Substituição na produção de /ɵ/ e /ð/ por falantes do português: uma análise não linear

Abstract

The present work describes the production of the Interdental Fricatives of the English language by Brazilian Portuguese speakers (BP) who are learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the Foreign Language Program of UFPA/ILC/FALEM. The aim of this research is to investigate the possibilities of substitution occurrences to the voiced Interdental Fricative and its voiceless counterpart in syllable onset and coda. The outcomes are analyzed based on the Feature Geometry Phonology, by (Clements & Hume, 1995).The data were taken from the reading test performances of twenty-two students of English at Falem’s Cursos Livres. 12 third level students and 10 seventh level students were involved in the research. We intend to illustrate the itemized graphical representation of the substitution process that speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) who are learners of English as a second language (ESL) articulate, specifically regarding the interdental fricative segments of the English language in its voiceless and voiced versions /Ɵ/ e /ð/, in the process of acquisition of the English phonology. Different types of segments were encountered in our research, as results of the substitutions, such as: [t],[tʃ],[d] [f] and [s] for the voiceless interdental fricative /Ɵ/ and [t],[d],[s],[f],[v] and [tʃ] for its voiced counterpart /ð/ . The main types of processes observed were: (a) Strengthening, (b) Posteriorization (c) Sonorization (d) Palatalization (e) Labialization (f) Epenthesis and (g) Resyllabification. All resulting of a previous process called Nativization.