L-alternations in Taqbaylit

International audience The aim of this paper is to analyze the status of /l/ in standard Taqbaylit (StT) and the varieties of Ouadhia (OuT) and Chemini (ChT) where it surfaces respectively [l], [j] and [ɹ]. In the latter varieties OuT and ChK, /l/ is subject to lenition. We analyze the data in Element Theory (Backley 2011, 2012; Harris 1990; Kaye, Lowenstamm & Vergnaud 1985, 1990; Scheer 1996) and we propose that lenition results from three factors: i) the bipositional nature of /l/, ii) the loss of its subsegmental content and iii) its relationship with adjacent segments.