Madrileños on the ejque: Perceptions of Velarized /s/

Abstract This paper explores the identities that Madrileños ascribe to speakers using velarized coda /s/. The language attitudes of 59 participants from Madrid were assessed by means of a matched guise survey in which they heard native Madrileños using either sibilant coda /s/ or velarized coda /s/. Results show that while Madrileños do perceive the velarized variant as a marker of a Madrid origin, this effect is mainly observed for female voices. In addition, speakers that used velarized /s/ were associated with more negative qualities and viewed as less desirable as friends and storytellers, although for certain traits, the strength of this effect depended on the gender of the listener. Furthermore, velarized /s/ is associated with low-prestige occupations while more prestigious professions are assigned to guises with sibilant /s/. The results presented in this paper suggest that, although the characteristic ejque is associated with Madrid, the velarized variant is in fact quite stigmatized in the Spanish capital.