inversjonen

Inversjonen, or inversion, is a term used across disciplines to describe reversing a standard order, swapping elements, or applying a transformation that undoes a prior operation. The precise meaning varies by domain, but the unifying idea is that something is turned inside out, reversed, or mapped to an opposite counterpart.

In linguistics, inversjonen refers to a reversal of the usual subject–verb order in a clause, typically to form questions or for emphasis. In Norwegian, yes–no questions often place the finite verb before the subject, as in Har du sett den filmen? (Have you seen that film?). In English, inversion is common when an auxiliary or modal verb appears before the subject: Are you coming? Have you finished?

In music theory, inversjonen concerns chord inversions. A triad in root position has the root in the bass; the first inversion places the third in the bass; the second inversion places the fifth in the bass. Inversions affect voicing and bass movement and are used for smooth voice-leading. The term can also describe melodic inversion, a contrapuntal technique where each interval is mirrored around a fixed axis.

In mathematics and related fields, the inverse is the operation that undoes another: if f(x) = y, then the inverse f⁻¹(y) = x. In geometry, circle inversion is a transformation that maps points to others by a reciprocal relation to a circle as center. Inversion concepts also appear in statistics and computer science under inverse functions and inverse problems.