Eastern Andalusian Spanish Research Articles

A Feature Alignment Approach to Plural Realization in Eastern Andalusian Spanish

Using an optimality theoretic analysis, this study offers a conception of the problem of plural realization in Eastern Andalusian Spanish (EAS) where plural suffix /s/ was deleted diachronically that differs from other accounts that assign the EAS plural an underlying suffixal /s/ synchronically. Using alignment constraints, we argue that plural /s/ does not appear in the underlying form synchronically in EAS, but that instead the plural morpheme is represented by a floating [–ATR]PL feature that aligns to the right edge of the word and spreads left. The [–ATR] feature, represented phonetically as a laxing or opening of vowels, applies to all mid vowels, low vowels in word final position, and combines with vowel epenthesis to explain Eastern Andalusian pluralization tendencies in words with final consonants. We discuss the behavior of high vowels, which can be transparent to harmony, and focus in particular on the plural of words that end in a final stressed vowel that have been rarely discussed in the EAS literature. We develop an optimality-theoretic analysis on the Granada variety and extend that analysis to other varieties with somewhat different patterns.

Covariants of Gemination in Eastern Andalusian Spanish: /t/ following Underlying /s/, /k/, /p/ and /ks/

In Eastern Andalusian Spanish, consonants are deleted in syllable-final position, triggering regular gemination of a following consonant, even across word boundaries. This paper investigates five underlying phonemic contexts involving /t/, including singleton /t/ and four different underlying /C+t/ sequences that typically surface as [t:], by analyzing how durational and formant differences vary depending on the presence and identity of the preceding underlying consonant. Following the acoustic and statistical analyses of 444 instances of /ˈeta/, /ˈesta/, /ˈekta/, /ˈepta/ and /ˈeksta/, a Discriminant Function Analysis shows that differences in the total duration of /t/ and in the duration of the closure of /t/ are the strongest cues to distinguishing singletons from geminated consonants, with 91.9% and 90.6% accurate classifications, respectively. Cues indicating which specific consonants have been deleted before /t/ are much less robust and more varied in nature. It is unclear, however, whether this outcome is due to different compensation strategies in each case or whether they are affected by some kind of underlying coarticulatory effect. Given that gemination in this language variety is the result of regular /C1C2/ to [Cː] assimilation, and that its underlying phonemic status has not been demonstrated, Eastern Andalusian Spanish is unusual amongst languages studied with respect to gemination, making this study typologically interesting.

Eastern Andalusian Spanish

Eastern Andalusian Spanish (henceforth EAS), is spoken in the east of Andalusia, the southernmost autonomous region of Spain. EAS is most similar to Western Andalusian Spanish (WAS) and to Murcian Spanish, the latter spoken in the autonomous region of Murcia, immediately to the east of Andalusia, and it shares some phonetic traits with EAS, such as vowel lowering. Geographically, Eastern Andalusia includes the provinces of Almería, Granada, Jaén and Málaga, although the precise linguistic delimitation of this area is somewhat more complicated (Figure 1). The main criterion to differentiate EAS from WAS is the lowering or opening of vowels preceding underlying /s/ (Villena Ponsoda 2000). More detailed information on the differences between EAS and WAS can be found in Jiménez Fernández (1999), Villena Ponsoda (2000), Moya Corral (2010) and Valeš (2014). According to Alvar, Llorente & Salvador (1973: map 1696), Cádiz and Huelva in the west are the only Andalusian provinces where vowel lowering before underlying /s/ is not found. As the geographical extent of this phenomenon is widely debated, it is difficult to calculate the precise number of speakers of EAS, but we can assert that this geolect is the native variety of Spanish of approximately 2,800,000 speakers if we take into account the figures from the last census of Andalusia in 2011 (Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía 2011).

The vowel system of Eastern Andalusian Spanish speakers with articulation disorders

Eastern Andalusian Spanish deletes coda consonants and the effects of such deletions have been widely studied. However, this has been done almost exclusively for /s/. Furthermore, no study has considered Eastern Andalusian speakers with articulation disorders. The present paper explores the consequences of /s/, /r/, and /θ/ deletion on preceding vowels in Eastern Andalusian speakers with articulation disorders. The vowels from eight speakers with articulation disorders are analysed in word-final position and before underlying /-s/, /-r/, and /-θ/. Acoustic and statistical analyses show that speakers with an articulation disorder do not simply delete word-final consonants, as posited in the literature for these type of speakers, but they also display lowering and fronting/backing, which is typical in this variety of Spanish. The results from the analyses of the 524 vowels from the present study are compared to data of speakers not affected by articulation disorders from the literature. While the vowels of both groups of speakers suffer different alterations depending on the underlying consonant they precede, the intensity of such alterations varies between both groups. It is hypothesised that functional compensation forces explain why speakers with articulation disorders acquire some features of Eastern Andalusian vowels but not others.

