
+sr'-'l,'espe, I ps l-->
lspl in 'apse-aspe'
, 'wlisp'- 'wlips
'to be
indicated
as
'lisping'.
talking about
the role of metathesis in historical linguistics.
ii is
io ind one tackling
the social
communicative
factors
in shaping
s:irs: i.e.. the need in a communicative
system
to use fonns
that
343
I*;r- :Il o&tl.:i+f ;iJl;.{e li+-iL*lill ,oC*Jl :il+o
.-::35"riill rd:niit1-
and
accept
also
influences
sound
systems.(
Labov,1980:30
)
Fi.'= a so"-ial perspective,
the
need
to conform
to a linguistic
norm,
for example,
--3:i e\eri int'luence
over
an
individual's
cognitive
language
sound
patterns.
1.3 Metathesis
and
Psycholinguistics
Cn-stal(1992:356)
takes the question.
to further direction considering
'metathesis'
as an alternation
in the normal sequence'of
any units within the
s3ntence
in the sense
that it is a case
of all linguistic
rinits
starling
from sounds,
svllables,
words,
or other
units.
In other words,
phonemes,
morphemes,
words,
and
sometimes larger
units of grammar
are affected,
this keeps pace
with the fact
that speech elrors
through
which, to Roach
(2002:7I),
it is possible
to discover
the
control
of speech production
in the
brain
and
not
be considered
as
a slip
of the
tongue,
but the brain itself does
show a "disordering
of units in the str-ing,
omission
of a
unit, or replacement
of a unit"
To
prop
deeply,
such
an analysis
is,
psychologically
speaking,
cailed'apraxia'
or 'dyspraxia'
which is defined
as "the loss of ability to cany out purposeful
movements
on request,
as a result
of damage
to specific
areas
of the
brain,
but
in
the absence
of any basic
deficit of a motor or sensory
kind". Being concerned
u'ith
linguistics,
such a case
is referred to as
'articulatory
or verbal
aparixia',
and is characterized
by labored
and disordered
speech production.
Speakers'
inability
to order
and articulate
speech
sounds
caused
by an impairment
in the
ner\rous
system
in a sever
form is known
as
'dysarthria'
or'anarthria' that
is a
motor
speech
disorder.
Such a kind of disorder
may affect
any parl of the
vocal
-Lract.
and any aspect
of speech
sound production
can be irnpaired (Cr-ystal,
1992:25-i
11).
1.{ }Ietathesis
: Causes
and
Context
Dealins
u'ith metathesis
as a sort
of disorder
of segments
leads
us
to think of
-: 3s
rniscatenative
use
of language,
to be clearer,
catenation
is defined
as "the
-::-i;rg of sounds
together in speech,
such as the grouping of phonemes
into
1- .:-:s. :id the grouping
of syl1ab1es
and
words
through
assimilation,
elision.
311
e+jL..iIl €rl*IJ
4 Al ;.'t1 l+jill prbJl ;il+o
----:-:::'.,.i 1:c:lrir1 and
accept
aiso
influences
sound
systems.(
Labov,1980:30
)
i:;:- . so'-ial
perspective,
the need
to conform
to a linguistic
norm,
for example,
r= 3\eii ini-luence
over an individual's
cognitive language
sound pattems.
/,),Ur/z/)mraz2lt7rla1/zgzrnrr
Cry-stai(1992:356)
takes the question
'to further direction considering
'metathesis'
as an alternation
in the normai sequence
of any units within the
s3ntence
in the sense
that it is a case
of all linguistic units stafting from sounds,
s1-1iables,
words,
or other
units.
In other
words,
phonemes,
morphemes,
wotds,
and
sometimes
larger
units of gramm
ar are
affected,
this keeps
pace
with the fact
:nat speech
errors
through
which,
to Roach
(2002:71),
it is possible
to discover
rhe
control
of speech
production
in
ronsue,
but the brain itself does
omission
of a unit, or rePlacement
To prop
deeply,
such
an
analysis
is,
psychologically
speaking,
oailed'apraxia'
or ,d-vspraxia,
which is defined
as "the loss of ability to cany out purposeful
novements
on
tequest,
as
a result
of damage
to specific
areas
of the
brain'
but in
;he absence
of any
basic
deficit
of a motol or sensory
kind"' Being
concetned
,iith linguistics,
such
a case
is
refened
to as'articulatory
or verbal
aparixia',
and is characteri
zed
by labored
and disordered
speech
prodr-rction.
