 in spanish dialectology, the terms distinciÃ³n, seseo and ceceo are used to describe the opposition between dialects that distinguish the phonemes  and , and those that exhibit merger of the two sounds (neutralizaciÃ³n) into either  (seseo) or , a sibilant fricative similar to  (ceceo). dialects that distinguish the two sounds, and thus pronounce the words casa "house" and caza "hunt" differently, are described as having distinciÃ³n, whereas the dialects that lack this distinction and pronounce the two words as homophones are described as having seseo if both words are pronounced with  or ceceo if both words are pronounced with . seseo is typical of the latin american and canarian dialects and some dialects of central andalusia, whereas distinciÃ³n is typical of most dialects in spain, except in much of andalusia and the canary islands. ceceo is found in some dialects of spain, in the southernmost part of andalusia. ==distinction== distinction () refers to the differentiated pronunciation of the two spanish phonemes written  and  or  (only before  or , the so-called "soft" ): #  represents a voiceless alveolar fricative  (either laminal as in english, or apical); #  and soft  represent a voiceless interdental fricative  (the  in think). this pronunciation is the standard on which spanish orthography was based, and it is universal in central and northern parts of spain, except for some bilingual speakers of catalan and basque, according to . thus, in spanish the choice between the spellings , , , ,  and , , , ,  is determined by the pronunciation in most of spain, unlike english, where it is often done according to etymology or orthographic conventions (although in english, soft c is always  and never  like s is, as with "rise" vs. "rice"). ==mergers== in many other spanish-speaking regions and countries, however, the phonemic distinction between  and  has been neutralized or merged. these varieties of s
Fricative_consonants Spanish_variants