Le but de cette thèse est de mieux comprendre le phénomène de renforcement initial pour les voyelles du français : ses mécanismes de réalisations et sa fonction linguistique. Pour cela, cette thèse compare la réalisation acoustique et articulatoire (lèvres et menton) des voyelles orales du français /i, e, ɛ, a, y, ø, œ, u, o, ɔ/ en position strictement initiale de Groupe Intonatif et en position médiane de Groupe Intonatif. Le corpus a été enregistré par quatre locutrices avec deux appareils en simultané : une caméra pour l’analyse de l’aperture et l’étirement des lèvres et un appareil de capture mouvements (Qualisys) pour l’analyse articulatoire de la protrusion des lèvres et de l’abaissement du menton. Une étude acoustique a également été menée (formants, intensité, durée). Cette thèse montre que, d’une part, le renforcement initial modifie des caractéristiques phonétiques des voyelles qui peuvent contribuer, à renforcer les contrastes syntagmatiques en augmentant la sonorité de la voyelle: augmentation de l’aperture et l’étirement aux lèvres pour l’ensemble des voyelles et augmentation d’intensité acoustique pour la plupart. D’autre part, le renforcement initial renforce des caractéristiques acoustiques et articulatoires propres à chaque voyelle. Ces variations contribuent à maximiser les contrastes paradigmatiques entre voyelles : soit par une maximisation de chacune des valeurs du contraste ([+F] et [-F]), soit par une maximisation d’une des deux valeurs du contraste ([+F] ou [-F]). / The goal of this thesis is to better understand the phenomenon of domain-initial strengthening on French vowels: how it is realized and its linguistic function. We compare the acoustic and articulatory variations (on the lips and chin) of the French oral vowels /i, e, ɛ, a, y, ø, œ, u, o, ɔ/ in initial position of Intonational Phrase and in medial position of Intonational Phrase. The corpus was recorded by four female speakers with two different systems simultaneously. Lip aperture and lip width were analyzed from the video data and lip protrusion and lowering of the chin were captured by an optical motion capture system (Qualisys). An acoustic study was also conducted (formants, intensity, duration). Results show that initial strengthening affects phonetic properties of vowels which may contribute to enhance syntagmatic contrasts by increasing their sonority: increased lip aperture and width for all vowels, and increased acoustic intensity for most. Moreover, initial strengthening enhances vowel-specific acoustic and articulatory properties. Consequently, initial strengthening contributes to maximize paradigmatic contrasts between vowels, either by maximizing contrast of each of the values ([+F] and [-F]), either, or by maximizing the value of a single contrast ([+F] or [-F]).

Ce mémoire est une étude phonologique et phonétique visant à ordonner les voyelles nasales en fonction de leur degré en sonorité. Jusqu'à présent, la sonorité des voyelles nasales n’a pas été abordée dans la littérature phonologique et phonétique; ainsi, cette étude vise à combler cette lacune de la recherche en menant une étude typologique et expérimentale des différentes qualités des voyelles nasales. La première partie du mémoire comprend un examen du comportement et de la distribution des voyelles nasales dans les langues du monde afin d'élucider leur place dans l’échelle de sonorité. La partie typologique montre que, dans trois des langues étudiées, seules les voyelles nasales hautes subissent des processus phonologiques comme l’harmonie nasale et la réduction vocalique tandis que, dans deux des langues étudiées, seule la voyelle nasale basse subit des processus phonologiques comme le changement vocalique déplacement de la voyelle et l’attraction de l’accent. La deuxième partie est une expérience nasométrique dans laquelle l’intensité des voyelles nasales et orales est mesurée. L’analyse d’intensité permet de déterminer le niveau de sonorité de chaque voyelle nasale car l’intensité est considérée comme le corrélat physique le plus saillant de la sonorité. L'analyse statistique descriptive effectuée sur l'ensemble des données des voyelles organisées selon leur hauteur (c'est-à-dire haute, mi-haute, mi-basse ou basse) et leur type (nasal ou oral) montre que [a] est la voyelle orale la plus haute en intensité relatif. Quant aux voyelles nasales, [ĩ] est la plus élevée en intensité. Ainsi, suite à l’analyse statistique inférentielle, nous avons établi une échelle permettant de classer les voyelles orales et nasales en fonction de leur intensité. / This thesis is a phonological and phonetic study to classify nasal vowels according to their rank in sonority. To date, the sonority of nasal vowels has not been covered in the phonology and