Linguistics: Entertaining and Informative Mini-Lectures

I hope you enjoy these two mini-lectures with Professor Anne Curzan from the University of Michigan.

Part 1, The Word on Language and Grammar, talks about word formation, highlighting the "-ize" suffix and some of its odd results.

Part 2, The Word on Language and Grammar, gives an overview of the phonological phenomenon of metathesis, highlighting the asterisk/asteriks difference.


PART 1



PART 2


Both lectures are from the University of Michigan's LSA Wire.

A Speeding Spoonerism

Driving on I-75 North in Michigan recently, I passed an SUV with a large rear-window sticker that included the text (without image) seen below.

My first thought was that the SUV must belong to a psychiatrist with a sense of humor (one that probably hosts a radio show).

Upon googling the name, I learned that Dr. Freak Speely is actually the name of a band from Grand Blanc Michigan.

At any rate, the reason I mention this sighting is that I think the name could be one of the most appropriate spoonerisms I have seen of late; after all, it is often the case that people who speak freely are thought of as freaks.

For the uninitiated, here is the definition of spoonerism from Wikipedia - A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels or morphemes are switched (see metathesis). It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency.

How to Pronounce Brett Favre's Last Name

Sportscasters and fans alike, when talking about Brett Favre, pronounce his last name as "Far -Ve." But if you pause for a moment to look at the spelling, you will notice it does not seem to match up with the pronunciation. So how should his name be pronounced and is there a correct way?



Understand that when people pronounce Favre as "Far -Ve," it is a linguistic phenomenon called "metathesis." Metathesis occurs when two neighboring sounds in a word switch places.

Other examples of metathesis in English include "comfortable" pronounced as "comfterble," "spaghetti" pronounced as "pasghetti," and "asterisk" pronounced as "asteriks."

Metathesis is a controversial linguistic phenomenon. Some linguists believe metathesis is primarily the result of speech errors and childrens' talk, and is not a regular process. Other linguists believe metathesis can be a regularly occurring process of phonology that affects only a small number of words or forms in a particular language.

If the phenomenon of metathesis is removed from the phonological equation, the name Favre should be pronounced "Fav-Re."

Image credits.

Musical Metathesis

With the holidays approaching soon, I am reminded of how happy I am that my children are finished with elementary school. It is not that I want to see them grow up any more quickly, but because there are no more mandatory school musicals. I firmly believe that school musicals should be optional after the 3rd grade - they are no longer enjoyable for anyone after that. The majority of children I know from my boys' former 600 student school (even those that like singing) can't stand participating in school musicals. And God knows the parents don't enjoy the obligation of attending the musicals - cramped seating, horrible viewing, sweltering auditoriums, malfunctioning and screechy audio systems, music teachers that drag out the program...need I say more. One of my sons came up with an incredible metathesization to describe school musicals that I truly wish I could mention to his former music teacher.

MUCUSAL

Mucus is an unpleasant product and anyone who has it wants to be rid of it and will even take drugs to speed up the process. Maybe that is what I should have done...taken drugs to speed up the musical (I mean mucusal) production.

Some Fun Metathesized Words

Metathesis is phonological process that switches the order of phonemes in an individual word. Metathesis can also occur across corresponding words and this is commonly know as a Spoonerism. The process was named after Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844 - 1930)who was known for his very frequent slips of the tongue.

Bass ackwards, chilled greese, hot poles, cop porn
One of my favorites is - "no bout adoubt it"
A bumper sticker on a car - "Juck Fapan"