The phonological system can be described and analyzed on three levels; word, syllable and segment. The non-linear nature of the system enables an analysis from different viewpoints on phonology. LINköpingsUnderSökningen (LINUS) is a phonological test for children between the ages of 3 to 6 years which enables a non-linear analysis. Previous studies at  Linköping University have shown that children with phonological language impairment have phonological deviations on all three levels. Even though there is research involving Swedish-speaking children with expressive phonological impairment, further research is needed due to lacking in sample size and age span of participants. The purpose of this thesis is to compare the expressive phonological ability of children between the ages of 3 to 5 years who have been referred to a speech and language pathologist (SLP) for suspected phonological difficulties with a control group consisting of peers without known difficulties. In the study 10 children participated who were recruited from a speech and language pathologist clinic in a big city in Sweden, and raw data was also used from a previous study on an additional 11 children. Children with language impairment were matched with a control group with children of the same age. The age interval of participating children was between 3 years and 2 months and 4 years and 11 months.  The LINUS test was issued at a speech and language pathologist clinic together with a SLP.  The results showed similar deviations on word, syllable and segment level for both the study group and the control group. However the results of the study group contained a higher amount of deviations. The word and syllable level caused the greatest challenge for both groups. Additionally, both the study group and the control group exhibited deviations in terms of word structure where the most frequent shortcoming was reduction of consonant clusters. To conclude, similar types of deviations occurred in both groups, although the study group had a higher amount of deviations on all levels. For stronger conclusions, a larger sample size and younger participants are needed.

L'objectif principal de cette thèse est d'étudier les conséquences du bilinguisme sur la production de la parole. Des recherches antérieures ont montré que les locuteurs bilingues montrent un coût par rapport aux monolingues dans différentes expériences linguistiques. Nous avons étudié les origines du coût bilingue en explorant l'influence de variables spécifiques comme la similitude phonologique. En outre, nous avons examiné la portée du coût bilingue en évaluant des durées articulatoires de la parole et la production de groupes nominaux. Nous rapportons que l'augmentation de la similarité phonologique entre les mots d'une même langue ralentit la parole, alors que l'augmentation de la similarité phonologique entre les langues aide les bilingues à surmonter le coût bilingue. En outre, nos résultats ont montré que le coût bilingue se généralise aux phases articulatoires et à la production de groupes nominaux. Cette thèse fournit de nouvelles données sur le traitement de la parole pendant les stades phonologiques et articulatoires chez les locuteurs mono- et bilingues, et étend notre connaissance sur le coût bilingue en production de parole. / The main objective of this dissertation is to examine the consequences of bilingualism on speech production. Previous research has shown that bilingual speakers experience a cost compared to monolinguals in a variety of linguistic experiments. We investigated the origins of the bilingual cost by exploring influences of particular variables such as phonological similarity. Moreover, we investigated the scope of the bilingual cost by assessing speech performance, focusing on articulatory durations and noun-phrase production. We provide evidence that increased phonological similarity among words within one language slows speech, whereas increased phonological similarity across translations helps bilinguals to overcome the bilingual cost. In addition, our results show that the bilingual cost generalizes to articulatory durations and noun-phrase production. The current dissertation provides a more specific understanding of speech processing at phonological and articulatory stages in mono- and bilinguals, and extends our knowledge on the bilingual cost in speech production. / El objetivo principal de esta tesis es examinar las consecuencias del bilingüismo en la producción del habla. Estudios anteriores han demostrado que los hablantes bilingües presentan una mayor dificultad que los monolingües durante la realización de diferentes experimentos lingüísticos. Investigamos los orígenes del coste del bilingüismo, explorando los efectos de variables como la similitud fonológica. Además, investigamos el alcance del coste, evaluando las duraciones articulatorias durante el habla y la producción de sintagmas nominales. Mostramos que una mayor similitud fonológica entre palabras de una lengua ralentiza el habla, mientras que una mayor similitud entre traducciones ayudó a los bilingües a superar el coste. Finalmente, demostramos que el coste bilingüe se extiende a las duraciones articulatorias y a la producción de sintagmas nominales. Esta tesis aporta nuevas evidencias acerca del efecto que la similitud fonológica tiene sobre la producción del habla y proporciona un conocimiento más específico sobre cómo el bilingüismo influye durante las últimas fases del procesamiento del habla.

