Page:An introduction to Indonesian linguistics, being four essays.djvu/46

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34
INDONESIAN LINGUISTICS
Common IN ina Tettum inan, “ mother ”
Day. ara Jav. aran, “ name ”
Day. olo Mlg. uluna,[1] “ man ”
Jav. isi Masaretese isin, “ contents ”.[2]


Metathesis.

55. Metathesis of the root occurs in IN in three forms:

I. The two consonants of the root of three sounds change places . Examples:

Tontb. kewoy and keyow, “ to dirty ”
Tontb. leqlew, “ to peel ” kawel, “ to detach ”
Sund. aduy and ayud, “ soft ”
Tonsea telew Bulu tewel, “ to fly ”
Old Jav. atus Iloko gasut, “ hundred ”.

This kind of metathesis is found in all the IN languages, in some more frequently than in others, but always in isolated cases, never in series or groups.

II. The vowel and the final consonant of the root of three sounds change places. This phenomenon occurs in Kissarese. But before we can examine it we must state the phonetic laws of Kissarese, as formulated by Rinnoy:

First Law: Original IN k is dropped. Example: iur, “ tail ”, beside Mal., etc., ekur.

Second Law: Original IN t becomes k. Example: waku, “ stone ”, beside Old Jav., etc., watu

Third Law: Original IN s becomes h. Example: ahu, “ dog ”, beside Old Jav., etc., asu.

Thus, in Kissarese, Original IN kulit, “ skin ”, first becomes ulik and finally by metathesis ulki; walas, “ to repay ”, walah

  1. Mlg. has no o ; the final -na follows the law stated in § 30.
  2. [In “ Der Artikel des Indonesischen verglichen mit dem des Indo-germanischen ”, § 67, the author inclines to the view that in Tettum, at any rate, this final n may represent an affixed article. The study of IN linguistics is still in progress, and very possibly new evidence may turn up some day which will assist in determining such doubtful points.]