Phonological metathesis: Intersection of phonology and sociology

Linguistic varieties are broadened by complexities of social relations. Among these, interaction of phonetic and social variables plays important role in linguistic varieties. The goal of this paper is to study the nature of phonological metathesis and its relation to social variables of age and education. The framework of this article is social phonology using analytic and field study methodology. In phonological analysis which was in optimality theory, it was determined that sonority sequence principle and syllable contact law are responsible for this process. In this research 110 words are pronounced by 56 individuals. In phonological account which was within optimality theory it was determined that sonority sequence principle and syllable contact law are main causes of this process. Also in this research the frequency of the consonants involved in the process is determined. Participants are classified according to age and education. Regarding the age of participant four groups have been chosen: 4-5, 6-7, 29-40 and 41-69, it means that educated, illiterate, mid education and academic. Results show that by the increase of age, the rate of metathesis decreases. Also by increase in education the rate of metathesis decreases.