phonetics literature; thus, this study aims to fill that research gap through conducting a typological and experimental investigation of different qualities of nasal vowels. The first part of this thesis includes an examination of the behaviour and the distribution of nasal vowels in the world’s languages to elucidate the place of nasal vowels in sonority hierarchy. The typological part of this study shows that, in three selected languages, only high nasal vowels undergo phonological processes such as nasal harmony and vowel reduction while, in two other selected languages, only the low nasal vowel undergoes phonological processes like vowel shift and attraction of stress. The second part of this study presents the findings of a nasometric experiment in which the intensity of nasal vowels and oral vowels is measured. Analysing intensity helps to determine the level of sonority of each nasal vowel, because intensity is considered the most salient physical correlate of sonority. The descriptive statistical analysis performed on the data set of vowels organized according to height (i.e., high, mid-high, mid-low, and low) and type (nasal or oral) shows that, [a] is the highest in relative intensity. As for nasal vowels, [ĩ] is the highest in intensity. Thus, according to the inferential statistical analysis, we established a scale that classifies oral and nasal vowels according to their intensity.

L’étude porte sur les voyelles orales à double timbre dans le français parisien contemporain. La littérature rapporte une simplification du système phonologique dû à la perte progressive des oppositions dans les paires /a, ɑ/, /e, ɛ/, /ø, œ/ et /o, ɔ/ (Armstrong 2001). Une analyse en temps apparent de nouvelles données phonologiques provenant de 12 locuteurs de la haute bourgeoisie parisienne, permet de tester si la même tendance se manifeste dans les usages d’un milieu socialement favorisé et clos, et ainsi reconnu comme linguistiquement conservateur (Labov 1972, Milroy & Milroy 1992). Les données ont été produites dans différents contextes, allant du très formel à l’informel, et ont été soumises à des analyses acoustiques. L’analyse révèle que la perte des opposition phonologiques affecte moins les pratiques linguistiques des 12 locuteurs que les pratiques d’autres populations. Cependant, le degré de conservatisme linguistique varie selon la variable vocalique : par exemple, pour la paire /o, ɔ/ les usages des 12 locuteurs sont très conservateurs, mais pour la paire /a, ɑ/ ils se conforment aux résultats des travaux antérieurs, l’opposition /a/-/ɑ/ ayant disparu en faveur d’une seule variante antérieure.Une seconde enquête sur les attitudes linguistiques des locuteurs révèle un état de sécurité linguistique très forte au sein de l’échantillon ; quant aux variables vocaliques, une opposition instable va de pair avec un indice d’insécurité linguistique (IIL, Labov 1966) relativement élevé, mais ne rend pas compte des usages individuelles, ce qui met en question l’interprétation traditionnelle du lien entre les pratiques et les attitudes linguistiques. / This dissertation is concerned with the vowels /A, E, Ø, O/ in contemporary Parisian French. Traditionally, the vowels each represent two phonemes, /a, ɑ/, /e, ɛ/, /ø, œ/ and /o, ɔ/, but literature on French phonology reports that the French vowel system is undergoing a simplification by neutralisation of these phonological contrasts (Armstrong 2001). By an apparent-time analysis of new phonological data produced by 12 informants from la haute bourgeoisie parisienne, the study seeks to determine whether this tendency also manifests itself in the behaviour of a socially privileged and close-knit, and as such presumably linguistically conservative, group (Labov 1972, Milroy & Milroy 1992). The data was produced in different contexts, ranging from very formal to informal, and acoustically analyzed.The analysis confirms that neutralisation of vowel contrasts is less common amongst the 12 informants than in other groups of speaker, although the degree of linguistic conservatism depends on the specific vowel. For instance, in the case of the pair /o, ɔ/, the 12 informants display a very conservative behaviour, whereas for the pair /a, ɑ/, the results differ very little from the results of other studies, the /a/-/ɑ/ contrast having practically disappeared.A survey of the informants’ linguistic attitudes reflects a very high level of linguistic security. For each vowel, ongoing change correlates with a relatively high Index of Linguistic Insecurity (ILI, Labov 1966). The ILI cannot, however, account for the individual behaviours; this raises questions about the traditional interpretation of the correlation between a speaker’s ILI and his/her linguistic behaviour.

