A AQUISIÇÃO DO ACENTO PRIMÁRIO EM INGLÊS COMO LE: O CASO DE PALAVRAS SUFIXADAS, À LUZ DA TEORIA DA OTIMIDADE

Abstract

This study aims at investigating, in the light of Optimality Theory (OT), the acquisition process of primary stress in suffixed non-verbs in English as a foreign language by Brazilian Portuguese (BP) native speakers. It focuses particularly on three and four-syllable words formed by the following morphemes: able, ment, ity and ous. It also aims at analyzing the acquisition of the stress pattern in the non-suffixed words from which the target suffixed words are formed. Data from fifteen English students, five elementary level students, five intermediate level students and five advanced level students, were analyzed. Their classification in these levels was according to the time they have been exposed to the English language and according to their performance in a proficiency test, based on First Certificate in English (FCE) exam from University of Cambridge. The data analysis, carried out through OT, enabled the characterization of different interlanguage levels corresponding to the different proficiency levels studied. These levels could be represented by constraint hierarchies which showed the learners gradual development towards the target constraint hierarchy. To the acquisition process of primary stress in English, the data shows the relevance of the interaction of the constraints NONFINALITY and NEUTRALITY with other constraints already pertaining to the mother tongue grammar