A aquisição das consoantes líquidas em português europeu: contributos para a caracterização da faixa etária 4;0 - 4;11 anos

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to contribute with empirical data to the characterization of the final stages of European Portuguese (EP) phonological development. Based on the data of 40 native speakers of setentrional dialects of EP aged between 4;0 and 4;11 years old, all the productions of liquid consonants in nonbranching onset, branching onset and coda are analysed, in order to identify which segment(s) have already been acquired at 4;0 years old and which stabilise(s) later. The results show that, in non branching onsets, the palatal lateral is the only liquid not yet stabilized at 4;0 years old. The production of liquids in branching onsets or coda stabilises after 4;0 years old, even though those segments are already part of children’s phonological systems.

Keywords

• acquisition
• phonology
• liquids
• onset
• coda