Spanish Linguistics Commons^™

Theoretical Approach In A Case In Diachronic Phonetism: Betacism And Its Repercussions In Modern Spanish (Acercamiento Teórico A Un Caso De Fonetismo Diacrónico: El Betacismo Y Sus Repercursiones), Eva NúÑEz-MéNdez

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research deals with the loss of distinction between the bilabial and labiodental sounds, /b/and /v/, in Spanish using a theoretical and linguistic diachronical perspective. The phonetic evolution of these sounds and their confusion dates back t0 the roots of the Spanish language in the Peninsula territories, especially in the north, in close geographic contact with the Basque. This confusion was already taking place in Vulgar Latin and, specifically, in the Vulgar Latin spoken in the Peninsula. This lack of distinction evolved slowly until the seventeenth century when both sounds lost their phonemic contrast. Differences between the …