Variación micro y macro fonética en español

The present paper proposes a sketch of a theory of sound variation and change that integrates both the findings of theories of speech production and perception as well as those of theories of second language acquisition of phonology. First, based on the contributions of the former, a distinction between macro and micro variation (i.e. articulatory variation that may or may not be perceptually salient) is established. Second, a model of categorization of sound variation inspired by Flege’s speech learning model is suggested. Flege’s model relies on the assumption that second language learners build up categories by systematically comparing the sounds of their first language with those of the second language they are exposed to. It is argued here that in a context of sound variation and change speakers face a similar situation; and, thus, the notion of ‘equivalence classification’ taken from the aforementioned model accounts for the fact that a given variation follows different paths in different speech communities. The present proposal is illustrated with processes of variation and change attested in Argentine Spanish, in other Romance languages, such as French and Sicilian, and in the acquisition of French as a L2.