Além da fala, o registro escrito também pode servir como fonte para estudo de fenômenos de variação e mudança linguística. A grafia de textos produzidos há mais de século pode atestar parte da história de uma língua. Diante dessa perspectiva, este trabalho propõe a identificação de possíveis variáveis fonológicas por meio do registro de certas formas interpretadas como traços da oralidade que podem representar certas variantes existentes nos dias atuais. O exame que se propõe nesse trabalho segue a proposta de investigação de mudança lingüística em registros escritos de Lass (2000) e o uniformitarismo de Labov (1972). Utiliza-se, como amostra e corpus jornais produzidos no Rio Grande do Sul, no século XIX. Com base em registros escritos, pretendemos confirmar a relação passado/presente existente entre dois estados de língua e a existência de fenômenos fonológicos como elevação vocálica, substituição de segmentos, omissão, epêntese, metátese, proclíticos e segmentação na história. / Besides spoken language, the written record may be considered a source for linguistic variation and change studies. Texts written one century ago can attest part of the history of a language. Based on this belief, this paper proposes the identification of possible phonological variables through some written records interpreted as oral aspects which may express certain variants currently used by speakers. The examination in this paper follows the investigation of linguistic change in written records by Lass (2000) and the uniformitarianism by Labov (1972). By using written records found in newspapers published in the 19th century in Rio Grande do Sul, we intend to certify the past/present relation between two language states and the existence of certain phonological phenomena as vowel elevation, segmental substitution, deletion, epenthesis, metathesis, clitics and segmentation in history.

The topic of this study was to determine the factors affecting the reading readiness of Grade R learners in selected preschools in Gauteng Province. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that affect the reading readiness of Grade R learners as understood by teachers and mothers. The aim of the study was to establish what factors affect the reading readiness of Grade R learners. The primary research question asked what factors Grade R teachers and mothers find affect reading readiness. The secondary research questions asked how Grade R teachers address these factors in the classroom; who the people involved in the learners’ reading readiness are; and how they contribute to reading readiness. This study employed a multiple case study approach. Data was collected in six preschools in Johannesburg through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with five Grade R teachers and five mothers of Grade R learners. A focus group discussion with four Grade R teachers was also conducted. The main findings of the study were eight factors affecting the reading readiness of Grade R learners: the learner’s individual developmental level; the learner’s maturity; the learner’s desire to learn to read; the learner’s phonological awareness; the learner’s need for play and kinaesthetics; the learner’s parents’ contributions; the learner’s socioeconomic living conditions; and reading stories to the learner. The implication is that these findings may improve teaching practice and Grade R curriculum development. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

xi, 89 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / One of the fastest growing populations of students in American schools today is that of Spanish speaking English language learners. Many of these students are taught in classrooms in which Spanish is the language of instruction for the development of early literacy skills. There is a need for valid and reliable progress monitoring measures for Spanish speakers in these classrooms, as many of the current measures in use were designed for and normed on English speaking populations of students. Phonological awareness is one of the strongest predictors of success in learning to read. Therefore, the purpose of this replication study was to determine the efficacy of five independent variables: (a) Letter Sounds, (b) Syllable Sounds, (c) Phonemic Segmentation, (d) Syllable Segmentation, and (e) Grade Level to predict scores on Spanish Word Reading and Sentence Reading Fluency assessments for 41 first-grade and 41 second-grade native Spanish speaking students whose early literacy instruction was in Spanish. Correlational and multiple regression analysis showed that, of these variables, performance on a test of Syllable Sounds was the best predictor of performance on both the Word Reading Fluency and Sentence Reading Fluency tests. Results show that, for students receiving early literacy instruction in Spanish, tests of syllable sounds demonstrated the most efficacy in accounting for the variance in predicting future reading success in Spanish. / Adviser: Gerald Tindal

