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In:Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary perspectives on Hispanic Linguistics
Edited by Gregory L. Thompson and Scott M. Alvord
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 46] 2026
► pp. 388–410

Chapter 15
Social and geographic variation in intervocalic /d/ spirantization in Peru

The potential contribution of language contact

 | Brigham Young University
 | University of Minnesota
 | University of Minnesota
 | Old Dominion University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The current study investigates the possibility of contact with Quechua influencing potentially higher rates of obstruent production in Peru. Using a variationist sociolinguistic approach, we analyzed intensity differences of intervocalic /d/ in Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2023) in sociolinguistic interviews collected from 50 participants from the Andean region near Cuzco, as well as across three migrant generations in Lima and from “classic” working class Limeños. The aim is to identify the linguistic and social factors that influence the degree of intervocalic /d/ spirantization among Spanish speakers in Peru and determine whether contact with Quechua plays a role in this variation. Preliminary analysis reveals that bilingual speakers and first-generation Andean migrants in Lima produce intervocalic /d/ with significantly higher levels of occlusion than monolingual Spanish speakers of non-Andean origin. We hypothesize that the lack of voiced /d/, as well as the absence of spirantization as a phonetic process in Cuzco Quechua, inhibit, to a certain extent, the degree of spirantization in the speech of those speakers with more contact with Quechua.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Spirantization in Spanish
  • 3.Spirantization of /d/ in Peruvian Spanish
  • 4.The current study
  • 5.Method
    • 5.1Data collection and analysis
    • 5.2Social variables and statistical analysis
  • 6.Results
  • 7.Discussion
    • 7.1Geolectal differences
    • 7.2Biological sex
    • 7.3Migrant generation
    • 7.4Calca: Social group
    • 7.5The potential role of language contact in inhibiting spirantization
  • 8.Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
References (52)
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