Speakers'
inability
to order
and articulate
speech
sounds
caused
by an impairment
in the
nen-ous
system
in a sever
form
is known
as
'dysarthria'
or'anarthria'
that
is a
,1totor
speech
disorder.
Such
a kind of disordel
may
affect
any
pafi of the
vocal
-jecr, and any aspect
of speech
sound
production
can be irnpaired
(crystai,
1992:25-11i)'
1.-l
]Ietathesis
: Causes
and Context
Daa^^re
g-ith
metathesis
as a sort
of disorder
of segments
leads
us to think of
-: =.:ris;arenatir.e
use
of language,
to be clearer,
catenation
is defined
as
"the
--:-r:::; o, sounds
together
in speech,
such
as the grouping
of phonemes
into
;-"*-,.,-.=.
--; -le grouping
of syllables
and
words
through
assimilation,
elision,
1,i
the
brain
and
not
be
considered
as a
slip
of
the
show
a "disordering
of units in the string,
of a.
unit"
311
t'
r
r
F
t
F
I
I
tr
b
b
I
Metathesis
in English and
Arabic
: A Comparative
Study
and
iuncture" (Richards
and
Schmidt,
2002:329-30)
Thus,
metathesis
is phonetically less natural than other
processes, and has
a
relativel-v*
greater phonologicai motivation. This view was clearly stated by
Grammont
( 1985:239).'metathesis
arises when the order of sounds
and the
s1'llable
boundary make
inconvenience;
it causes
a group
of sounds to be placed
x-here
it is easier
for the speaker ". This phonetic optimizatibri
approach has
prevailed in descriptive
and typological
studies.
According
to,Ultan
(I918:395),
for instance,
"metathesis
yields a better syllable
structure
safeguards
unity and
harmony of languages
sound system in replacing
unusual
groups
by common
groups which have become
unpronounceable
in substituting
simple types for
them and avoids
useless
articulatory
effects". Ultan's
survey also concludes
that
the superfr.cial
cause
of most metatheses
is conversion of a phonologically
inadmissible
or disfavored
sequence
into
an acceptable
one. Hock
(1985:532-33)
contends that metathesis
becomes regular only when it serves a specific
structural
pu{pose usually that of converting
phonologically or perceptually
marked
structures
into more
acceptable ones.
In Chomsky & Halle's (1968:34),
seminal
wolk in genet'ative
phonology,
metathesis
is formally described
by means
of transformational
notation, where
(1) shows
the metathesized
sequence
of consonants /s/ and lkJ,
1. Target
SK
l2
Output
KS
2'r
while (2) is a case
in which the first consonant
in a word is metathesized
rvi-rh
the final consonant
of a word over a string
of five segments.
All regular
ca-ses oi
synchronic metathesis
involve strictly adjacent
segments, for related
discussion.
see Hume
(1998),
Mielke
& Hume
(2000),
2. CMC3V4C5V6C7 --)
the fact that linear formalism was
c7v2c3v4csv6c
1
inadequate
to represent
metathesis is not
345
a
iir#|". :{l pC*JJ
e+{ttJl ';.11 ..:.........
4til"' :il|pC"Jl
+J+"
" - te- -;-
sutt-tcienr
argumenr
for rejecting
rnetathesis
as a basic
operation.
Metathesis
has
resis:ed a lnii-red^ explanatory
treatment in nonlinear phonology despite
adr
ancemenrs
in the
formalism
used
to account
for many
other
proc.esses, such
as
assi:jlaiion (Clements,1985:34)
and dissimilation
(Odden,I98l:45
) Unlike
::r3s3
:henomena,
there is no unique
formalism
for characterizingmetathesis
as
a
:i;iiiir-e rule-type.
