<OT> New Posting: ROA-701

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ROA 701-1204

The acquisition of English -ed complex codas by Brazilian Portuguese speakers: more than just a matter of constraint demotion

Ubiratã� Kickhö�fel Alves <ukalves at brturbo.com>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=701


Abstract:
This study aims to verify the acquisition, by Brazilian
Portuguese speakers, of the final consonant clusters of
the English verbs which contain the �-ed� morpheme. The
analysis, which was carried out under the framework of Optimality
Theory, revealed that the acquisition of these target forms
implies a double task for the learners. Not only do the
learners have to demote constraints so as to reach a hierarchy
which might lead them to the production of the complex codas,
but they also have to abandon an inappropriate underlying
representation /id/, originated from orthography, and acquire
the accurate input form (/d/) so that the consonant clusters
can be produced appropriately. In this sense, our analysis
has shown that, although it is undoubtedly fundamental,
the constraint demotion process, alone, might not be able
to lead to the production of complex codas when such consonant
sequences are not shown explicitly in orthography.


Comments: 
Keywords: English syllable, complex codas, L2 acquisition, input
Areas: Language Acquisition
Type: Journal Article

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=701