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Reference.org
Phonological history of Spanish coronal fricatives
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Spanish_dialects_and_varieties/hUuIqJdd">Spanish dialectology</a>, the realization of <a href="/facts/Coronal_consonant/nJA2jL4n">coronal</a> <a href="/facts/Fricative/1FQuuhfX">fricatives</a> is one of the most prominent features distinguishing various dialect regions. The main three realizations are the <a href="/facts/Phoneme/EXGHlJ7a">phonemic</a> distinction between /θ/ and /s/ (<i><i>distinción</i></i>), the presence of only alveolar [<a href="/facts/Voiceless_alveolar_fricative/WLKtEYDe">s</a>] (<i><i>seseo</i></i>), or, less commonly, the presence of only a denti-alveolar [<a href="/facts/Voiceless_denti-alveolar_fricative/hmQpb6pI">s̟</a>] that is similar to /θ/ (<i><i>ceceo</i></i>). </p><p>While an <a href="/facts/Urban_legend/zBubH9kG">urban legend</a> attributes the presence of the dental fricative to a Spanish king with a lisp, the various realizations of these coronal fricatives are actually a result of historical processes that date to the 15th century. </p>