Variationist Analysis Of Phonological Acquisition By L2 Learners Of English

Abstract

This paper presents a partial data analysis of the variable realization of the velar nasal [N] by Brazilian learners of English, observedin words such as doing ["duIN] and singer ["sINEr]. This variation occurs among L1 speakers of English (mainly conditioned by social factors) and also among L2 speakers of English (conditioned by both social and linguistic factors), wherethe velar [N] and alveolar [n] nasals compete among natives and the velar [N] and the palatal [¯] nasals compete among non natives. The aim of this study is to preliminarily verify how the L2 learner’s intermediate system, which is subject to changes through time, shows regularity in variation. Data collected from learners of two distinct levels of linguistic proficiency – basic and pre intermediate – were submitted to variable rule analysis (VRA) in the program Goldvarb X (SANKOFF; TAGLIAMONTE; SMITH, 2005). Preliminary results indicate the predominance of non application of the rule (production of the palatal variant: 63,5%) over application (production of velar nasal: 36,5%). From the ten independent variables controlled (six social and four linguistic ones), the factors genre and level of proficiency (social) and morphological class (linguistic) have been shown statistically significant. These results are evidence of the presence of orderly heterogeneity in processes of variable phonological acquisition.