Re: Metathesis?

Ray wrote, in re the etymology of "ask":
> Yes, it certainly survived till the 20th cent in rural Brit English and,
> for all I know, still survives here and there. It dates back even
> earlier than Chaucer, right back to the Saxon language brought here in
> the 6th cent. In Old English both _acsian_ and _ascian_ are found.
Indeed.  I would think its probably in more vigorous use throughout
North America.  It's quite frequent throughout the South, and since
Southern speech forms the primary core of most African American dialects
(indeed, they are indistinguishable in some parts of the grammar),
_aks_ is found throughout the US whither African-Americans have migrated.

On the subject of metathesis, I have been reminded frequently of late
how little people in the Midwest have been exposed to Spanish influences.
First, there was the guy who thought it was odd that I was hoping to be
able to get some "queso" at a local eatery, which every Texan knows refers
not to "cheese" in general, but to cheese dip, as in "chile con __". (He
asked me why not ask for "frommage" instead - hrumph.) Anyways, then I
was walking down the street the other day, and I heard someone wanting to
go to [tSIpolti], that is, "Chipotle", the MacDonald's-owned fastfood joint.
I suppose it could have been worse;  he could have said he wanted to get
a [f@dZajd@] at the [tSIpolti].

 =========================================================================
Thomas Wier	       "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
Dept. of Linguistics    because our secret police don't get it right
University of Chicago   half the time." -- octogenarian Sheikh Zayed of
1010 E. 59th Street     Abu Dhabi, to a French reporter.
Chicago, IL 60637

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