Trends in the Acquisition of Portuguese Phonology

Trends in the Acquisition of Portuguese Phonology offers a comprehensive analysis of Portuguese phonological development in children and L2 learners. Drawing from decades of research, the collection highlights the application of generative theoretical models in understanding the intricacies of language acquisition in both Brazilian and European Portuguese contexts. Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of the phonological acquisition process, backed by empirical data and theoretical insights. Features include comparative analysis of Brazilian and European Portuguese, discussions on typical and atypical phonological development, and the phonology of L2 Portuguese learners. This edited collection will equip researchers, therapists and educators with the tools to apply these insights in practical settings, thereby enhancing language assessment and intervention strategies in educational and clinical contexts. Trends in the Acquisition of Portuguese Phonology will, therefore, be of interest to linguists, language acquisition researchers, and educators who specialize in phonology, bilingualism, and second language learning, as well as speech and language therapists.

Carmen Matzenauer is Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, and a 1A researcher for the Brazilian National Research and Development Council (CNPq). She has a PhD in Linguistics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Her teaching activities include phonology and language acquisition subjects, as well as supervising master's, doctoral and post-doctoral students. She carries out research in the field of linguistics, with an emphasis on phonology and phonetics. Cristiane Lazzarotto-Volcão is Full Professor in the Department of Vernacular Language and Literature and a professor and researcher in the Graduate Program in Linguistics at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. Additionally, she holds a research fellowship at the Linguistics Center of the University of Lisbon, Portugal. As a member of the Speech Department of the Brazilian Society of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, she has contributed significantly to her field. Maria João Freitas is Full Professor at the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, Portugal, a researcher at Centro de Linguística (CLUL), and Director of the Doctoral Program in Linguistics at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She participated in national projects headed by the Ministério da Educação and in national and international projects supported by public institutions. Teaching activity includes curricular units on phonology and on language acquisition. Her research interests are in the fields of phonological acquisition, clinical linguistics and educational linguistics. Her research is currently supported by FCT UID/214/2025.

Introduction Chapter 1. Theoretical models for phonological development Chapter 2. Production in typical phonological development: segmental aspects Chapter 3. Production in typical phonological development: suprasegmental aspects Chapter 4. Production in atypical phonological development Chapter 5. Perception acquisition in Portuguese: identification of phonological contrasts Chapter 6. Phonology and early writing: developmental paths in Brazilian and Portuguese children Chapter 7. Portuguese phonology in bilingual children Chapter 8. Portuguese L2 Phonology