Spanish phonology

phonology and phonetics of the Spanish language

right|280px|thumb|Regions with the merger () in blue, regions with distinction in pink, mixed regions in purple|class=skin-invert-image right|220px|thumb|Regions with the merger () in blue, regions with distinction in pink, mixed regions in purple|class=skin-invert-image '''''' (; literally "Y-ism") is a distinctive feature of many dialects of the Spanish language, characterized by the loss of the traditional palatal lateral approximant phoneme (written ) and its merger into the voiced palatal fricative phoneme (written ). It is an example of delateralization.

Spanish language rule

phonemic distinction between /θ/ and /s/ historically and today