Esta pesquisa investigou a nasalidade de vogais na fala espontânea de moradores das comunidades quilombolas de Brejo dos Crioulos e Poções (MG). Como aporte teórico, baseou-se nos pressupostos da Fonética e Fonologia, em estudiosos renomados na investigação da nasalidade (CAGLIARI, 1977; CÂMARA JR., 1984, 2013; BISOL, 2013; ABAURRE; PAGOTTO, 1996; SILVA, 2015), com subsídios da Linguística de Corpus. Seu objetivo geral foi investigar a ocorrência da nasalidade, no dialeto dessas comunidades quilombolas, e seu comportamento linguístico, considerando os fatores linguísticos que podem no fenômeno interferir. Especificamente, objetivou-se a) detectar a ocorrência de vogais nasalizadas com auxílio dos recursos que provê a Linguística de Corpus (Praat e WorldSmith Tolls); b) discriminar os diferentes tipos de contextos de ocorrência das vogais nasalizadas; c) fazer análises quantitativa e qualitativa das vogais nasalizadas no corpus de estudo; d) descrever e analisar o comportamento das vogais nasalizadas e; e) contrastar os valores de F1 e F2 das vogais orais e nasalizadas. Hipotetizou-se que a nasalidade acontece por ser condicionada pelo segmento nasal seguinte à vogal nasalizada – processo fonológico de “assimilação” –, sua posição quanto ao acento primário e categoria gramatical. Acreditou-se que as comunidades quilombolas de Brejo dos Crioulos e Poções produzem em suas falas vogais nasalizadas e que esse fenômeno linguístico é favorecido pela presença adjacente de consoantes ou vogais nasais. Além disso, foi hipotetizado que os valores dos F1 e F2 das vogais orais e nasalizadas nessas comunidades são distintos. Elaboraram-se as seguintes perguntas de pesquisa: (i) a presença de vogais nasalizadas na fala nessas comunidades quilombolas está condicionada à presença de um segmento sonoro nasal? (ii) o segmento sonoro nasal seguinte à vogal nasalizada favorece a ocorrência do fenômeno da nasalidade? há diferença entre os valores de F1 e F2 das vogais orais e nasalizadas nas duas comunidades quilombolas consideradas? Para compor o nosso corpus, utilizaram-se gravações de 24 entrevistas (12 locutores femininos e 12 locutores masculinos), num total de 24 participantes. Verificou-se que o segmento sonoro nasal seguinte tende a condicionar a vogal nasalizada. Geralmente, assimila-se o abaixamento do véu palatino de segmento consonantal nasal imediatamente seguinte, mas há casos de segmento vocálico nasal – assimilação regressiva; a sílaba tônica tende a favorecer a nasalidade, mas ela ocorre em posição pretônica e postônica também; os valores de F1 e F2 das vogais orais e nasalizadas nas comunidades quilombolas de Poções e Brejo dos Crioulos são distintos: o Grupo de Brejo dos Crioulos tende a produzir o F1 das vogais orais e nasalizadas mais abaixado do que o Grupo de Poções e o F2, mais anteriorizado. A nasalidade tende a ocorrer em verbos e substantivos, apesar de não ser específica a uma categoria gramatical. Esta pesquisa apontou casos de nasalização espúria, confirmando pesquisas já realizadas. Por sua vez, revelou casos de itens lexicais com contexto favorável à nasalização, mas com sua não ocorrência. Este último caso, tido como de abaixamento do véu palatino uniforme no Português Brasileiro, apresentou vogais pronunciadas sem o abaixamento do véu palatino. Ou seja, detectou-se variação no fenômeno de nasalização no Português Brasileiro. Com este trabalho, promoveu-se a discussão sobre a nasalidade, com o intuito de contribuir com os estudos linguísticos sobre o funcionamento do Português Brasileiro neste contexto geográfico. / This research investigated the nasality of vowels in the spontaneous speech of inhabitants of the quilombola communities of Brejo dos Crioulos and Poções (MG). As a theoretical framework, we based on the assumptions of Phonetics and Phonology, in renowned scholars on the investigation of nasality (CAGLIARI, 1977; CÂMARA JR., 1984, 2013; BISOL, 2013; ABAURRE; PAGOTTO, 1996; SILVA, 2015), with subsidies of the Corpus Linguistics. Its general goal was to investigate the occurrence of nasality, in the dialect of these