On covariation between nasal consonant weakening and anticipatory vowel nasalization: Evidence from a Caribbean and a non-Caribbean dialect of Spanish

Abstract

Dialects of Spanish can be (broadly) categorized as ‘preferring’ a coronal or a velar realization for the word-final nasal consonant ([n]- and [ŋ] -dialects, respectively). Scholars have observed that the phonetic and phonological details of the pre-nasal vowel among [ŋ]-dialects differ from those of [n]-dialects. The prevailing view in Spanish phonology is that backing and nasalization are part of a more general process of weakening: /n/ goes [ŋ] before going to zero, leaving nasalization ‘residue’ in the pre-nasal vowel. Despite the well-documented dialectal differences and covariation pressures in anticipatory vowel nasalization, instrumental studies examining Spanish weakening of the nasal consonant together with anticipatory vowel nasalization are scarce. To this end, I compare co-variation between the word-final nasal consonant and anticipatory vowel nasalization in an [ŋ]-dialect and an [n]- one. Twenty-eight speakers from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and twenty-six from Buenos Aires (Argentina) were recorded with a nasometer. Findings revealed that both dialects are susceptible to covariation pressures. At the same time, despite exhibiting similar degrees of nasal consonant weakening, Santo Domingo Spanish exhibits earlier onset of nasalization nonetheless, suggesting that dialectal differences in the temporal extent of anticipatory vowel nasalization cannot be exclusively ascribed to nasal consonant weakening.