DEPHONOLOGIZATION AND SONORIZATION OF THE SIBILANT /S/ IN CONTEMPORARY MEXICAN SPANISH

Abstract

We examine two phenomena that involve the sibilant /s/: dephonologization and sonorization. We trace the historical process of devoicing of sibilant consonants which shows a preference for unvoiced consonants. The dephonologization of /θ/ and /s/ is seen as concurring with the tendency towards linguistic economy. Also, we show that sibilant sonorization occurs in close proximity to voiced consonants, and place sonorization in the context of key tendencies in Spanish such as the open syllable preference, as well as the voiced and fricative over unvoiced and plosive preference. We reach the conclusion that both dephonologization and sonorization of the sibilant /s/ correspond to the type of Spanish.