The dialect complexity of Cantabria Diachrony and synchrony of regional yeismo

In this article, the dialectal complexity of Cantabrian Spanish is shown through the traces left by the different stages of the yeismo variation and change process, for which -for the first time- a systematic analysis is proposed. These linguistic varieties, which are part of the dialectal continuum that stretches across northern Spain, have a clear Leonese base, which has been altered by the incorporation of Castilian features, both dialectal and standard. The evolution of yeismo in the region is a clear example of this trend.