Final /s/ retention and deletion in Spanish: The role of the speaker's type of competence

This study investigates the variation in the articulation of postnuclear /s/ in Spanish as it is spoken today in northern Morocco. It analyzes how both retention and deletion of final /s/ are highly conditioned by the type of the speaker's competence. Quantitative analysis proves that final /s/ is systematically deleted by Moroccan-born native speakers of Spanish while it is frequently maintained by educated nonnative Moroccans speakers of Spanish, usually speakers of Arabic and French as well. The results confirm the overall resemblance of native northern Moroccan Spanish to Andalusian varieties and the strong impact Spanish media is having on nonnative speakers, who tend to develop a more standard variety. The reasons for this difference are attributed to the phonological inventories accessible to the speakers, the processes of their acquisition of Spanish, the integrative and instrumental use they make of it in their daily lives, and also the overall awareness of and attitude towards the internal sociolinguistic dynamics in neighboring Spain.