Instead,
'metathesis
effects',
as
cited
in ( Frornkin,
i9l3:2'I8-
'r-tr.
irar-e
been
derived
by a variety
of different
means
including:
. SUgCessive
application of rules of deletion zind
insertion (Besnrer
1987,
Hume 1991)
single
feature
spreading
(Rice 1992)
planar
segregation
(McCarthy
1
989)
template
rnaximization
(van der
Hulst
& r'an Engelenhoven
1994)
vowel
epenthesis
into
degenerate
sr'llables
(Lyche
1995)
From a
theoretical
perspective,
therefore:
metathesis
ceased
to exist as a distinct
phonological process (Wanner,1989.26).
To clariff, the
disordered
units
are
possibly
to be segments,
which
Nooteboom
(1969:1
14) sees as 'phonemic
speech
el:rors'
and 'non-phonemic
e1'rors',
morphemes,
ol words. Transposing
two segments
in the linear ordering
is
considered
a sorl of errors that is refered to, attributed
to Spooner,
as
'sloonerism'.
To be interpreted,
those
en'ors
may occur
either
rvithin
words such
AS:
Target Output
R-:ler
ant ---+
revelant
-{=:e::sk ---+
asterix
or across
word boundaries
as in:
Keep a tape -+ teep
a cape.
\\-.s::d. a tem ---+
tasted a \Yoffn
-:^:-
r.
:: scrs o: toil --' all 1-ou
tons
of soil
316
.......flessings
blow
Metathesis
in
English
and Arabic
: A
Comparative
Study
There are cases
in which the hear,lt
coda,
final consonants
in the syllable
strrucrure.
prohibition
has
led
to instances
of vklbeing reversed
to ltlv as in:
9. \Iodem --- fmodren]
i0. panern
---+
[p6tren]
\ot only
can
single
segments
be
metathesized
tiut also
the
whole
cluster.
This
^r:d of errors
does,
according
to Fromk
in (1973:22I), occur
very
often
giving the
.b^lou-ing
examples: :
par-
scale-+
at the bottom
of the fskej peyl] 12.
thruttine
Such
a movement
of the whole ciusters
is but further
evidence
that the syllable
is not a single
indissoluble
unit in speech
production,
but itseif composed
of a
sequence
of segments.
This is attested
by the fact that a CV or a VC sequence
rvhich
is part of a syllable
can
be involved
in speech
elrors,
for illustration:
13.
PussY
cat --) cassY
Put
14.dress
and
pitch -+ piss and
stretch
Where
(13) shows
the monosyllable
[katJ as a sequence
of three segments
lk+a+t], with the first two segments
transposed
with the first two segments
of
lpt-v+sijl,(14)
shows
transposition
which can be explained
in a way that the
ryord
'piss'
is substituted
for 'stress',
and'stretch'
for 'pitch';
or instead,
that the
speaker
started
to say
'pitch'
and'stress'
and
the
eror is one
of the
final consonant
substitutions.
(Fromkrn,7973:22I).
Committing
such
enors
supports
the idea
that
s1,-llab1es,
like other segments,
have independent
status
as behavioral
units of
performance.
As slips
of tongue,
metathesis
in its all kinds
does not negate
what
Nooteboom
(1969:119) suggests"
the
distance
between
origin
and target
(or
the
substituted
segments)
does
not generally
exceed
seven
syllables,
(and) since
u'e
know that the short memory span
of man may contain
about seven
units.
. . "\'3
might interpret
our findings as an argument
for the syllable
to be a uni: rr. ::-:
phonemic
ploglafilming
system".
Fufthernore,
Boomer
and
Laver
(1965: I s:::3
"segmental
slips
obey
a structural
law with regald
to syllable
place:
thai ,s- ::: =-
segments
in the origin syllable
replace
initial segments
in the targe:
="--.:-;-
11.
At the
bottom
of
the
Throat cutting ---+ coat
"11
ii+:l-':Xlpetrll 4+-{Jil';-'r1 :i:#lud!l,"rloll ul+"
nuclear
replace
nuclear.
and
final repiace
final".
MacKay (1969
:65) points
out
th.at
tle "s11tab'ic
position
of reversed
consonants
was
ahnost
invariably
identical"
There
are a number
of errors
occurring
within the'same
word shows
sequential
oiierls oise-ements
rvithin
syllables,
as
in the
following
examples:
1 5. Harp-si-chord--)
carp-si-hord
i 6.
