More on dental fricatives

[Larry Trask]

Rick Mc Callister writes:

>       How are Spanish <s> & <z> (and "soft c") treated in loan words?

Spanish <s> is borrowed as Basque apical <s>, and Spanish <z> is
borrowed as Basque laminal <z>.

But there is a complication in words containing both.  Basque has
sibilant harmony, and a single word cannot contain both kinds of
sibilant.  Assimilation is always in favor of the apical.  So,
for example, Castilian <frances> 'French' was borrowed as Basque
<frantzes> (attested), but the usual form today is <frantses>.

>       Is <s> always <s> & <z> always <z>?

Yes, except as just explained.

>       Do Spanish-speaking Basques use apical /S/ or laminal /s/?

Apical, always.

>       Is apical /S/ is dying out --or diminishing--  in Spain?
xx
Don't know.  But something is happening in Basque: the contrast
between <s> and <z> is being lost, in favour of apical <s>.  The
first evidence for the merger appears in the west in the 17th
century.  Today the merger is categorical in the west.  In the
center, the merger is variable, being often present in urban areas
but still absent in rural areas.  In the east, there is no trace
of the merger, and the contrast is still robust.

>       Most Spaniards I've met (from northern and central Spain) in the US
>  and Latin America use laminal /s/.

I'm astonished.  In my experience, northern Spaniards invariably use
apical /s/.  The shushy quality of this thing is quite striking
to my ears.  A French Basque friend of mine who moved south and
learned Spanish unhesitatingly identified the Spanish <s> with his
own apical <s>.

>       Is this linked to social class or is it a generational thing?

In the north, in my experience, there is no variation, and apical <s>
is universal.  Don't know what happens elsewhere.  I had thought the
variation was strictly geographical.  Not sure how far south the
apical <s> runs, but the Madrileños I've met always seem to have it.

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk

Tel: 01273-678693 (from UK); +44-1273-678693 (from abroad)
Fax: 01273-671320 (from UK); +44-1273-671320 (from abroad)