Variation and phonological change: The case of yeísmo in Spanish

Abstract In several studies on sound change, it has been suggested that change is not possible without allophonic variation; indeed, it appears to be the triggering factor in phonetic evolution. This paper examines the process of yeísmo in Spanish, which is presented in recent research as a change in progress (see Moreno Fernández 2005). Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the lateral palatal /ʎ/ has been gradually merging with the non-lateral palatal approximant /j/, traditionally considered a fricative consonant in spite of its formantic structure. Nevertheless, in this process there is not a real dichotomy between a lateral and an approximant consonant. Instead, there is an array of coexisting allophones of /ʎ/ ([ʎ], [j], [ʒ] or [ɟ͡j] are a few examples). The paper will thus focus on the wide variation in the phonetic representation of /ʎ/ and how it is affecting the Spanish sound system. This will be investigated through experimental means (analyzing speech acoustically) and through the collection of data for different dialects, which will give us information about (i) the existence of intra and inter-speaker variation and (ii) the way this variation functions. The results point to a restructuring of the palatal system of Spanish, at least in some parts of its linguistic territory, which seems to prove that the merger process is still progressing.