Ma-ga-zine
-*ma-za-gine . r
The assumption
that clusters
on a performance
level shouid
be interpreted
as
sequences
of consonants
raises
the question
of affricates.
It,is interesting
to note
ihat whil
e lstr], lpll, ltol, lbll, lfrl etc.,
as well as frnal clusters,
reveal the
splitting
of clusters
into segments,
not a single
example
from Fromkin's
data
(1973:222),
or of otherto
show
a splitting
of ftl] or [d ] into sequences
of stop
plus
fricative:
l7.Pinch
hit ---'
pinch
hitch
not fpint hit l]
is certainly
true,
to Fromkin
(1973:225),
that
erors u,hich
ilvolve a substitution
of features
are
rare,
compared
to errols
involr'ing
iarger
units.
They
nevertheless
require
some explanation,
and
one
can
conclude
that
some
features
appear
to be
independently
extractable
as
perfonnance
units.
\Ian1-
segmental
erors may
also,
be examples
of such
feature
enors;
but since
rher-
can
also
be accounted
for as
errol's
of larger
units, as in: call the girl---+
gall the cur-l
([k]-[g], o, [-voice]-
l+voice])'
The
transposition
'brake
fluid' to 'brake
fi-uid',
one
might suggest
that
what
is involved
is a transposition
of the
feature
[lateral]
or fanterior]
rather
than
transposition
of the
two segments
To
Lass
(1984:188),
there
is a sort
of metathesis
of uncertain
age
that
invoives
nasal
sequences,
particularly
lrn/ and
lnl:'enmit\,' for 'emnity'
is quite
frequent,
and 'anemone'
for 'amenone'
seems
to be developing
near-standard
status.
N{etathesis
represents
a formal problem
that has two possible
interpretations,
either
to be considered
as a sort of interchange'
or as a movement
of one
phoneme
'over
the
other'.
\'loreover,
Fromkin's
data (1973:2I9)
reveals
that
not only consonants
but
also
rrorlrels
can
be
metathesized.
as shown
beiou,:
It
348
Metathesis
in
En$lish
and
Arabic
: A
comparative
study
18.Ad
hoc
--- odd
hack
1 9.\\-ang's
bibliography-+
wing's
babiiography
10. Turn the corner
-> torn the kerner
It is perhaps worthwhile pointing out that in both linear and nonlinear
ohonological
theory
there
is a principled
reason
to resist
recognizing
metathebis
.-. a leoitimate
phonological
process
of segment
reversal:
extbnding
the
theory
to
account for the inherently distinct nature of metathesis
.
has the potentiai of
opening
'a Pandora's
box of implausible-seeming
processes'.
(Janda'1984:92)
This resistance
according
to metathesis
fotmal
statusrin
phonological
theory
has
'ceen
reinforced
through
viewing
metathesis
as
a sporadic,
marginal
process'
For
example,
webb $97a:2\ states
that metathesis
does
not exist as a regular
:honological
process
in synchronic
grammar'
Rather,
metathesis
is commonly
ihought
to be restricted
to performance
elrors,
child language
or sound
change,
ihat is to Webb (ibid), "a view regularly
expressed
in the linguistic
literature,
including
the most
up-to-date
instructional
texts
and
dictionaries".
However,
to
conclude
while metathesis
is not as widespread
as
processes
such
as
assimilation
or deletion,
and
can
be limited in its scope
affecting
only a subset
of fotms
or
morphological
classes
of English, metathesis
can nonetheless
be completely
regular
as
a synchronic
phonological
process
'
2. Metathesis
in Arabic
2.1
Metathesis:
Definition
The process
whereby
letters,
not sounds
as
the case
in English,
appears
to
srvitch position with one another in Arabic is generally cailed 6$t d\i:j)l) '
\Iorphologists name this linguistic phenomenon as (s/u(*Jr
vJlJtl (A}-khamash,
I 996:
I 3)
Al-Jarf
(2003:
6) defines
metathesis
as
a process
which involves
a chan-ee
in
the
position
of the
root consonants
and
the
retention
of the original
meaning;
'i:
-r-o-^l o'
! -\srrly,rv '
Target
-.i' - iethah'
IsLlrseF
v--
outpur
1 3 iab aiha
aJibdllprl*fl i+i1jtll 2rr1 4+jl"' :illpColl oI+"
-
-.i; sa'aqa
+t rvashaba
ir3 madaha
'r;u Saqa'a
atj wabasha
r:si hamada
output
i.t.,,i'ayasa
output
.-it' karhab
N-mutaliby (1978 196)
and
Safiva
(1980:431)
maintain
that
metathesis
can be
considered
as
a dialectal
phenomenon'
For example'
both 'i../ra and
i:'s+ h4ve
the
same
meaning,
but
the
target
is used
by Bany
Qurayshwhile'the
output
is
used by
Bany Tamym.
