Relation between literacy and production of the allophones of /b/: a study of the careful speech of pre-literate and literate speakers

Abstract

The voiced labiodental fricative [v] has traditionally been rejected as a natural allophone of /b/ in Spanish in general, as well as in Chilean Spanish, although its existence has been admitted in cases of extra-linguistic influence, and recent research has included it in the phonetic inventory. This paper seeks to contribute by providing new data on the production of allophones of /b/, including [v]. To achieve this purpose, audio and video recordings of the speech of 19 pre-literate and literate native speakers of Spanish from Concepción, Chile, were analyzed. The results show that for all speakers, [v] is not just a natural allophone of /b/, it is the most common one. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the existence of [v] is not affected by the literacy process.