Variaciones fonotácticas en siglas: condicionamientos lingüísticos y sociolingüísticos

Abstract

This paper begins with the analysis of the phonological maladjustments caused by certain diphonematic sequencies of consonants in initial positions, and especially the /ps/ cluster, of which the acronyms of such well-known parties as the PSOE and the PSUC are representative. Aside from the variation observed in the pronunciation and the method of reading certain acronyms, attributed mainly to linguistic factors, different phonological variants of PSOE and PSUC are considered, with particular emphasis being placed on the /sóe/ - /pesóe/ and /suk/ - /pesúk/ pronunciations, the distribution of which is correlated with sociolinguistic parameters, among which the level of education and political attachment are emphasized, an uncommon practice in Sociolinguistics. Other independent variables, such as age and cultural level are also accounted for. This paper also registers certain variations in the use of acronyms by the same user, and speculates on its conditionings. In reference to the direction of linguistic change, the decisive influence of certain media of oral communication, such as radio and television, in the election and progressive generalization of the /pesóe/ and /pésuk/ variants is underlined.