Mark J. Reed wrote:
> I have a coworker from Pamplona and I can't quite make out the
> sound of his <s>es when he speaks Spanish. It's definitely
> "softer"/more palatalized than [s], but I don't think it's [S];
> it might be [C]. I was wondering if anyone on here knew what
> it was most likely to be, assuming his speech is typical of that area?
>
It's an _apical_ s-- the tip of the tongue is turned up slightly to make
friction at the alveolar ridge. It does sound a lot like [S] but isn't. I
don't recall the IPA offhand.......... Some US dialects/idiolects have it
too-- mostly Southerners or elderly in my experience (LBJ sticks in my
memory; I don't listen to W).