| Sound change andalternation |
|---|
| Fortition |
| Dissimilation |
Quantitative metathesis (ortransfer of quantity)[1] is a specific form ofmetathesis ortransposition (asound change) involvingquantity orvowel length. By this process, twovowels near each other – one long, one short – switch their lengths, so that the long one becomes short, and the short one becomes long.
In theory, the definition includes both
and
butAncient Greek, which the term was originally created to describe, displays only the former, since the process is part of long-vowel shortening.
In theAttic andIonic dialects of Ancient Greek,ēo andēa often exchange length, becomingeō andeā.[1]
This quantitative metathesis is more accurately described as one form of long-vowel shortening. Usually if quantitative metathesis affects a word, other kinds of shortening do as well, in the forms where quantitative metathesis cannot occur:
In general, the vowels affected by this shortening were separated by theProto-Indo-Europeansemivocalic versions ofu ori, usuallydeleted in later Greek:w (writtenϝ or υ̯ ) ory (written ι̯ ).
TheHomeric form of the genitive singular in the masculinefirst declension sometimes undergoes quantitative metathesis:[2]
The Attic genitive singular Πηλεΐδ-ουPēleḯd-ou uses a copy of thesecond-declension ending, which came from the same original form as the ending-oio (used in Homer)[4] —o-syo,thematic vowelo and case-ending-syo). The Homeric form comes from the same case ending, with the first-declension pseudo-thematic vowelā.
Nouns in a small subclass of thesecond declension (known as the "Attic declension") lengthen theo, oi of the ending toō, ōi. Sometimes this is quantitative metathesis:[5]
But sometimes, when a long vowel occurs in the ending,ē is shortened toe without an accompanying lengthening of the vowel in the ending (butou changes toō to follow the other forms):[7]
Somethird-declensionnouns had, inProto-Indo-European, stems in-u or-i inzero-grade,-ew or-ey in short e-grade, and-ēw or-ēy in longē-grade.[8][9] Others had-āw with no variation in ablaut grade, which changed in some forms toēw, by the Attic-Ionicā →ē shift.
In many cases, thew orj was deleted, but sometimes it is preserved as the last element of adiphthong (-eus,-aus).
Stems withē underwent shortening in Classical Attic-Ionic, but early forms with long ē are preserved inHomer to maintain the originalmeter. Some forms exemplify the quantitative-metathesis type of shortening:
The accent of the genitive singular of the last two words violates therules of accentuation. Normally the long vowel of the last syllable would force the accent forward to the second-to-last syllable, giving *πολέως*poléōs and *ἀστέως*astéōs, but instead the accent remains where it was before shortening.[12][13]
Other forms of these nouns shortenē toe, but because the vowel of the ending is long, no quantitative metathesis occurs:[7]
Some forms shortenē toe beforei according to theanalogue of the other forms, but without lengthening thei:
Other forms involve no shortening, since they come from a shorte-grade form of the stem.[8] The accent of the genitive plural is sometimes irregular because it follows the analogue of the genitive singular:
The perfect participle of the verb θνῄσκωthnēískō "die" undergoes vowel shortening, and quantitative metathesis in theoblique forms:[1]