Morpheme dislocation in Eastern Andalusian Spanish plurals

This paper examines whether the morpheme of plurality has shifted from word-final to word-initial syllable in Eastern Andalusian Spanish. This would be explained by word-medial vowel lowering caused by vowel harmony, which extends leftwards from the vowel preceding deleted /-s/ up to the stressed vowel. Two experiments are performed: (1) Eastern Andalusian speakers have to decide if each item is singular or plural by listening to the first syllable of paroxytone disyllabic words; (2) Paroxytone disyllabic words are manipulated and the first syllable is taken from a singular word and the second syllable from its plural, and vice versa; the participants have to categorise each item as singular or plural. An analysis of 4503 answers shows that these speakers can identify singular /ˈCV.CV/ words by listening to the first syllable only when the first syllable contains /e/ or /o/ and plural only when the first syllable contains /o/; they can identify singular /ˈCVC.CV/ words when the first syllable contains /o/, /i/ or /u/ and plurals when they contain /e/ or /o/. The morpheme of plurality has not shifted completely to word-initial syllable but it is hypothesised that there is a shift currently underway and that this is more advanced for /e/ and /o/.

Catorce vocales del andaluz oriental: producción y percepción de /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/ y /u/en posición final y ante /-s/, /-r/ y /-θ/ subyacentes en Almería

El presente artículo investiga los efectos de la apócope de /-s/, /-r/ y /-θ/ en las vocales precedentes. Para esto, se analiza 60 hablantes de andaluz oriental y se realiza, además, un experimento de percepción, lo que confirma que 1) la apócope de /-s/, /-r/ y /-θ/ cambia la calidad de las vocales precedentes en distinto grado ─de ahí que se esté en condiciones de discernir entre 14 vocales distintas─ y que 2) los hablantes de andaluz oriental pueden identificar, por un lado, sin ayuda ninguna del contexto, si una vocal va seguida o no de una consonante subyacente y, por otro, reconocer nueve vocales distintas.

Consonant Deletion and Eastern Andalusian Spanish Vowels: The Effect of Word-final /s/, /r/ and /θ/ Deletion on /i/

Syllable-final consonant deletion has been widely documented in Eastern Andalusian Spanish, although the effects of consonant deletion on preceding vowels are still unknown. Studies analyzing syllable-final consonants in Eastern Andalusian Spanish have focused on /-s/, disregarding other consonants which are also deleted in this position. The present paper aims to extend this traditional focus by analyzing how /-s/, /-r/ and /-θ/ deletion affects preceding /i/. After analyzing 383 samples of /i/ word-finally and before underlying word-final /s/, /r/ and /θ/ in Western Almería (Eastern Andalusia), it is confirmed that the deletion of these three consonants changes the quality of preceding /i/. Furthermore, the results of a perception test confirm that speakers of Eastern Andalusian Spanish can identify whether or not /i/ is followed by an underlying /-s/, /-r/ or /-θ/ and they can also identify two types of /i/ in isolation: word-final /i/ and /i/ preceding underlying /-r/; this identification occurs at a rate which is statistically significant. It is hypothesized that, apart from vowel height and frontness, a suprasegmental feature could be the perceptual cue used to identify an underlying consonant after a vowel in this variety of Spanish.

Four low central vowels in Eastern Andalusian Spanish: /a/ before underlying /-s/, /-r/, and /-θ/ in El Ejido

Abstract Coda-final consonant deletion has been extensively documented in Eastern Andalusian Spanish; however, its effects on neighbouring segments is still unknown. Scholars working on consonant deletion in Eastern Andalusian Spanish have mainly focused on /s/, given the semantic importance of this consonant in Spanish. As a result, other consonants which are often deleted syllable-finally in this geolect have been studied to a much lesser degree. The present paper aims to expand the traditional view on vowel doubling by analysing /-s/, /-r/, and /-Ɵ/ deletion before /a/. Firstly, the speech of 24 speakers from El Ejido (Eastern Andalusia) is analysed to ascertain how the deletion of word final /s/, /r/, and /Ɵ/ changes the quality of a preceding /a/. Secondly, a perception test is carried out with native speakers from the local area to confirm whether these speakers can differentiate perceptually between word-final /a/ and /a/ preceding underlying /-s/, /-r/, or /-Ɵ/. This paper presents two main conclusions: 1) /-s/, /-r/, and /-Ɵ/ deletion changes the quality of a preceding /a/ to different degrees; 2) EAS speakers can identify whether /a/ is followed or not by an underlying /-s/, /-r/, or /-Ɵ/, but they cannot identify which consonant has been deleted in each case.