2.2Metathesis:
Causes
and Context
Anees
(i985:169) says
that one
of the reasons
for making
metathesis
in most
of the Arabic words is the excessive
availabilit)' and the ease
of pronouncing
certain
sound
clusters
than
other
.
Target
tA Ya'asa
Tarqet
,.-r4K kahrab
To clarify,
the
root which starts
with 'o'
',
al-hentza.
followed by 'g ' exists more
than
that
which starts
with 'g t follorved
blo
" " hemza;
therefore,
the word t
6-i' is
matathesized
into 'd-l' ,the same
reasoning
can
be
applied
to the following
word
:
In Arabic, metathesis
is a well-known lin-euistic
phenomenon
that can not be
ignored.
It cad'be
noticed
clearly
in children's
language
and
the colloquial
one. Its
realizatton,
as stated
by Amaar
(2006:13).
differs
according
to the
position of the
metathesi
zedletters
.It occurs
between
the
initiai let[ers,
such
as 'Vl;3',hashraj,
rvhich is metathesized
rnto'..;".-:,',
shahraj,
as
in:
)il G.
aLbJvJ2.4Ja? \tL ,jJl ! ,F G--
\" ilr*j
This u,ord is metathesized
into '6,o; ', which is not found
in Standard
Arabic,
"-?
"t"."rr-..
of the
ease of pronouncing'j' followed
bytC' than
'6' followed
by'.r' .
350
Metathesis
in
English
and
Arabic
: A Gomparative
Study
-
Mebial letters
can also
be metathesized
as
in 'gi' , de'ram,
which is metathesized
ha'noi ', dar'am.
Further rcabzation
is the transposition
of the final letters as in '
d'Lr: mtahlib,whose
output
is'.!:'!r', mtahbil:
L-*La' OtJlf 3U.:tt t*-; a="t-t
ot*rll ZJ-.bu Uu
As a result, what can be observed
out of the given exam"ples
is that the
tmsposition happens
between adjacent
letters. As in English, metathesis
in
Arabic can be extended
to take
place
between
non-adjacentletters
(ibid.):
Target
r-.1Liigt
'awshab
J;t- manazil
Tarqet
,*:-i,tushub
output
Jb.sl 'awbash
ojX" malazin
output
-o'l:, shu'ub
Arabic is written with consonant
symbols only. Arabic short vowels are
indicated
by means
of 'diacrifics'below or above
letters.
Usually only consonants
and long vowels are written down. Metathesis
in Arabic consists of modifuing
the linear
order
of root consonants,
for example:
-n bahar -t ,habar
Prunet,
Beland
and
Idrissi (2000:614) state
that the aspects
of metathesis
are
in all tasks, for instance:
output
,t-ru shafil
a2,+a4
saffha
)JJi qudur
noteworthy.
First, even if the linear order of consonants
is affected,
vowels
usually remain
intact
I arget
Ji'e fashil
-ti=",p sahyfa
-1
ssf quruo
An overview
of these
metatheses
reveals
that
they all involve consonants
only-
The order of the vowel melody elements
is never affected.
Although the long
,,?
voWels
'tr€
,) I are transcribed
in the Arabic scripts
of the aforementioned
words,
351
,t
i fuqara'
JV* mahrajan
t+-il* :!l,oel*Il 4*{}:tll';.11
thel'
are
not
metathesized.
