Abstract
Ecuadoran Spanish is divided into several distinct dialect zones, and the behavior of sibilants varies considerably among the dialects, as well as among social strata and in ethnolinguistic enclaves. This study examines this diverse behavior in a number of phonetic and sociolinguistic contexts. Coda /s/-weakening characterizes the coastal region, while voicing of word-final prevocalic /s/ is found to varying degrees in the central highlands. In the Andean highlands, rhotics also receive sibilant realizations, including coda /?/ as well as prevocalic /r/. A phenomenon largely restricted to the Afro-descendent population of the Chota Valley in northern Ecuador is the realization of plural final /s/ only on the first element of plural noun phrases, usually a determiner. Partial plural marking occasionally occurs in the Spanish of Quichua-dominant bilinguals, but not as systematically.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Sociolinguistic Approaches to Sibilant Variation in Spanish |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
Pages | 262-278 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000365627 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780367722203 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2021 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Arts and Humanities
- General Social Sciences