quilombola communities, and their linguistic behavior, considering the linguistic factors that can interfere in the phenomenon. Specifically it was aimed to a) detect the occurrence of nasalized vowels with the help of the resources that the Corpus Linguistics provides (Praat and WorldSmith Tolls); b) discriminate the different types of occurring contexts of nasalized vowels; c) make quantitative and qualitative analyzes of the nasalized vowels in the study corpus; d) describe and analyze the behavior of nasalized vowels and; e) contrast the values of F1 and F2 of the oral and nasalized vowels. It was hypothesized that the nasality happens because it is conditioned by the nasal segment following the nasalized vowel - phonological process of “assimilation” - its position as the primary stress and grammatical category. It was believed that the quilombolas communities of Brejo dos Crioulos and Poções produce nasalized vowels in their speech and this linguistic phenomenon is favored by the adjacent presence of consonants or nasal vowels. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that the values of F1 and F2 of oral and nasalized vowels in these communities are distinct. The following research questions were elaborated: (i) is the presence of nasalized vowels in the speech of these quilombola communities conditioned to the presence of a nasal sound segment? (ii) does the nasal sound segment following the nasalized vowel favor the occurrence of the nasality phenomenon? is there a difference between the values of F1 and F2 of the oral and nasalized vowels in both quilombola communities considered? To compose our corpus, 24 interviews recordings were used (12 female speakers and 12 male speakers), a total of 24 participants. It was found that the following nasal sound segment tends to condition the nasalized vowel. In general, it assimilates the lowering of the soft palate of nasal consonant segment immediately following, but there are cases of nasal vowel segment - regressive assimilation; the stressed syllable tends to favor the nasality, but it occurs in pretonic and postonic position as well; F1 and F2 values of oral and nasalized vowels in the quilombola communities of Poções and Brejo dos Crioulos are distinct: the group of Brejo dos Crioulos tends to produce the F1 of oral and nasalized vowels more lowered than the group of Poções and the F2, in a more anterior position. The nasality tends to occur in verbs and nouns, although it is not specific to a grammatical category. This research found cases of spurious nasalization, confirming previous studies. In turn, it revealed cases of lexical items with favorable context for nasalization, but with its non-occurrence. This last case, considered as the lowering of the uniform soft palate in PB, presented pronounced vowels without the soft palate lowering. That is, it was detected variation in the phenomenon of nasalization in PB. With this work, it was promoted the discussion about nasality, in order to contribute to the linguistic studies about the functioning of Brazilian Portuguese in this geographical context. / Dissertação (Mestrado)

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2014-11-26T19:51:25Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese- Gisélia Brito dos Santos - 2013.pdf: 4152384 bytes, checksum: 0d7d314119a6b433c433012852e4d3ab (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-12-04T14:09:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese- Gisélia Brito dos Santos - 2013.pdf: 4152384 bytes, checksum: 0d7d314119a6b433c433012852e4d3ab (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-04T14:09:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese- Gisélia Brito dos Santos - 2013.pdf: 4152384 bytes, checksum: 0d7d314119a6b433c433012852e4d3ab (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-05 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / This Thesis presents an acoustic-phonetic analysis of the oral and nasal vowels of Brazilian Portuguese, specifically those of the speech community of Fortaleza dos Nogueiras, Maranhão and