Summary

The present article proposes a set of principles to guide the process of defining the segmental phonetic inventory of contemporary Chilean Spanish. It presents a provisional phonetic inventory of consonants based on the above-mentioned principles, using the Spanish spoken in the province of Concepción (Chile) as its point of reference. In addition, it presents a system for the phonetic representation of this and future inventories (IPA-CL) and proposes a research program with the goal of establishing a definitive phonetic inventory of contemporary Chilean Spanish. The long-term objective of this article is to spur research on both the theoretical and methodological issues presented here, and the selection and characterization of the phones of the provisional inventory.