The acquisition of /p/ and /k/ word-mid codas of English (L2) by learners from Southern Brazil: a gestural analysis in Stochastic Optimality Theory

• Autor(a) principal: Schmitt, Bruna Koch
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Alves, Ubiratã Kickhöfel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: letrônica
• Texto Completo: https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/ojs/index.php/letronica/article/view/17879
• topic: Phonetic-phonological Acquisition; Gestural Phonology; Stochastic Optimality Theory.; Aquisição Fonético-Fonológica; Fonologia Gestual; Teoria da Otimidade Estocástica.

In this article, we formalize the acquisition of word-mid /pt/ and /kt/ sequences in English (L2) by learners from Southern Brazil. The participants, who presented a basic proficiency level in English, had their productions recorded both in English and in Brazilian Portuguese, which allowed for an analysis of the acoustic patterns found in the production of /p/ and /k/ obstruent codas. The acoustic patterns produced by the learners were analyzed using the Stochastic-Optimality Theory, and the constraints used in the analysis were based on the framework of Gestural Phonology (BROWMAN & GOLDSTEIN, 1992) and in the gestural landmarks proposed by Gafos (2002). We conclude that a gestural analysis allows for the formalization of a wider range of acoustic patterns which tended not to be considered in traditional accounts of phonology, as these patterns assume a different status since they are then considered to be part of the grammar.