Take a Chance on /d/: Mexican Spanish Spirantization and Probability in Optimality Theory

The Spanish voiced stops /b, d, g/ lenite or spirantize to approximants in a wide range of environments. In most environments, the lenition is characterized by great optionality and variability, which traditional analyses have ignored as outside the domain of phonology. This project examines detailed data about the probability of spirantization in various phonological environments in Mexican Spanish, and presents two analyses that contrast in their approach to variation in Optimality Theory. The first uses a grammatical-competition model, specifically floating constraints, while the second uses a probabilistic theory, Stochastic OT. I argue in favor of the Stochastic OT analysis, and in general regard the Mexican Spanish paradigm as a case study in favor of Stochastic OT