Generalized assimilation of the liquids in syllable final position is one of the phonetic features that linguists have claimed differentiates Cuban Spanish from other varieties of Caribbean Spanish. Almendros (1958) wrote, “La frecuencia y extensión que alcanza este fenómeno [la asimilación de las líquidas]...son quizás lo que en Cuba constituye un carácter más diferencial dentro de la zona del Caribe” (p. 149). Although the frequency and extension of liquid assimilation are exceptional in Cuban Spanish, the phenomenon is not exclusive to this variety; indeed, as a feature of the Andalusian variety brought to the new world by the colonizers, liquid assimilation appears in many varieties. In Andalusian Spanish, syllable final /r/ assimilated to a following /l/ or /n/, and /l/ assimilated to /r/, /t/, /d/, /y/ and /ñ/ (Alonso, 1961). Costa Sánchez (1984) suggested that in Cuba influence from the African substrate contributed to the extension of assimilation beyond the phonetic distribution and frequency of the Andalusian dialect. The description of liquid assimilation outlined here is based on Guitart (1976, 1980). According to Guitart, the liquids can assimilate to any following consonant, and produce either complete or partial gemination. Harris (1985) points out that the geminates that arise from assimilation in Cuban Spanish are “highly unusual among Spanish dialects” (p. 129). For some liquid-plus-consonant pairs, assimilation changes the articulation of both consonants; thus, when /r/ assimilates to /d/, it produces the geminate [d¬d], which has an unreleased retroflex stop in the first segment, and in the second, another retroflex stop, instead of a fricative [∂], which commonly occurs in standard Spanish. For other liquid-plus-consonant pairs (e.g. before /b/, /d/, /g/, /m/, /ñ/, /f/ and /x/), complete gemination occurs and the liquid shares all of the features of the following consonant: [fomma] forma, [xoxxe] Jorge. Distinctions between /r/ and /l/ are neutralized when they assimilate – both /r/ and /l/ before /d/ are realized as [d¬], and sue[d¬t]e is either suerte or suelte (example from Guitart, 1980).