42.3. Actual aspect metathesis
Models
| 1) | ŦXET | ‘push it’ | ŦEXT | ‘pushing it’ |
| 2) | ŚTEṈ | ‘walk’ | ŚETEṈ¸ | ‘walking’ |
| 3) | QSEṈ | ‘count’ | QESEṈ¸ | ‘counting’ |
| 4) | QSÁT | ‘warm it’ | QÁSET | ‘warming it’ |
| 5) | ȾW̱ÁS | ‘steam cook’ | ȾÁW̱ES | ‘steam cooking’ |
| 6) | ṮPEXT | ‘scatter it’ | ṮEPXT | ‘scattering it’ |
| 7) | W̱KBET | ‘patch it’ | W̱ḴEBT | ‘cooking it’ |
‣ 1 This pattern is unusual among the languages in the world. Here the actual aspect is formed by switching the position of the stressed vowel and the consonant that comes before it—a process called metathesis.
‣ 2 Only 4% of the words in the actual aspect have this pattern. Nevertheless, using C’s and V’s again, we can state a general rule for Actual Aspect Metathesis:
Whenever a nonactual form of a stem has the structure CCVC,
form the actual aspect by switching the C and V.
‣ 3 The stressed vowel shifts to the left. The following formula lays it out for model 1:
C C V C → C V C C
Ŧ X E T → Ŧ E X T
‣ 4 If C after the vowel in the nonactual is a sonorant consonant (see the chart on page 2), an E takes the place of the shifted vowel. Models 2 and 3 show this with the E before the final Ṉ¸ of the actual aspect form.
‣ 5 If the stressed vowel is A, Á, I, or O (not E), as in models 4 and 5, an E occurs where the shifted vowel had been.
‣ 6 Models 6 and 7 show extra consonants do not change the pattern. In model 6 the root CCVC ṮPEX has the ‑T transitive suffix. In Model 7 has the W̱ locative prefix on is CCVC KBET. In both of these, the extra prefix and suffix make no difference.
 | XEL¸T E SW̱ TŦE EN¸ Á¸LEṈ SĆȺ? | ‘Are you writing your homework?’ |
 | EWE. U¸ ȻȽ XĆIT SEN. | ‘No. I know it already.’ |
| ÁN¸ SW̱ U¸ SPEW̱EWEĆ! | ‘You’re really a braggart!’ |
| W̱ŦE¸ITḴEN SEN OL¸. | ‘I’m just telling the truth.’ |
42.3A. Give the actual aspect form for each of these words. 1. ŦȽEḰ ‘go through’ 2. DXÁT ‘divide it up’ 3. ŚḴET ‘finish it’ 4. KPEṈ ‘gather, collect’ 5. ȾȽEQT ‘pinch someone’ 6. ȾKEṈ ‘drip’ 7. W̱PEKT ‘bang on something’ 8. W̱Ƚ₭OST ‘slap someone in the face’ 42.3B. Use the SENĆOŦEN dictionary to look up the meaning of each of the actuals in 42.3A and use each in a sentence. |