Variação linguística na Terra Quente: a importância das variáveis externas

Abstract

In this article we analyse five phonologic processes: (i) the occurrence of the voiceless affricate; (ii) the semivocalization of the lateral in pronouns and determiners; (iii) the centralization of front [-high] vowels; (iv) the specification of /S/ in syllable final position before [-consonantic] segments; and (v) the external sandhi involving the realization of the nasal. To carry on this study according to a sociolinguistics approach, we collected informal conversations of 100 speakers, natives of Terra Quente Transmontana, a northeastern region of Portugal, stratified according to education (literate/illiterate), gender (female/male) and age intervals ([20-35],[36-50],[51-65],[>65]). The methodology applied in the collecting process and in the data analysis follows the Labovian variacionist approach (Labov, 1966, 1972). The results show that the external variables age, education and place of origin play a key role in the maintainance and variation of these processes in this region, whereas the influence of the variable sex, when analysed alone, was not significant.