Phonetic characterization of the regional varieties of Spanish and a proposal for a simplified transcription

Abstract

This paper identifies five phonetic characteristics (seseo, yeismo, /s/-aspiration, rehilamiento, and /x/-aspiration) whose presence or absence allows to distinguish among ten regional varieties in which the entire universe of Spanish speakers can be divided. We also show that, in order to phonetically transcribe a text, taking into account those distinguishing characteristics, it is enough to use 27 phonetic symbols, that constitute an extended phonological inventory that includes both the “controversial” and the “non-controversial” Spanish phonemes.

Keywords

• características fonéticas
• variedades regionales del español
• fonemas controvertidos