A study ofceceovariation in Western Andalusia (Huelva)

Abstract

AbstractThroughout Europe many traditional dialects are converging towards regional or national standards due to large-scale societal changes such as increased education, mobility and dialect contact. In parts of southern Spain, the long-standing mergers ofceceoandseseoare yielding to the national standard ofdistinción. A quantitative sociolinguistic analysis of the coronal fricative variation of thirty-eight speakers was conducted to assess the status ofceceoin the city of Huelva in comparison to other Andalusian cities. As compared to earlier dialectal accounts of Huelva as predominantlyceceante, the results indicate a change from above in which the localceceois demerging to the standard Castiliandistinciónled by women from all socioeconomic groups as well as men from middle class neighborhoods.Ceceoappears to be converting into a linguistic marker correlating with men from working class neighborhoods with less formal instruction. The implications are that Huelva, similar to other Andalusian cities, has undergone large-scale societal changes that have led to the demerger of the traditional dialectal featurececeoin favor of the national Castilian prestige feature ofdistinción.