In addition,
Idrissi(
1997:127)
says,
metathesized
cases
mrset the consonants
of the root only, and affixal consonants
( in prefixes,
suffixes,
infixes)
are
never
involved,
as
shown
in the
following
instances:
Tarset output
,u? furaqa'
ot+a/ marhajan
The root of the word 'rt.c!'
is 'r-a.i',
when it undergoes
metathesis,
only the
consonants
of the root are changed
to be 'c5ri',
while the plural suffix ,rl,
is not
affected.
Regardless
of the number of prefixes, infixes or suffixes, the
consonantal
root is the exclusive
domain
of metathesis.
Further
illustrations
are
the
following:
Target
c.ltiF farashat
;tg* yaghraqun
Not only does
metathesis
not move affixal consonants
around
but it does
not
even
do this when they are
homophonous with root consonants:
Tarqet
g masaha
cLi masa'
e_-r mukhnj
# masbah
oulput
crljLj.e
fasharat
;t3toy-
lareaghun
output
*g6:5ary1ala
rLoJ; 52P41
;.;i mukhjir
,-i; mahbas
When'm' is the part
of the root, as in ':,g--'and'rLjt, it can
be metathesized
, but
rvhen
it belongs
to a prefix, as in '6;j' and '--;', it remains
as
it is. (Prunet,
Beland, and
Idrissi,2000:617)
Out of the examples
shown,
it is evident
that the
speaker,
who produces
metathesis, has problems
with speech
production and
?more
specifically
with phonological planning,
but he has
no semantic
disorder.
If
the speaker's competence
were affected, that is, if he had lost all information
L352
[?"
6es
les,
Metathesis
in
English and Arabic
:A Comparative
Study
pertaining to the order of root consonants,
he would misunderstand words
containing
identical root consonant in different orders, such as the verbs cif',
y.'rote.and'€3t,
repressed.
However,
he makes
no such sort
of confusion at the
input processing level,
that is, comprehension.
Moreover,
although the normal
sceaker's
metatheses
are frequent,
they still form a small percentage
of his
:roduction: most of his words show appropriately
ordered
consonants.
Both
characteristics
are
incompatible
with actual
loss
of underlying
order
in his root
entries.
(ibid; 619)
The lexical
entries
of roots
contain informaiion
of a syntactic,
semantic,
morphological
and phonological
nature.
The last is divided between
secmental
features;
which encode
place and manner
makeup,
and ordering
-:ribrmation,
which
encodes
precedence
relations.
Those
who produce
metathesis
ia.,'e
problems
with precedence
relations.
Horvever,
all consonants
can be moved,
-.ometimes
with two or more
wrong outputs
for the same root as shown
in:
;not
,.2
(-;)
lrn.
Root target
r--Z &*i
outputs
o-*l o-p\
cK aa at. (* .-2
CJ
\\liere these
examples
indicate
that any reordering
of root consonant seems
;ossib1e,
reordering could conceivably
be governed by phonological or
:erceptual
factors.
Transpositions
can occur
with two or even three consonants.
O:dering
in which two consonants
are dispiaced
is called ' bipartite', as in
-( .ri,el- and
those in which
thu'ee
consonants
are
displaced'tripartite',
such
ru ;"i ,iJ+
(Al-Mozainy,198i:86
and
Heath,
1987:184)
\n or-en-ierv
of the Arabic words
indicates,
according
to Kiparsky
1 1987:l-1).
that Arabic has few phonatactic
constraints on the nature of CC
clusters. such as 'sril',
qird ( CVCIC2) and its output 'Jr9',
qfdr (CYCzCr).
Generallv speaking, Arabic consonants are separated
by vowels and the
consonant
re\:ersals
in errors such as |
6,-nJc',
sffia, result in the same C\/C
sr*a,rras of the target forrns,
'
U^o3'
,
fusha.
353
e*lLs-iill prl*Jl el+"
Sonietimes
the whole root can be exchanged
with another
leaving the affixal
unaffected.
Abd-Eljawad and Abu-Saiim (19871a9) r'eport certain Arabic
examples that fall into this category.
