Phonological knowledge of rhotics in English L2 of brazilian speakers

Authors

  • Thais Cristófaro Silva Federal University of Minas Gerais
  • Marco Aurélio Camargos Federal University of Minas Gerais

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2016v69n1p49

Abstract

This article discusses the appropriation of rhotics in English-L2 spoken by Brazilian speakers. he results show that rhotics are quickly incorporated into the English-L2 speakers’ production. A detailed examination of the data indicates that the following factors are relevant in the appropriation of retrolex approximant in English-L2: proficiency, the individual (learner) and the lexical item. he fact that the appropriation of the retrolex approximant quickly achieves excellent levels in English-L2 spoken by Brazilian speakers suggests that teaching of pronunciation is speciic and not global. Based on Multirepresentational Models, it is argued that grammatical knowledge is a dynamic construct, interlaced by various linguistic and non-linguistic factors.

Author Biographies

Thais Cristófaro Silva, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Thaïs Cristófaro Silva is a Linguistics professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. She coordinates the Phonology Laboratory of UFMG where projects are developed in theoretical phonology with emphasis on developing sound changes, maternal and foreign language acquisition and speech technology.

Marco Aurélio Camargos, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Marcus Aurelius Camargos holds a Master Degree in Linguistics from UFMG . He is currently an English teacher whose theoretical interests are related to the challenges implied by teaching and learning pronunciation, especially in the case of Brazilians speaking English.

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Published

2016-01-26

Issue

Vol. 69 No. 1 (2016)

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.