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Ontluikende geletterdheid is waarskynlik die belangrik:ste tema wat in hierdie proefskrif behandel word. Die doelbewuste skepping van ouderdomsrelevante geleenthede vir die kleuter om op 'n informele wyse blootstelling en deelname aan luister- praat-, lees- en skryfvaardighede te ervaar, dien as vertrekpunt. Vroee ontwikkeling van geletterdheidsvaardigbede, as komponent van kognitiewe ontwikkeling by die kleuter, bet geblyk noodsaaklik te wees- nie net ten aansien van skoolgereedheid nie, maar ook ten opsigte van sy uiteindelike selfverwesenliking. Die oogmerk strek dus verder as die afiigting van die kleuter tot 'n toereikende vaardigbeidsvlak ten einde skoolgereed te kan wees. In teenstelling met die lank bestaande beleid in Suid-Afiika, wat bepaal bet dat voorskoolse onderwys byna uitsluitlik die onderrig van perseptuele vaardigbede moes bebels, word 'n alternatiewe benadering m hierdie proefskrif aangedui. Hulpverlening met geletterdheidsontwikkeling as doelwit behels waarskynlik 'n meer omvattende scenario ten einde die beboeftes van die affektief-, kognitief-, sosiaalwordende kind aan te spreek. Ontsluiting van 'n nuwe wereld van kennis waardeur nonne, boudings en vaardighede aangeleer word, bet 'n direkte invloed op die kwaliteit van sy totale lewe. By uitnemendbeid skep uitkomsgerigte onderwys die geleentbeid om reeds op voorskoolse vlak, geletterdbeidsvaardigbede op 'n informele wyse aan te leer. Die mite dat primere skole aileen die voorreg beskore is om leerders te leer lees en skryf, word krities in hierdie studie bevraagteken. Die klemverskuiwing is reeds sigbaar in die nuut-aangekondigde onderwysbeleid naamlik dat die leerprogram Geletterdheid minstens sowat 40% van die daaglikse onderrigprogram in die grondslagfase moet geniet. Die wyse waarop geletterdheidsvaardighede aangeleer kan word, word indiepte bespreek. Eweneens word belangrike prosesse waardeur die ontwikkeling van 'n fonologiese-, semantiese- en sintaktiese bewussyn, aan die orde gestel. Die aanleer van geletterdheidsvaardighede blyk nie alleen noodsaaklik te wees vir die ontwikkeling van lewensvaardighede nie dit bewerkstellig toegang tot en die begryping en belewing van die werklikheid wat die mens omring. / Emergent literacy is probably the most important theme addressed in this thesis. The purpose is to create age related opportunities for the pre-school child to experience exposure and participation in listening-, vocal-, reading- and writing abilities on an informal basis which serves as a point of departure. Early awareness of literacy abilities as a component of cognitive development of the pre-school child has proved to be essential - not only in respect of school readiness, but also with regard to ultimate selfactualisation. The aim therefore goes beyond the mere training of the pre-school child to an adequate level of competence to be well prepared for formal schooling. Contrary to the well established policy in South Africa which determined that pre-school education should be limited to the exclusive teaching of perceptual abilities, an alternative approach has been considered in this thesis. Assistance with a view to literacy development probably encompasses a more inclusive scenario in order to address the requirements of the emotional, cognitive and social developing pre-school child. Exposure to a new world of knowledge through which norms, attitudes and abilities are acquired, has a direct influence on the quality of his total life. Outcomes based education provides an excellent opportunity to acquire already at pre-school level, literacy skills on an informal basis. The myth that only primary schools have been allotted the privilege to teach learners to read and write, is being critically questioned in this study. The change in emphasis is already evident in the recently announced education policy, namely that the daily learning programme Literacy must include at least 400/o of the foundation programme phase. The manner in which literacy skills can be acquired are discussed in depth. Simultaneously Literacy must include at least 400/o of the foundation programme phase. The manner in which literacy skills can be acquired are discussed in depth. Simultaneously important processes affecting the development of a phonological, semantic and syntactic cognition are discussed. The acquisition of literacy skills appears not only to be important to the development of life skills - it accomplishes access to and the comprehension of as well as the perception of the reality surrounding man. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

