Baú da monotongação : o processo fonológico da monotongação na escrita de alunos do ensino fundamental

Abstract

This research-action presents a study of monotongation in the writing of 8th grade elementary school students in a state public school in the City of Pedrinhas-Sergipe in Brazil. Monotongation is a phonological process in which a diphthong semivowel vanishes within the syllable. The remaining vowel of the diphthong is called a monotong. The occurrence of monotongs usually happens with the diphthong ou in all contexts of use, with the diphthongs ei and ai followed by fricatives and flaps, and in words like manteiga>mantêga, Almeida>Almêda and treino>treno. However, it can also be noticed in other usage situations such as diphthongs oi, as well as ei and ai before [t] and [d] non fricative. In this study, we investigated the linguistic and extralinguistic contexts. Regarding the linguistic variable, we consider the contexts of realizations of diphthong ou in all contexts of use, of diphthongs ei and ai followed by fricatives and flaps, of the diphthong ei in the word manteiga>mantêga, the diphthong ei before n and the diphthongs oi and and ei before [t] non fricattive. Regarding extralinguistic variables, we verified the gender of the participants, the place of residence (urban or rural area) and the age group. The interest in the theme arose after realizing that the students' writing errors were generally reflections of phonological processes, which occur in speech, among which the most observed was the interference of the monotongation process. The general objective of the research is to investigate cases of monotongation in students' writing with a view to developing a pedagogical product that will reduce such occurrences and, as specific objectives, quantify the occurrences according to each type, describe the linguistic contexts in which it takes place, and create five games that include the observation, writing and pronunciation of words with and without orality marks. The research is justified by the need to combine theory and practice for the elaboration of concrete actions for the benefit of the awareness of the existing relations between speech and writing and of a more careful written expression. The methodology was based on research-action theories, using a quantitative and qualitative approach. Several authors were used, such as Cristófaro Silva (2003), Callou and Leite (2009), Hora (2009), Seara, Nunes and Volcão (2011) and Collischonn (2014) with theories on phonology and phonological processes; Massini-Cagliari and Cagliari (1999) and Bortoni-Ricardo (2004) and (2005) with theories on speech, writing and linguistic variation. An educational product called “Monotongation Chest” was created, which consists of 5 games with words that favor monotongation in different contexts. The research and the product are expected to be relevant and will contribute to the writing of that class being more elaborated, as well as for Portuguese Language teachers to think of the monotongation process as a speech phenomenon that can be transposed to the writing. In addition, it is intended for the other teachers, principals and pedagogical coordinators, since a more polished writing favors the school environment in general. It can also help in the field of phonology studies.