Iberian spirantization as a syllable contact process

Abstract

This paper examines Spanish spirantization as a syllable contact phenomenon subject to the Syllable Preference Laws proposed by Murray and Venneman (1987). It proposes a rule that assigns the feature [+continuant] to a voiced obstruent, provided that a minimum sonority distance is maintained between the obstruent as a spirant and a preceding rhyme. Otherwise, the obstruent receives the specification [-continuant]. The minimum sonority difference between an onset and a preceding segment is subject to dialectal and stylistic variation, ranging from a distance of two, in spirantizing dialects, to a distance of seven, in dialects that show a preference for stops. This approach allows us to explain the range of variation inherent in Spanish spirantization as well as the right-environment conditions of Portuguese and Catalan spirantization.