SILVA, Ana Cristina Cunha da. A produção e percepção do acento em pares mínimos de língua inglesa por aprendizes brasileiros. 2005. 118f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Linguistica) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Letras Vernaculas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Fortaleza-CE, 2005. / Submitted by nazareno mesquita (nazagon36@yahoo.com.br) on 2012-06-19T17:32:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2005_ diss_ACCunha.pdf: 821373 bytes, checksum: 60eb617c66c7fc5a00606d4f70191cc0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-06-21T15:46:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2005_ diss_ACCunha.pdf: 821373 bytes, checksum: 60eb617c66c7fc5a00606d4f70191cc0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-06-21T15:46:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2005_ diss_ACCunha.pdf: 821373 bytes, checksum: 60eb617c66c7fc5a00606d4f70191cc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / The study aimed at investigating the production and perception of English minimal pairs in a group of Brazilian students of English as a foreign language, equally divided in three different proficiency levels in order to verify which linguistic and social factors could be responsible for the mispronunciation of those lexical items. The stress pattern production was evaluated through reading activities and sentence repetition. The perception of the participants was measured through stress and categorical discrimination activities. It was expected that the linguistic proficiency level would be directly proportional to the amount of correct answers per test, which was partially confirmed, for the results revealed that, in some cases, the learner’s proficiency level is not the only factor responsible for determining the success in stress attribution and vowel reduction, but the amount of hours each one had before studying in the institution where the corpus was collected. Another hypothesis of the research considered that success in the production of the minimal pairs would be a result of a satisfactory perception of those same pairs. However, this hypothesis was not confirmed because the amount of correct answers in the production tests did not accompany the quantitative results of the perception tests, what revealed that learners’ capacities to perceive stress shift and determining the lexical category are more than satisfactory. The production tests presented an excessively reduced number of correct utterances in vowel reduction, which is a fundamental feature for the intelligibility of some minimal pairs. The social variables did not interfere at all with the minimal pairs stress production. / O estudo investigou a produção e a percepção do padrão acentual e a redução vocálica em pares mínimos de língua inglesa em aprendizes brasileiros de língua inglesa, divididos igualmente em três níveis diferentes de proficiência, a fim de verificar que fatores lingüísticos e sociais poderiam ser responsáveis pela má pronúncia desses itens lexicais. A produção dos padrões acentuais foi avaliada através de tarefas de leitura e repetição de sentenças. A percepção dos participantes foi mensurada através de atividades de iscriminação acentual e categórica. Esperou-se que o nível de proficiência lingüística fosse diretamente proporcional ao número total de acertos por testes, hipótese que foi confirmada parcialmente, pois os resultados apontaram que em alguns casos, o nível de proficiência do aprendiz não é o único responsável pelo sucesso na atribuição do acento e de redução vocálica, mas sim o tempo de exposição à língua, confirmado pela quantidade de horas-aula anteriores ao início do curso na instituição em que o corpus foi coletado. Uma outra hipótese preliminar da pesquisa foi a de que o sucesso na produção dos pares mínimos devia-se a uma boa percepção deles. No entanto, essa hipótese não foi confirmada pelo fato dos totais de acertos dos testes de produção não acompanharem linearmente os resultados quantitativos dos testes de percepção, que revelaram capacidades mais do que satisfatórias no que diz respeito à percepção da mudança de acento e determinação da categoria lexical. Os testes de produção apresentaram um número excessivamente reduzido de emissões corretas na redução vocálica, característica fundamental para a inteligibilidade de alguns pares mínimos. As variáveis sociais não influenciaram significativamente no fenômeno de má produção do acento primário de pares mínimos.