European Portuguese, in some speech data from the region of Lisbon, Portugal. The theoretical foundation is sustained on the postulates of Camara Jr. (1970 ), Mateus (1982), de Morais Barbosa (1994) and Moraes and Wetzels (1992), concerning nasality in Portuguese, especially in Brazilian Portuguese. The theoretical framework of Acoustic Phonetics is composed mainly by the work of Ladefoged (2003, 2006 and 2007), Ladefoged, Johnson (2008), Mateus et al. (2005), Delgado-Martins (1988), Morais Barbosa (1994), Malmberg (1998), Medeiros (2007), Medeiros et al. (2008) and Sousa, E. (1994). The informants used as subjects in this research, both Brazilian and Portuguese, are people with low education, low turnover, 50 years of age or older. The Brazilian informants were born and lived most of their lives in rural Fortaleza dos Nogueiras; the Portuguese live in the outskirts of Lisbon. The speech data in Brazil are a result of our field research conducted in 2011. The data from Portugal were provided by the Instituto de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa and form part of the speech collection of ALEPG (Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Portugal and Galicia). The acoustic-phonetic analysis of the data is made through the program of Speech Station by Sensimetrics for visualization of expectograms and to extract measurements of F1 and F2. We present the values of formants 1 and 2 of the oral and nasal vowels and these are compared in order to show what happens with the nasal vowel in relation to the corresponding oral; we highlight the acoustical characteristics of oral and nasal vowels; we show the articulatory triangle of vowels of the informants of the research highlighting the contours the vowels assume in articulation and the frequency bands in which each vowel stands. Finally, we carry out a comparative investigation of oral and nasal vowels in these two varieties of Portuguese. / Este trabalho apresenta uma análise fonético-acústica das vogais orais e nasais do português brasileiro, mais especificamente da comunidade de fala de Fortaleza dos Nogueiras, Maranhão e do português europeu, em alguns dados de fala da região de Lisboa, Portugal. O embasamento teórico pauta-se nos postulados de Camara Jr. (1970), de Mateus (1982), de Morais Barbosa (1994) e de Moraes e Wetzels (1992), acerca da nasalidade na língua portuguesa, especialmente, no português brasileiro. O referencial teórico de Fonética Acústica compõe-se, principalmente, pelos trabalhos de Ladefoged (2003, 2006 e 2007), Ladefoged; Jonhson (2008), Mateus et al. (2005), Delgado-Martins (1988), Morais Barbosa (1994), Malmberg (1998), Medeiros (2007), Medeiros et al. (2008) e Sousa, E. (1994). Os informantes sujeitos desta pesquisa, tanto brasileiros como portugueses, são pessoas com baixa escolaridade, baixa rotatividade, que têm a partir de 50 anos de idade. Os brasileiros nasceram e viveram a maior parte de suas vidas na zona rural de Fortaleza dos Nogueiras; os portugueses são moradores do entorno de Lisboa. Os dados de fala do Brasil são resultado de nossa pesquisa de campo realizada em 2011. Os de Portugal foram-nos cedidos pelo Instituto de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa e fazem parte do acervo de fala do ALEPG (Atlas Linguístico e Etnográfico de Portugal e da Galiza). A análise fonético-acústica dos dados é feita por meio do programa Speech Station da Sensimetrics, para a visualização dos expectogramas e para a extração das medidas de F1 e de F2. Apresentam-se os valores dos formantes 1 e 2 das vogais orais e nasais e estes são comparados com o intuito de mostrar o que acontece com a vogal nasal em relação à correspondente oral; evidenciam-se quais as características acústicas das vogais orais e nasais; apresenta-se o triângulo articulatório das vogais desses informantes da pesquisa com evidência para os contornos que elas assumem na articulação e para as faixas de frequência em que cada vogal se posiciona. Por fim, realiza-se uma investigação comparativa das vogais orais e nasais nessas duas variedades da língua portuguesa.

