Written vowel variation in Imbabura Media Lengua

Abstract

This study investigates written vowel variation and stability in Imbabura Media Lengua, a contact language formed from Spanish lexicon and Kichwa morphosyntax. Through analyzing transcribed conversations by two native speakers, this research identifies patterns in orthographic choices, specifically focusing on written variability between mid and high vowels. Generalized linear mixed-effects models show that vowel choice is largely stable and source-aligned, though variation arises predictably in two domains, (

) root-final vowels preceding suffixes and ( ) in lexical “reborrowings” — words originally borrowed into one source language from the other and subsequently borrowed again into Media Lengua. The minimal orthographic variation aligns closely with perceptual research, suggesting that how a vowel is perceived plays a greater role than how it is produced in determining spelling preferences. These results emphasize the roles of etymological origin and auditory perception in shaping Media Lengua’s nascent orthography.