O presente estudo teve como objetivo verificar o nível de consciência fonológica na Língua de Sinais Brasileira (Libras) em crianças, adolescentes e adultos surdos bilíngues, analisando os possíveis efeitos do início precoce ou tardio da aquisição da linguagem nas crianças e adolescentes surdos. Os participantes foram 34 crianças e adolescentes surdos, com idade entre 9 e 14 anos, com início da aquisição da primeira língua (L1), a Libras, entre 1-4 anos de idade (precoce) ou após 4 anos de idade (tardia), e 7 adultos surdos com início da aquisição da Libras como L1 entre 0-4 anos de idade. Nesta pesquisa de cunho psicolinguístico, foi desenvolvido um Teste de Consciência Fonológica na Libras (TCF-Libras), projetado no software E-Prime®, que mediu percentual de erro e tempo de resposta. O TCF-Libras contemplou os três principais parâmetros que formam os sinais, a saber: configuração de mão, locação/ponto de articulação e movimento. Na análise dos resultados, foi constatado que crianças e adolescentes surdos com aquisição precoce têm vantagens linguísticas quando comparados aos seus pares com aquisição tardia, e que efeitos nocivos do início da aquisição tardia da L1, reportados em estudos anteriores em diferentes níveis linguísticos, também foram constatados no presente estudo na consciência fonológica da Libras. Os participantes com início da aquisição tardia obtiveram maior percentual de erro e foram mais lentos na realização do TCF-Libras do que os participantes com início da aquisição precoce, ou seja, houve desvantagem tanto no nível de consciência fonológica como no tempo de processamento fonológico. Além disso, a comparação entre dois grupos de participantes com aquisição precoce da Libras como L1, adolescentes surdos (com maior tempo de exposição linguística) e adultos surdos, revelou que os grupos não diferiram estatisticamente, indicando que o TCF-Libras pode ser utilizado em futuras pesquisas com adultos surdos. Os resultados do presente estudo contribuem para os estudos sobre aquisição da linguagem por surdos, consciência fonológica, desenvolvimento de testes em línguas de sinais, e para informar e alertar profissionais da saúde, pais de crianças surdas e a população em geral sobre a importância de bebês surdos e crianças surdas iniciarem seu processo de aquisição da L1, na língua de sinais, o mais cedo possível. Ainda, reforçam a necessidade de que sejam promovidos programas de intervenção/estimulação linguística para bebês e crianças surdas que não possuem acesso completo aos sons, assim como com seus pais/cuidadores/familiares, para que iniciem a aquisição da língua de sinais logo após a perda auditiva ser diagnosticada. / The present study aimed to examine the level of phonological awareness in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) in deaf bilingual children, adolescents and adults, analyzing the possible effects of language-onset in deaf bilingual children and adolescents. The participants were 34 deaf children and adolescents, aging between 9-14 years old, who acquired (L1) Libras between 1-4 years of age (early) or after 4 years of age (late), and 7 deaf adults, exposed to L1 Libras between 0-4 years of age (early). In this psycholinguistic study, a Phonological Awareness Test in Libras (PAT-Libras/ TCF-Libras) was developed and designed with the help of E-Prime®, and error percentage and response time were measured. The task includes items that test the three main parameters that form signs, namely: handshape, location/ place of articulation and movement. The analysis revealed linguistics advantages to deaf children and adolescents with early language-onset when compared to their peers with late language-onset. In addition, negative effects of delayed L1 acquisition, reported in previous studies in different linguistic levels, were also observed in the present study on phonological awareness in Libras. The participants with late language-onset scored higher percentage of errors and response time in the task than participants with early language-onset, that is, there was a disadvantage both in the phonological awareness level as well as in phonological processing time. The comparison between two groups of participants with early L1 Libras-onset deaf adolescents (with longer linguistic exposure) and deaf adults revealed that the scores did not differ statistically, showing that the task can be used in future research with deaf adults. The results of the present study contribute to the studies on language acquisition by deaf, phonological awareness, sign language test development, and to inform and to alert health professionals, deaf children‟s parents and the general population about the importance of giving deaf babies and deaf children opportunity to begin their first language acquisition, in sign language, the earliest possible. Furthermore, the results reinforce the need of intervention/stimulation programs directed to deaf babies and deaf children who not have complete access to sounds, as well to parents/caregivers/family, so that babies and children can begin sign language acquisition soon after the diagnosis of hearing loss.