Dans ce travail de recherche nous avons abordé la question de la perception et de la production des voyelles orales du français par seize enfants tunisiens (8-9 ans) néo-apprenants du français à trois moments différents de leur apprentissage : au début de leur première année de français, après 9 mois d’apprentissage et suite à une période d’entraînements phonétiques. Les résultats obtenus montrent que (1) la perception et la production des voyelles sont fortement influencées par la L1 des apprenants aussi bien au début qu’après 9 mois d’apprentissage ; (2) les performances en perception et en production des néo-apprenants dépendent plus des voyelles elles-mêmes que de leur statut en L2 par rapport à la L1 (voyelles nouvelles, similaires, ou identiques) ; (3) les entraînements phonétiques que nous avons administrés n’apportent pas de bénéfice sur la perception et la production des voyelles orales françaises par les néo-apprenants tunisien. / In this thesis, we studied the perception and production of the French oral vowels by sixteen Tunisian children (8-9 years old) learning French. Data are collected at three different periods: at the beginning of their first year of learning, after nine months of learning, and after a period of phonetic training. Main results are: (1) the perception and production of the vowels are greatly influenced by the L1 of the learners, both at the beginning and after nine months of learning; (2) the perception and production performances of the learners are better predicted by the identity of the vowel rather than its status in L2 compared to L1 (new, similar or identical vowels); (3) the phonetic training we gave showed no benefit on the perceptual or production performances of the children.

Submitted by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-05-05T23:23:43Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação - SILVA-PINTO (2016).pdf: 21201769 bytes, checksum: 9aa83582fd61c6b36c3b56e9436a66ca (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-05-05T23:24:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação - SILVA-PINTO (2016).pdf: 21201769 bytes, checksum: 9aa83582fd61c6b36c3b56e9436a66ca (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-05T23:24:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação - SILVA-PINTO (2016).pdf: 21201769 bytes, checksum: 9aa83582fd61c6b36c3b56e9436a66ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-16 / Sem bolsa / Este estudo investiga a aquisição das vogais anteriores arredondadas [y], [q] e [E] do francês por locutoras brasileiras adultas, proficientes em francês (L2). De acordo com a literatura (ALCÂNTARA, 1998; RESTREPO, 2011), a aquisição das vogais anteriores arredondadas do francês por aprendizes adultos brasileiros mostra-se uma tarefa complexa, tanto em termos de percepção quanto de produção. Diante disso, neste trabalho, procuramos contribuir ao entendimento dessa complexidade e fomentar os poucos estudos brasileiros envolvendo sujeitos proficientes em francês (L2) e a aquisição dos referidos sons. Desse modo, buscamos responder de que maneira os locutores brasileiros adultos, proficientes em francês (L2), lidam com sons alheios à fonologia da sua LM, no que concerne à sua percepção e produção. Para tanto, objetivamos, especificamente, detectar o grau de acuidade com o qual as vogais-alvo são identificadas e discriminadas pelas participantes avaliadas, bem como definir o comportamento acústico desses sons em sua fala, de modo que seja possível explicar uma provável produção autêntica dos segmentos franceses investigados em função de as informantes os identificarem, discriminarem e articularem. Diante disso, dois grupos de informantes participam desta pesquisa: o composto pelas brasileiras, três professoras-pesquisadoras de FLE no ensino superior público brasileiro, residentes em Pelotas/RS, e o formado por uma locutora francesa nativa, da região parisiense, a qual constitui o grupo controle e cujos dados se somam aos disponíveis na literatura. Para a coleta dos dados de produção em ambos os grupos, foram elaborados quatro experimentos, três envolvendo vogais orais francesas e o outro vogais orais do PB, as quais se encontravam em palavras e logatomas do francês e do PB, produzidos dentro de frases-veículo. Para a coleta dos dados de percepção relativos às vogais do francês, foram construídos quatro experimentos, dois testes de identificação e dois testes de discriminação. A metodologia utilizada na construção desses experimentos foi baseada, em parte, naquela elaborada por Restrepo (2011), com adaptações para