Resumen

YANDIRA GUERREIRO, Luis Romero  y  ALVIAREZ, Leyda. Fricatives and approximants: Labiodentalization and reinforcement in Maracaibo Spanish. Opcion [online]. 2008, vol.24, n.57, pp.58-73. ISSN 1012-1587.

The purpose of this study is to specify the labiodentalization phenomenon within a context framed in phonological evolution in the communities of La Virginia and Santa Lucía, in Maracaibo. Taking as reference Martinet’s (1954) and Salvador’s (1987) works, this exploratory and explanatory research was performed. Thirty (30) open interviews were recorded with informants from each community. Conclusions are the following: greater use of the voiced labiodental fricative was seen in feminine informants as a mark of feminity. Sociolinguistic difference is related to the frequency of the voiced labiodental fricative. Among informants of the high level, in the Virginia sector, a greater usage of the [v] was noted. Finally, it was determined that labiodentalization is a strengthening process in which an optimization of the pre-nucleus has appeared in substitution for the approximant [β].

Palabras clave : labiodentalization; voices labiodental fricative; approximants.