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The focus of this paper is on metathesis, the process whereby in certain languages, under certain conditions, sounds appear to switch positions with one another. Thus, in a string of sounds where we would expect the linear ordering of two sounds to be... xy..., we find instead... yx.... In the Austronesian language Leti, for example, the final segments of a word occur in the order vowel+ consonant in some contexts, while as consonant+ vowel in others, eg [kunis]/[kunsi]‘key’. While variation in the linear ordering of elements is typical in the domain of syntax, it is comparatively striking in phonology, differing in nature from 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/nb/to [mb] can be described in simple terms as place assimilation of the target/n/in the context of a following/b/, thereby yielding [mb]; or, in traditional linear formalism,/n/→[m]/__ [b]. In contrast, the reversal of sounds such as/sk/→[ks], as attested in Faroese, defies such a simple formalism given that metathesis seems to involve two targets, with each essentially providing the context for the other. Due in part to the distinct nature of the process, metathesis has traditionally resisted a unified and explanatory account in phonological theory.

The apparently distinct nature of metathesis has also resulted in the perpetuation of, what one might refer to as, the" metathesis myth", the commonly held view of metathesis as sporadic and irregular, restricted to performance errors, child language or sound change. This view is regularly expressed in the linguistic literature, including …