Definition:
The transposition within a word of letters, sounds, or syllables. Plural: metatheses.
See also:
Etymology:
From the Greek, "to transpose"Examples and Observations:
- "The order of sounds can be changed in a process called metathesis. Tax and Task are variant developments of a single form, with the [ks] represented by x metathesized in the second word to [sk]. . . . The metathesis of a sound and a syllable boundary in the word another leads to the reinterpretation of original an other as a nother, especially in the expression 'a whole nother thing.'"
(T. Pyles and J. Algeo, The Origins and Development of the English Language. Harcourt, 1982) - "The /sp-/-/ps-/ metathesis in English can occur in the onset of an unstressed syllable as in spaghetti--psketti."
(D. Minkova, Alliteration and Sound Change in Early English. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003) - "A famous example from Shakespeare's The Tempest is the figure of Caliban whose name originates from a phonological metathesis of /n/ and /l/ in cannibal."
(Heinrich F. Plett, Literary Rhetoric: Concepts-Structures-Analyses. Trans. by Myra Scholz and Frederik Heinemann. BRILL, 2009) - Metathesis in the Pronunciation of Ask as /aks/
"While the pronunciation /aks/ for ask is not considered standard, it is a very common regional pronunciation with a long history. The Old English verb áscian underwent a normal linguistic process called metathesis sometime in the 14th century. Metathesis is what occurs when two sounds or syllables switch places in a word. This happens all the time in spoken language (think nuclear pronounced as /nukular/ and asterisk pronounced as /asteriks/).
"Metathesis is usually a slip of the tongue, but (as in the cases of /asteriks/ and /nukular/) it can become a variant of the original word. . . .
"In American English, the /aks/ pronunciation was originally dominant in New England. The popularity of this pronunciation faded in the North early in the 19th century as it became more common in the South. Today the pronunciation is perceived in the US as either Southern or African-American. Both of these perceptions underestimate the popularity of the form."
("ax-ask," Mavens' Word of the Day. Random House, Dec. 16, 1999)
Pronunciation: mi-TATH-ah-sis
Also Known As: permutation
