/S/ Variation as Accommodation

Abstract

The few remaining fluent speakers of the isleno dialect of Spanish vary their casual pronunciation of /s/ in a manner consistent with, but not identical to, other Caribbean Spanish dialects. The behavior of /s/ in the speech of nonfluent islenos parallels that of fluent speakers, differing only in the higher degree of aspiration and deletion. This variation by isleno semispeakers can be regarded as a type of speech accommodation called 'upward convergence' expressing social integration and identification. Fluent speakers are accorded prestige for preserving the culture's oral traditions, and semispeakers are motivated towards integration and solidarity by varying their pronunciation of /s/ to resemble the perceived behavior of /s/ in the speech of fluent speakers who are identified as prestigious.