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The aim of the paper is to present a thorough description of the terms weakening and lenition in the context of language change, and to present major theories of lenition proposed in the framework of generative phonology. Among the most recent theories of lenition, we mention the proposal by Katz (2016) based on Kingston (2008) in which a distinction is made between loss and continuity lenition. We then present empirical data from the Canary Islands dialect of Spanish in which both types of lenition can be found, making the dialect a model example of weakening language change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]