On the formal description of metathesis: a case study of v-metathesis in Modern Georgian

The formalization of metathesis has long been a problem for phonological theories: specific analyses have typically been subject to the criticism that while being descriptively adequate, they could not explain the process, let alone address the question of what types of metathesis are possible, and what types are not. In this paper we explore previous approaches to metathesis, as in SPE and autosegmental phonology, and argue that Optimality Theory is a better candidate to account for processes of this type, on the basis of a fully productive metathesis process found in Modern Georgian.