An initial approximation of the indexical field of creaky voice in Chilean Spanish

Abstract The present study comprises the first approximation of the indexical field of Chilean Spanish creaky voice, a type of prosodic variation that is highly understudied in Spanish. This study asks what creaky voice means to listeners and what (social) identities they attribute to its users. Results of a survey collecting both quantitative and open-ended qualitative data from 148 Chilean Spanish listeners point to creaky voice being associated with lower status, familiar relationships, informal and relaxed style, perceived older age (for women talkers) and tall stature (for men talkers). I show that these results mirror embodied and ideological distinctions for creaky voice within this dialect, rather than actual production patterns. This study lays the groundwork for further examinations of the meaning of creaky voice in additional cross-linguistic and cross-cultural settings.