Phonological history of Spanish coronal fricatives

Phonological history of Spanish coronal fricatives

In Spanish dialectology, the way people say certain sounds helps make different areas of Spain and Latin America sound unique. These sounds are called coronal fricatives. They include the difference between two “s” sounds, like in the words “casa” (house) and “caza” (hunt). Some places use only one kind of “s” sound, while others use a mix that can sound a bit like “th” in English.

There is a common story that these sounds changed because a Spanish king couldn’t pronounce them clearly, but this isn’t true. The real reason these sounds changed over time started in the 15th century. These changes have shaped how Spanish is spoken in many places today.

Origins

Castilian 'lisp'

A popular story claims that the way some Spanish speakers pronounce certain sounds comes from a king who spoke with a lisp. However, experts have proven this story is not true. The sounds began to develop long after the king's time. Also, a true lisp would not explain the sound differences found in standard Spanish today.

Historical evolution

In the 15th century, Spanish had many sounds made with the tongue and lips. Over time, these sounds changed and merged in different ways across Spain. In the north, some sounds stayed distinct, while in the south, they merged together. These changes led to the different ways Spanish is pronounced today in Spain and Latin America.

The changes continued into the 16th and 17th centuries. In the north, some sounds became quieter or disappeared, while others changed shape. In the south, new sounds appeared that were similar to existing ones. Over time, these sounds evolved to become easier to distinguish.

In the south, these changes created sounds similar to those in the north. In some areas, a sound became like the one used in standard Spanish for certain letters. In other areas, the sound became like the English "s". This latter pronunciation spread to many parts of Latin America.

The way these sounds developed in Ladino, a language that split from Spanish in the 15th century, stayed closer to how Portuguese sounds.

Modern changes

Main articles: Spanish dialects and varieties § Debuccalization of coda /s/, and Spanish phonology § Realization of /s/

In many modern dialects, a certain sound can become very weak, and sometimes it disappears completely, affecting nearby sounds.

Distinction

Distinction (Spanish: distinción) is a special way of saying two Spanish sounds that are written with the letters ⟨s⟩, ⟨z⟩, and ⟨c⟩ (only before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, called the "soft" ⟨c⟩).

• The letter ⟨s⟩ makes a hissing sound like in the English word "sun."
• The letters ⟨z⟩ and soft ⟨c⟩ make a soft "th" sound like in the English word "think."

By the early 1700s, the many different sounds of old Spanish had blended into just a few, but the spelling stayed the same. Later, rules were made to match the spelling with these sounds. This way of speaking is common in most of Spain, especially in the central and northern areas. Some people who speak Catalan or Basque might not follow this exactly, and the same goes for some speakers of Galician.

In many places in Spain, the distinction is between a sharp "s" sound and a soft "th" sound. However, in some parts of Andalusia, like Almería, Granada, Jaén, and Huelva, people use a softer "s" sound instead.

Lack of distinction

In most Spanish-speaking places, people do not say the sounds /s/ and /θ/ differently. This is called neutralización.

Seseo

Seseo is when both /s/ and /θ/ are said the same way, as [s]. For example, the words casa (house) and caza (hunt) sound the same. Seseo is common in many countries and is the standard way of speaking in Hispanic America, the Philippines, and parts of Spain like the Canary Islands and Andalusia.

Ceceo

Ceceo is when /s/ and /θ/ also sound the same, but they are said as a different sound, like [s̟]. This happens in some parts of southern Spain and a few other places. It is less common and sometimes seen as unusual.

Ceseo or seceo

Some people mix these ways of speaking, using different sounds depending on the situation or without thinking about it. This mixing is normal and follows certain patterns.