Editing Metathesis (linguistics) (section)

===American Sign Language===
In [[American Sign Language|ASL]], several signs which have a pre-specified initial and final location in reference to the body of the person signing (such as the signs RESTAURANT, PARENT, or TWINS) can have the order of these two locations reversed in contexts which seem to be purely phonological. While not possible with all signs, this does happen with quite a few. For example, the sign DEAF, prototypically made with the "1" handshape making contact first with the cheek and then moving to contact the jaw (as in the sentence FATHER DEAF), can have these locations reversed if the preceding sign, when part of the same [[Constituent (linguistics)|constituent]], has a final location more proximal to the jaw (as in the sentence MOTHER DEAF). Both forms of the sign DEAF are acceptable to native signers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/metathesis.htm|title=ASL Linguistics: metathesis|access-date=2014-01-25}}</ref> A proposed prerequisite for metathesis to apply in ASL is that both signs must be within the same region on the body. Constraints on the applications of metathesis in ASL has led to discussions that the phonology breaks down the body into regions distinct from settings.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sign Language and Linguistic Universals|last=Sandler|first=Wendy|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0521483957|pages=124, 179}}</ref>