RT Journal Article
T1 The pitfalls of near-mergers: a sociophonetic approach to near-demergers in the Malaga /θ/ vs /s/ split
A1 Molina García, Álvaro
AB ABSTRACT: The near-merger hypothesis has served to explain many situations where other explanations have not sufficed, including mainly those where apparently completed mergers have been reversed. However, the situation in the city of Malaga (Spain) calls for a critical review of the main pitfalls of this hypothesis and for a sociolinguistic reorganisation of sound change to allow for near-demergers. The present work focusses on the reversal of the coronal fricative /θ/ and /s/ merger (CASA ‘house’ = CAZA ‘hunting’) that has been widely observed in Malaga. Acoustic-perceptual analysis of the realisations of 54 speakers reveals that a completed phonological merger can, in fact, revert and that acoustic cues do not necessarily indicate a near-merger.
PB De Gruyter
SN 2300-9969
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/102266
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/102266
LA eng
NO • Article number: 20220249• FUNDING INFORMATION: The present work has been produced within the framework of the research project "Agenda 2050. The Spanish of Malaga: Processes of spatial and social variation and change" (PID 2019-104982GB-C52) funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness as well as by the ERDF programme.
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
NO European Regional Development Fund
DS Docta Complutense
RD 28 abr 2025