A produção palato-alveolar de /S/ nas vozes do Amapá

Abstract

The present paper takes into account the Variation Theory, proposed in the 60 s by the linguist William Labov, to explain the palatalization phenomenon on /S/ fricative in coda position in the speech community of Macapá-AP. Recognizing the language variability, many studies have been carried out in order to identify, describe and explain the linguistics phenomena which occur in Brazilian Portuguese. The /S/ palatalization phenomenon, for example, is a process which had been object of study in speeches of diferent regions in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro-RJ (CALLOU & MARQUES, 1975); Natal-RN (PESSOA,1986); Recife-PE, Salvador-BA e Rio de Janeiro-RJ (CALLOU & MORAES, 1996); Corumbá-MS (SILVA, 1996); João Pessoa-PB (HORA, 2000); Salvador-BA (CANOVAS, 1996); Rio de Janeiro-RJ (SCHERRE & MACEDO, 2000); Cordeiro-RJ (GRYNER & MACEDO, 2000); Florianópolis-SC (BRESCANCINI, 2002); Recife-PE (MACEDO, 2004), demonstrating that this is a recurrent phenomenon in Brazilian Portuguese. Thus, from the supposition that the heterogeneity of spoken language can be systematized, and considering the coronal anterior fricative palatalization in sylable endings as a phenomenon that can be explained from a Variationist perspective, we intend, through this research, to trace the linguistic profile of a speaker from Macapá-AP, in relation to the studied phenomenon, taking into account the social factors (exterior factors) and the structural factors (interior factors) which are involved in that process. In order to accomplish our main goal, we attempt to present in a descriptive way the phenomenon; to verify which factors are the conditioning and which are the preventing ones; to make a quantitative analysis of data using the computer program GOLDVARB 3.0 (SANKOFF, TAGLIAMONTE e SMITH, 2005), checking the occurrence of palato-alveolar realizations in contrast with the production of the alveolar /S/; to compare the results with others from previous researches; and based on the preliminary conclusions, to raise other hypotheses to be developed in future academic investigations or even in an extention of the present study.