The Metathesis of Cedric

me·tath·e·sis (mĭ-tăth'ĭ-sĭs)

Transposition within a word of letters, sounds, or syllables, as in the change from Old English brid to modern English bird or in the confusion of modren for modern.
My youngest and I are reading Ivanhoe together.  This usually takes the form of two books, one blanket, and one reader - we take turns.  More recently, we've been listening to the Librivox recordings (thanks, Rachel) and reading along with the speaker, who, so far, has been pretty good. We stop the computer (or iPod) whenever either of us has a point to make, or a question to ask.  It's been really enjoyable for us both.

Today, I wanted to know a little more about a place, Ashby de la Zouch, mentioned in Ivanhoe (not the least of which was its pronunciation: zeush, IPA /ˈzuːʃ/).  In addition to information about the field where the Disinherited Knight's first tournament occurred, I discovered that Sir Walter Scott was responsible for the name Cedric.  According to the Ivanhoe entry in Wikipedia, Scott "committed metathesis" in switching the order of the 'r' and 'd' in the Saxon name Cerdic.

I love learning little interesting new things everyday.

Comments

Lady Baker said…
:) I just finished listening to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which was nicely recorded too!
-Rachel
April 5, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Christina said…
Gosh darn it. Got stuck at "modren" and started singing "Kansas City" from Oklahoma! And now it won't stop! Must share the joy:

I got to Kansas City on a Frid'y
By Sattidy I larned a thing or two
For up to then I didn't have an idy
Of whut the modren world was comin' to
April 5, 2010 at 10:31 PM
Lynne said…
Rachel, I read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Gone with the Wind" around the same time a few years back. It was good to try to integrate the authors' perspectives on life in the South and slavery.

Fiddler, thanks for the ear worm. Actually, despite the fact that we own the musical, I didn't recognize that song at all (perhaps because Hugh Jackman's not even in that scene).
April 6, 2010 at 8:35 AM
Anonymous said…
Non sequitur...Given that you liked "(500) Days of Summer" and a bunch of other romantic dramas, I think you'll enjoy "The Last Song" (in theaters now), which for a light drama, projects a lot of joy and gaiety, and a wonderful concretization of "young love".
April 6, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Lynne said…
There is no way in hell that I would have seen that movie based on the novelist and the actors (well, I like Greg Kinnear) despite the fact that I am such a sucker for young love, so thanks for the recommendation, non sequitur and all!
April 6, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Anonymous said…
Let me briefly assuage those two fears: Nicholas Sparks, who claims to write about faith, sacrifice, and moral imperfection; and Miley Cyrus' acting.

Sparks' style (at least in this movie), his sense of life, his implicit view of reality, unbeknown to him, is completely pro-individualism. The few lines of "we're not perfect, we all make mistakes" can be easily swept aside by the viewer. His style completely undercuts his few weak attempts to promote faith and moral imperfection.

I'm not advocating the book--I've read some of it and it's junk so far--but the movie is much more stripped down to essentials, the main characters are much more purposeful and hold their surprisingly rational convictions (they actually value productive work) more closely, and the visualization of their love is vibrant.

Miley Cyrus' acting is fine overall, and good for her role. She can express both stubbornness and joyous revelry well. So is the acting of the boy who pursues her.
April 7, 2010 at 3:32 AM
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