Sociolinguistic Variation in the Lexicon. Mujer, esposa, and senora in Contemporary Spanish

Following a brief historical excursion into the etymology & history of mujer, esposa, & senora as Spanish words for 'wife' with different social & emotive connotations, a sociolinguistic survey is conducted to determine the incidence of social variables on the use of each of these three lexemes by informants (N = 218) from the New & Old Castile parts of Spain diversified across age, education, occupation, & urban vs rural residence. It is found that mujer is most frequently used (69%), followed by esposa (17%), & senora (14%). Results are analyzed for three different discourse types to determine which term the informant employs referring to a third person's, interlocutor's, or his own wife. A comparison with written language shows that esposa is most frequently used in journalistic texts, which is explained by the connotative neutrality preferred in formal styles. It is concluded that whereas mujer is the unmarked term for 'wife' in Contemporary Spanish, esposa & senora are respectful terms employed in interactions with or reference to older persons or those with higher social prestige. Z. Dubiel