+i3 *<- sakta
qaibya 45- cJi qalba
saktya
-!..6: J=+
Nabyl w Kamil J.ru
J J::"5 Kamyl w Nabil
In the above mentioned cases,
the two vocalized template
remain
in situ while
the two roots are switched. As a result, each
root finds itself mapped to a
template it should not select. It is also crucial to 'know if metatheses
are
predictable
on semantic
grounds
because lexical confusion
within semantic
fields
is the hallmark output
deep
'dyslexia', such as
utterin
g 'fork'when shown the
word '/orif"'.
Consequently, it is conceivabie that
the speaker
would metathesize
consonants not because of a
phonological problem
but because
he is
pronouncing
a semantically related
word that happens
to contain
the same consonants
ordered
differently
(Heath,
1987:87). Semanticalll',
Prunet,
Beland, and Idrissi
( 2000:622) state
that metathesis
can be divided
into two categories:
First are
those outputs
that happen to be existin,-e
\\'ordS
with specific meanings.
It shouid
be considered
that there is no semantic
association
between the target
and the
output and it is only by chance that the output happens to coincide
with a real
word.
Target
')-':
(entered
) dakhala
.-erb
(envelop)
tharf -* (victory') thafr
7e;a (exarrtined) fahas a =at (was fluent) fasaha
1ry
(cooking pot) qidr
:; (monkey) qird
From the psycholinguistic perspective,
these
rvords
are said to be lexically
biased because
one cannot
rule out that they are prornpted
by phonological
similarities between the target and the output forms. The second category
comprises
lexically unbiased words: it contains
outputs that are nonwords.
output
j,u (became
numb) khadala
354
ile
a
are
ields
t the
esize
rcing
lered
;t are
rould
d the
l real
ricaliy
ogicai
tegory
words.
Metathesis
in English
and
Arabic
: A Comparative
Study
Semantic
meaning.
Tarqet
motivation
is out of the question for these outputs
since
they
have
no
output
gsf 'aby-rthya
o'rt ba'ratha
VA @thiopia) 'athYubYa
-* ( scattered) ba'thara
Thus,
it is possible
to say
that metatheses
are
not baused
by,confusion
between
lexical entries
that are semanticaily
related.
They are either due to inability to
consistently maintain the underlying ,order of r6otr consonants during
phonological derivation and speech production or, for lexically biased
metatheses,
to confusion
between
roots whose
segmental
makeup
happen.to
be
similar
( Prunet,
Beland,
and
Idrissi,2000:622)
.
Conclusions
ln both ianguages,
metathesis
seems
to be of two types:
creating
a new root
by changing
the order
of consonants
and
selecting
another
template.
Arabic has few phonotactic
constrains
on the nature
of CC clusters,
such
as
,tf , qirdCVClC2--+
, ,S', qielr
CYC2C1,
&S
compared
with English which does
have such phonotactic constraints.
There are certain cases
that cannot be
metathesized
in English because
the result will be inadmissible consonant
clusters,
for instance,
'brake
fluid'could be mispronounced
as 'frake bluid',but
bake switch'could never
be done as 'srake
bwitch', for having no English
syilable begins with /sr/ or /bw/ . Consequently,
Arabic consonants
are more
fre to metathesis
than are
English
consonants
do.
Fufrermore, Arabic exploits
far more
combinations
of consonant orders
than
ryiqh does. In other
words,
the order
of stem
consonants
is easier to disrupt
in
Arabic
fhan
in English.
This ease of root consonant
reversal
can
mostly
be
related
to tre frct that Arabic has
a number
of synonymous
roots containing the same
oonsonants
in different orders.
What
is more is that English
vowels
can be metathesized
unlike Arabic ones
that
cm nevgr
undergo
metathesis,
for illustration:
355
- " .l .flf I ^ ll ': ..ll ': I / .r -r -rrr r rr ..r
i*il-' rill p9I*Il e+{Jjll ';.11 :i-'ilr*i{l p9r*.r dr+o
4?r;'qirud --+
yJe,,:
qidur
Fish and tackle
---+
fash and tickle
It is evident
that
ordering in which
two consonants
are
{isplaced,
'bipartite',
is available in both languages,
while that
in which three
consonants
are
displaced,
'tripartite', is limited to Arabic language only. Moreover, onset - coda
metatheses
are limited in both languages
since the floating consonairts
can be
attached to either onset or coda depending
on the temflaie.
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