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

by Farias, Letícia Stander

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