Vocalic phenomena in Andean Spanish dialects

This chapter presents data from two phenomena involving vowel systems in Andean Spanish. The first is the contact between the five-vowel system of Spanish and the three-vowel system of Quechua, which results in a wide range of restructuring of vowel spaces, partial mergers, and emergent vowel harmony traits among Quichua-Spanish bilinguals. The second process is the reduction (devoicing and shortening) of atonic vowels, particularly in contact with /s/.