Esta tese investiga a aquisição fonológica variável da nasal velar em coda silábica final (como em living ‘vivendo’ e singing ‘cantando’, por exemplo) por aprendizes brasileiros de inglês como segunda língua. O estudo é motivado pela diferença de status da nasal velar em português (L1, primeira língua) e inglês (L2, segunda língua): enquanto na L1 o segmento é realização fonética resultante de assimilação de ponto de articulação (como em atum, em que a nasal bilabial assimila o traço [+dorsal] da vogal precedente realizando-se como velar), na L2 a nasal velar é fonema (como em sin ‘pecado’ x sing ‘cantar’, realizados com a nasal alveolar e velar, respectivamente). Em algumas comunidades de falantes nativos de inglês, palavras derivadas pelo sufixo {ing} (como read.ing ‘lendo’ e study.ing ‘estudando’, por exemplo) constituem um fenômeno de variação linguística estável, em que os falantes alternam a produção das nasais velar e alveolar no final das palavras. Essa variação é estrutural e socialmente condicionada (LABOV, 1994; 2001). Os dados empíricos deste estudo provêm da fala coletada através de gravações com aprendizes de inglês, que pertecem a dois níveis de proficiência: básico e pré-intermediário. São realizadas duas análises formais: uma que explica a variação sistemática na interlíngua, observável no desempenho dos aprendizes, através do software Goldvarb (SANKOFF, TAGLIAMONTE e SMITH, 2015), e outra que formaliza a organização interna dessa gramática variável, através de algoritmos de aprendizagem vinculados à Teoria da Otimidade Estocástica, o Algoritmo de Aprendizagem Gradual (GLA) (BOERSMA e HAYES, 2001) e o ORTO Ajuste Paramétrico (DORNELLES FILHO, 2014). A Análise de Regra Variável demonstrou que a interlíngua é um sistema linguístico sujeito à variação ordenada como as demais línguas naturais, condicionada por aspectos linguísticos (classe morfológica) e extralinguísticos (nível de proficiência). A variação é verificada pela produção oral dos aprendizes, examinada de oitiva, que alterna as nasais palatal (63,6%) e velar (36,4%) em coda silábica final. A análise estocástica revelou um sistema de interlíngua dominado por restrições de Marcação, cuja variação é decorrente do aumento dos valores de ponto de seleção de restrições de Fidelidade. As restrições diretamente envolvidas na aquisição fonológica variável da nasal velar são AGREEplaceVN#, que exige que a sequência Vogal+Nasal em coda final partilhem ponto de articulação, e IDENTnasal, que requer identidade de traço nasal entre as formas presentes no input e no output. As análises realizadas, que representam a língua dos aprendizes em seus aspectos interno e externo, ou, conforme a terminologia de Chomsky ([1965]1 1975), a competência e o desempenho linguísticos, comprovaram a natureza variável da interlíngua e proporcionaram uma reflexão teórica acerca da possibilidade de diálogo entre o estrutural e o social para a explicação de fenômenos linguísticos variáveis. / This thesis investigates the variable phonological acquisition of the velar nasal in final syllabic coda (such as in living ‘vivendo’ and singing ‘cantando’, for example) by Brazilian learners of English as a second language. The study is motivated by the different status of the velar nasal in Portuguese (L1, first language) and in English (L2, second language): while the segment is a phonetic realization of assimilation of place of articulation in the L1 (‘atum’, where the bilabial nasal assimilates the feature [+dorsal] of the preceding vowel, being realized as velar), the velar nasal is a phoneme in the L2 (sin ‘pecado’ x sing ‘cantar’, realized as the alveolar and velar nasal, respectively). In some native English-speaking communities, words derived from the suffix {ing} (such as read.ing ‘lendo’, study.ing ‘estudando’, for example) are in linguistic stable variation, in which the speakers alternate the production of the alveolar and velar nasal the velar nasal at the end of words. This variation is both structurally and socially conditioned (LABOV, 1994; 2001). The empirical data of this study were collected through recordings with the informants, who belong to two levels of proficiency: basic and pre-intermediate. Two formal analysis are made: one that explains the observable systematic variation in the Interlanguage, through the software Goldvarb (SANKOFF, TAGLIAMONTE and SMITH, 2015) and another that formalizes the internal organization of this variable grammar, through gradual learning algorithms associated to the Stochastic Optimality Theory, the Gradual Learning Algorithm (GLA) (BOERSMA and HAYES, 2001) and the ORTO Ajuste Paramétrico (DORNELLES FILHO, 2014). The Variable Rule Analysis has demonstrated that interlanguage is a linguistic system subject to ordered variation as in all the other natural languages, conditioned by linguistic aspects (morphological class) and extralinguistic ones (level of proficiency). The variation is verified by the oral production of the learners, examined by hearing analysis, which alternates the palatal nasal (63,6%) The stochastic analysis has revealed an Interlanguage system dominated by Markedness constraints, where variation is due to the increase on the values of selection points for Faithfulness constraints. The constraints directly involved in the variable phonological acquisition of the velar nasal are AGREEplaceVN#, which demands the sequence Vowel+Nasal in final coda to share place of articulation, and IDENTnasal, which demands feature identity [+nasal] between input and output forms. The analyses made, which represent the learners’ language in its internal and external aspects, or, according to Chomsky’s terminology ([1965] 1975), the linguistic competence and performance, have proved the variable nature of the Interlanguage and have enabled a theoretical reflection upon the possibility of dialogue between the structural and the social to the explanation of variable linguistic phenomena.

Esta tese objetiva analisar o desvozeamento variável das plosivas bilabial, alveolar e velar (abacaxi~apacaxi, dela~tela e Glória~Clória) do português brasileiro em contato com o hunsrückisch, língua de imigração alemã. A variedade de português investigada é a falada em Glória, comunidade da zona rural do município de Estrela, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. O status social da variável em estudo é estereotipado e as atitudes linguísticas são analisadas em relação ao desvozeamento das plosivas. Investiga-se, portanto, a relação entre o processo variável e as atitudes linguísticas dos falantes para com o português brasileiro local e com a língua de imigração. O estudo orienta-se pela Sociolinguística Variacionista (LABOV, 2008 [1972]) e pelo estudo de atitudes linguísticas (TRIANDIS, 1974; FASOLD, 1996; KAUFMANN, 1997; 2011; GILES e BILLINGS, 2004; GARRET, 2005; VANDERMEEREN, 2005; LABOV, 2010). Para a análise de regra variável, foram levantados contextos de desvozeamento de vinte e quatro entrevistas sociolinguísticas de informantes de Glória. Os dados foram submetidos à análise estatística pelo pacote computacional VARBRUL, versão GoldVarb X, para verificar os fatores linguísticos e extralinguísticos que condicionam o desvozeamento variável das plosivas. Constatou-se que a proporção de desvozeamento é baixa, 2,6%. Os informantes do gênero feminino, com menor grau de escolarização, ensino fundamental, e com mais de 47 anos condicionam o processo. As palavras com maior número de sílabas, contexto precedente vazio e o contexto seguinte alveolar, sílabas pretônica e tônica favorecem o desvozeamento das plosivas. Para o estudo de atitudes linguísticas, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa mediante a aplicação do questionário “As atitudes linguísticas no português brasileiro em contato com o hunsrückisch”, adaptado de Kaufmann (1997; 2011). Posteriormente, os dados levantados com o questionário foram submetidos a tratamento estatístico pelo software IBM SPSS, versão 22.0. Verificou-se que os núcleos familiares, compostos por