atender aos objetivos específicos deste trabalho. As coletas ocorreram em ambiente acústico controlado (cabine acústica), com a utilização de um gravador digital Zoom H4N e de um par de fones de ouvido modelo AKG K 44. Os dados coletados foram analisados acústica e estatisticamente, por meio dos softwares Praat (versões 6.0.08 e 6.0.19) e SPSS Statistics (versão 17.0), respectivamente. Os resultados obtidos, interpretados à luz do modelo HipCort (MCCLELLAND et al.,1995), um modelo dinâmico de formação da memória e do aprendizado, confirmam nossa tese do potencial êxito de nossas informantes na aquisição dos sons investigados, pois identificam, discriminam e produzem acuradamente as vogais anteriores arredondadas do francês, demonstrando terem se distanciado de uma possível influência de sua LM. Os resultados alcançados contribuem, portanto, para se refutar a existência da atuação de restrições biológicas ligadas a uma concepção de aquisição da linguagem calcada nos pressupostos do paradigma simbólico, indo ao encontro de estudos que evidenciam a possibilidade de aprendizes tardios apresentarem um nível de competência fonético-fonológica em L2 comparável àquele do falante nativo. / This study investigates the acquisition of front rounded vowels [y], [q], and [E] of French by adult female speakers who are proficient in French (L2). According to the literature (ALCÂNTARA, 1998; RESTREPO, 2011), the acquisition of front rounded vowels of French by Brazilian adult learners is a complex challenge, either in terms of perception or in terms of production. From this point, in this study we sought to contribute to the understanding of this complexity and develop the not many Brazilian studies involving individuals with proficiency in French language (L2) and the acquisition of its sounds. Thus, our challenge was to answer in what way adult Brazilian speakers, with proficiency in French (L2), deal with foreign sounds, different from the ones of their ML phonology, when it comes to their perception and production. Therefore, we aimed to detect, specifically, the level of perceptiveness with which the target vowels are identified and distinguished by the considered participants, as well as defining the acoustic behaviour of these sounds in their speaking, in a possible way to explain a probable authentic production of the investigated French segments according to the identification, distinction, and articulation of the participants. Then, two groups of volunteers participated in this research: one counts with the presence of three Brazilian women, professors and researchers of FFL in superior public education, residents in Pelotas/RS; the second group is formed by a native French speaker from Parisian region, who participates of the control group, which data is added to the one available in literature. For the collecting of data of production in both groups, four experiments were elaborated, three involving French oral vowels, and the last one involving oral vowels of BP, which were found in words and non-words from French and BP, produced inside of carrier sentences. For the collecting of information of perception related to the French vowels, four experiments were formed, two tests of identification, and two tests of distinction. The methodology used in the construction of these experiments was based on the one elaborated by Restrepo (2011), with adaptions to attend to the specific objectives of this study. The collection of the material occurred in a controlled acoustic environment (acoustic compartment), with the use of a digital recorder Zoom H4N and a pair of earphones model AKG K 44. The collected data was analysed acoustically and statistically with the softwares Praat (6.0.08 and 6.0.10 versions) and SPSS Statistics (17.0 version), respectively. The results achieved were interpreted with the HipCort model (MCCLELLAND et al, 1995), a dynamic model of formation of memory and learning. They confirmed our thesis of the potential outcome of our participants in the acquisition of the investigated sounds, because they could identify, distinguish, and produce accurately the front rounded vowels of French, demonstrating the distance of a possible influence from their ML. The results contribute, so, to refute the existence of an operation of biological restrictions connected to a conception of acquisition of language based on the presupposition of the symbolic paradigm, which meets the studies that evince the possibility of late learners to present a level of phonetic and phonologic competences in L2 comparable to the native speaker.