The phonetics and phonology of Eastern Andalusian Spanish: A review of literature from 1881 to 2016

Despite previous studies on Eastern Andalusian Spanish, interest on this geolect boomed only after the theory of vowel doubling was posited for this variety of Spanish. According to this theory, in Eastern Andalusian Spanish, vowels preceding /s/ aspiration or deletion change their quality, thus, carrying the semantic function of /s/. Since then, many researchers have studied the vowel and consonant systems of this variety of Spanish and the phonetic-phonological debate is still ongoing. This article reviews the main studies on Eastern Andalusian Spanish pronunciation between 1881 and 2016, comparing the different findings in that period and summarising them chronologically. The article finishes with an outline of widely accepted and debated features of Eastern Andalusian Spanish in order to identify future lines of research.

Patterns of vowel laxing and harmony in Iberian Spanish: Data from production and perception

We investigate the production and perception outcomes of sound changes involving phonological vowel harmony, and how phonetic processes (i.e., /s/ lenition and vowel laxing) bear on these outcomes. Our data come from two varieties of Iberian Spanish: Eastern Andalusian Spanish (EAS), a variety that undergoes lenition of word-final /s/, and North-Central Peninsular Spanish (NCPS), a variety that typically retains /s/. In Experiment 1 we show that EAS (but not NCPS) speakers lax the low and mid vowels /a e o/ (i.e., approximating [æ ɛ ɔ], respectively) of /as es os/-final words. In Experiment 2 we show that EAS (but not NCPS) speakers harmonize the mid vowels /e o/ when followed by laxed /a e o/. We analyze this right-to-left spreading as a phonologically-induced change, and argue that it cannot be interpreted as anticipatory coarticulation with word-final lax vowels. During Experiment 3, EAS and NCPS listeners judged the grammatical status of stimuli from the minimal pair [nene] – [nεnε] (‘boy’ – ‘boys’) in a forced-choice word identification task. While all listeners tended to associate [nene]-type stimuli as singular words, EAS listeners alone reliably associated [nεnε]-type stimuli as plural words. This suggests that EAS listeners have greater perceptual sensitivity to the /e/-/ε/ contrast than NCPS listeners. Altogether, our multifaceted approach offers insight on sound change from varied temporal perspectives: we explain what historical factors may have led to laxing and phonological harmony, and what synchronic motivations these processes may have.

Four mid back vowels in Eastern Andalusian Spanish

AbstractThe deletion of syllable-final consonants in Eastern Andalusian Spanish has been extensively documented; however, there is no consensus about its effect on neighbouring vowels. Researchers have focused on the effects of /s/ deletion on vowels to analyse how its semantic value is conveyed, while other consonants which are also deleted have been ignored. This paper examines the effects of word-final /s/, /r/, and /θ/ deletion on preceding /o/ from the point of view of production and perception. Regarding production, acoustic analyses of data from El Ejido (Eastern Andalusia), show specific changes to the F1 and F2 of /o/ depending on the underlying consonant it precedes (/s/, /r/, or /θ/). Likewise, a perception test demonstrates that Eastern Andalusian speakers can distinguish between more types of mid back vowels than previously thought.

Four mid front vowels in Western Almería

Eastern Andalusian Spanish neutralises consonants in coda, although despite the neutralisation of most coda consonants, phonemic value has only been given to vowels preceding deleted /s/. The present paper expands on this traditional view and shows a more complex reality. This study will analyse differences between word-final /e/ and /e/ preceding deleted word-final /s/, /r/, and /θ/ in Western Almería (Eastern Andalusia) to determine if the deletion of each of these consonants causes consistent changes of quality to /e/, creating a system of four mid front vowels. A perception analysis will then determine if Western Almería speakers can distinguish between each of those vowels, which will confirm whether these realisations of /e/ have allophonic or phonemic value. An analysis shows consistent F1 and F2 values depending on whether /e/ is in coda or whether it precedes word-final /s/, /r/, or /θ/ deletion. Furthermore, perception tests show an ability to distinguish between some of those four mid front vowels.