avós, pais, irmãos, tios e tias, influenciam as práticas sociais, linguísticas e culturais na comunidade de Glória, principalmente a figura feminina, a mãe, (geração mais velha) que tem responsabilidade na formação e preservação cultural nas antigas áreas de imigração europeia no sul do Brasil e também pela função social que exerce em casa, na educação inicial dos filhos. Os informantes mais jovens realizam mais atividades de trabalho, diversão e lazer do que seus pais, usando o português como língua de interação. Tais atividades influenciam as atitudes dos falantes em relação à preferência a usar português em lugar do hunsrückisch. Os resultados evidenciam que a escolaridade também contribui para as atitudes, com práticas linguísticas em português brasileiro local no ambiente escolar: os falantes orientam-se à cultura brasileira e à fala em português brasileiro local e buscam fugir ao estereótipo do desvozeamento das plosivas. / This thesis aims at analyzing the variable devoicing of bilabial, alveolar and velar plosives (abacaxi~apacaxi, dela~tela e Glória~Clória) in Brazilian Portuguese in contact with hunsrückisch, German immigration language. The Portuguese variety under investigation is the one spoken in Glória, a rural area community in the town of Estrela, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The social status of the variable in study is stereotyped and the linguistic attitudes are analyzed in relation to the devoicing of the plosives. It investigated, therefore, the relation between the variable process and the speakers’ linguistic attitudes towards local Brazilian Portuguese and the immigration language. The study is oriented by Variationist Sociolinguistics (LABOV, 2008 [1972]) and by linguistic attitude studies (TRIANDIS, 1974; FASOLD, 1996; KAUFMANN, 1997; 2011; GILES e BILLINGS, 2004; GARRET, 2005; VANDERMEEREN, 2005; LABOV, 2010). For analyzing the variable rule, devoicing contexts, present in twenty-four sociolinguistic interviews with informants from Glória, were gathered. The data were submitted to statistical analysis by the computational package VARBRUL, version GoldVarb X, in order to verify the linguistic and extra-linguistic factors that condition the variable devoicing of plosives. It was determined that the devoicing proportion is low, 2.6%. The female gender informants, with the lowest scholarization degree, middle school, and older than 47 years old condition the process. The words with a bigger number of syllables, empty precedent context and alveolar posterior context, pre-tonic and tonic syllables favor the plosives devoicing. For the study of linguistic attitudes, a qualitative research was carried out, through the application of the questionnaire “As atitudes linguísticas no português brasileiro em contato com o hunsrückisch”, adapted from Kaufmann (1997; 2011). After that, the data collected through the questionnaire were submitted to statistical treatment by the software IBM SPSS, version 22.0. It was possible to verify that family cores, composed by grandparents, parents, siblings, uncles and aunts, influence the social, linguistic and cultural practices in the community of Glória, specially the female figure, the mother, (older generation) which holds responsibility in cultural formation and maintenance in old European immigration areas in the south of Brazil and also in the social function exerted at home, in the initial education of the children. The younger informants perform more activities related to work, entertainment and leisure than their parents, using the Portuguese as interaction language. Such activities influence the speakers’ attitudes towards the preference for using Portuguese over hunsrückisch. The results show that scholarization also contributes for the attitudes, with linguistic practices in local Brazilian Portuguese in the school environment: the speakers orient themselves towards the Brazilian culture and the speech in local Brazilian Portuguese, and seek to scape from the stereotype of plosives devoicing.