Spoonerisms: the structure of errors in the serial order of speech.

Spoonerisms are defined as involuntary rearrangements of elements in the serial order of speech, as when waste the term is produced as taste the werm. An analysis of 124 Spoonerisms in the natural speech of Germans showed that: 1. Identical phonemes usually preceded (or followed) the reversed phonemes. 2. Reversals preceding identical phonemes were as common as reversals following identical phonemes. / 3. Reversed phonemes usually had similar articulatory form, i.e. voicing, nasality, open­ ness, and syllabic position were usually similar. But the place of articulation of reversed phonemes differed more frequently than would be expected by chance. Without serious revision chain-association theories appeared incapable of explaining these and other aspects of Spoonerisms. An alternative theory of serial order was proposed which had potential application not only to the pronunciation of words, but to the syntax of other forms of behavior and perception as well. INTRODUCTION SPOONERISMS are defined as involuntary reversals in the serial order of speech as in [1] and [2] from GOLDSTEIN [1]. overinflated state~overinstated flatet (1) pus pocket~pos pucket (2) Curiously enough the Spoonerism is named after a man who rarely made Spoonerisms as dictionaries define them. A recent study indicates that Spooner's Spoonerisms were rather carefully planned-high level humor rather than unintentional error [2]. This of course means that Spooner's original reversals (e.g. [3] and [4]) probably tell us little about the normal mechanisms of speech production. You've missed my history lectures~ You've hissed my mystery lectures (3) Pardon me, madam, this pew is occupied. May I show you to a seat? ~ Mardon me, padam, this pie is occupewed. May I sew you to a sheet? (4) But involuntary reversals do occur and, since LASHLEY'S famous paper in 1951, attention has been focused on the challenge of Spoonerisms to theories of the serial order of behavior. Involuntary Spoonerisms are crucial facts to be explained in theories of serial behavior in the same sense that illusions are crucial for theories of perception [5]. In the present study we analyzed a large collection of Spoonerisms in the hope of gaining some insight into mechanisms that might underlie the serial ordering of behaviour. * This work was supported in part by an MIT intramural fellowship, UCLA Grant 2428, and USPHS Grant 16668-01. The author thanks H. Schulze for his help in tlanslating Meringer. t The arrow in these formulae is synonymous with "was spoken as".