On competing indexicalities in southern Peninsular Spanish. A sociophonetic and perceptual analysis of affricate [ts] through time

Abstract

This paper examines linguistic, cognitive, and social factors in the development of an ongoing sound change in Andalusian Spanish related to the crosslinguistically well-known process of syllable coda lenition. The resyllabification of word internal /-s/ when followed by dental plosive /t/, in words such as lingüística [liŋ⋅ˈgujs⋅ti⋅ka] ‘linguistics’ realized as [liŋ⋅ˈguj⋅tsi⋅ka], results in an affricate sound [ts] that may be indexed in different ways within the speech community. Findings are reported from a trend study of two sample surveys separated by a twenty-year time gap, acoustic analysis, and two perception experiments. Acoustic phonetics, historical linguistics, theoretical phonology, and sociolinguistic studies provide the theoretical background to help explain the development of this sound change and its connection with other phonological features of Andalusian Spanish. Development of the affricate allophone is a natural outcome consistent with universal constraints boosted by the recent emergence of a regional koine, where its indexicality is undetermined.

Buenas no[tʃ]es y mu[ts]isimas gracias: A Sociophonetic Study of the Alveolar Affricate in Peninsular Spanish Political Speech

“…1 A correlation has also been pointed out between affricate productions of [t s ] in the wake of /s/ reduction before /t/ and a fronted variant associated with the affricate /tS/, by researchers including Torreira (2006), Ruch (2012), Del Saz (2019), and Vida-Castro (2022. Research in this vein has also begun to examine the production of [ts] deriving from affricates.…”

An Example of Linguistic Stylization in Spanish Musical Genres: Flamenco and Latin Music in Rosalía’s Discography

“…We have compiled 17 cases of pronunciation of this sound in examples such as besos ("kiss") [ˈveso], olvidar ("forget") [olviˈð̞ a] or abanico ("fan") [avaˈniko]. 11 We have also noticed examples of articulatory reinforcement of the group [st] with an affricate pronunciation [hts], which is increasingly frequent, especially in western Andalusia (Ruch and Peters 2016;Ruch 2008;Vida Castro 2022Moya Corral 2007). In studies of traditional flamenco and flamenco fusion this variant also appears in younger generations, and Rosalía continues this trend in her songs.…”

Análisis variacionista de la /s/ implosiva en el nivel sociocultural bajo de la ciudad de Sevilla

“…En general, los trabajos desarrollados sobre este fenómeno lingüístico coinciden en establecer la descripción de cuatro variantes articulatorias: mantenimiento de la sibilancia, aspiración, asimilación con la consonante siguiente y elisión, además de otras realizaciones difundidas de modo más reciente, como la posaspirada y africada (véase Vida (2022), así como Moya (2007, que aporta la primera información sobre el sonido africado [ts], procedente del grupo [ht]). Todas ellas se distribuyen por distintas comunidades de habla de modo no uniforme y mostrando un alto grado de alofonía en función de determinados factores lingüísticos y socioestilísticos.…”