Re: another silly phonology question

(Re Spanish /T/ vs. [D]) Jeff Jones wrote:
>I haven't seen a response yet, so I thought I'd stick my oar in and muddy
>the waters somewhat.
>I think the difference is that between interdental (Castilian /T/), where
>the tongue protrudes between the teeth, and dental ([D]), where the tongue
>touches the back of the teeth. Wouldn't the "minimal pair" actually be a
>constrast between phonemes (i.e. /T/ and /d/)? What I think you want is a
>phonetic contrast. I don't recall when /T/ becomes voiced; it may vary from
>dialect to dialect.>

You're right, they aren't at the same place of articulation.
Well, offhand, here's a near-min.pr:  caza 'hunt', cada 'each'.  I'm not
sure /T/ would ever be voiced-- maybe in fast speech when word-final -z
precedes a word-initial voiced stop or nasal?   Conversely, word-final
/d/[D] is sometimes devoiced, as in the common (and criticized)
pronunciation of "Madrid".  Aside from some place names, nouns
in -dad, -tud, and the little-used plural familiar imperative, -d just isn't
all that common.  I don't hear much Castilian anymore; many Latin Americans
tend to just drop the -d.