Variation in articulatory conflict resolution: Vowel allophony and consonant place adaptation in Chanka Quechua

Abstract Cross-linguistically, vowel lowering/retraction are common strategies for resolving articulatory conflicts between high vowels and back consonants. Allophonic lowering of vowels /i/ and /u/ adjacent to uvulars has also been documented for several Southern Quechua dialects. For the Chanka dialect (Andahuaylas, Peru), traditional descriptions note similar allophony, but no studies have confirmed it. Unlike other Southern Quechua dialects, Chanka has only two dorsals, which contrast for both manner and place. Thus, Chanka may apply resolution processes differently, for reasons of production and/or perception. The current investigation considers to what extent articulatory conflict resolution between high vowels and the uvular consonant occurs in Chanka. Acoustic data from a controlled experiment include 3,827 Chanka vowels from 22 speakers, balanced for sex and location of residence. Despite an overall uvular effect found, intra- and interspeaker variation shows three different allophony patterns: categorical, null, and variable. A sex-based difference in patterns is also found for rural speakers, which hints at influence from Spanish on this process in Quechua given differing Spanish proficiencies. Results seem to indicate that consonant place adaptation may exist as an additional, innovative Chanka strategy, also with three variable patterns: stable uvular, stable velar, and homorganic with vowel. This flexibility in vowel and consonant place may partially relate to Chanka’s small phoneme inventory, which allows for a broader range of realizations without creating mergers. Speakers thus alternate between vowel lowering and consonant movement as solutions: sometimes the vowel place accommodates to the fricative like in many languages, and at other times the fricative follows the vowel.