PALATALIZATION IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE PHONOLOGICAL LEARNING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract: Th is paper investigates the eff ects of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) alveolar stop palatalization /t, d / → [tʃ, dʒ] on the phonological learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). It aims to answer the following research question: What is the role of BP palatalization on EFL phonological learning? Grounded on a usage-based view of language (BYBEE, 2010), it is hypothesized that EFL learners follow diff erent phonological learning patterns depending on their specifi c BP dialect. Th e data analysis confi rms this hypothesis, as palatalizing BP informants tend to produce higher levels of palatalization in the target language