Chapter published in:
Current Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics
Edited by Diego Pascual y Cabo and Idoia Elola
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 27] 2020
► pp. 189–214

On the origins of Portuguese para form variation

Acoustic evidence from reading style

| Arizona State University
This study explores the origins of Brazilian Portuguese para ‘to, for’ form variation using sociophonetic analytic techniques to test various properties of the unreduced para variant. While the pra variant was suggested to have originated from an intertonic syncope process, the finding in this study that unreduced para is produced with lexical stress calls such an origin into question. Since unreduced para o tends to be produced lacking the second /a/, para + Article’s low reduction rate to pra in previous studies may be a consequence of its participation in a word-boundary reduction process. Reduction of para to pra therefore appears to be a case of special reduction that emerged for para to reduce a syllable in other contexts.
Keywords: phonetic reduction, phonological change, frequency effects, sociophonetics, Brazilian Portuguese
Published online: 04 June 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.27.09gra
References

References

Alba, M. C.
(2006) Accounting for variability in the production of Spanish vowel sequences. In N. Sagarra & A. J. Toribio (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 9th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 273–285). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
Andrés Díaz, R. de.
(2013) Gramática comparada de las lenguas ibéricas. Gijón: Ediciones Trea.Google Scholar
Barbosa, P. A., & Albano, E. C.
(2004) Brazilian Portuguese. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34(2), 227–232. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Barbosa, P. A., & Madureira, S.
(2015) Manual de fonética acústica experimental. Aplicações a dados do português. São Paulo: Cortez Editora.Google Scholar
Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S.
(2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bauman, J., & Torres Cacoullos, R.
(2016) The generalization of preposition para via fusion and ensuing loss of compositionality. In C. Tortora, M. den Dikken, I. L. Montoya, & T. O’Neill (Eds.), Romance Linguistics 2013. Selected papers from the 43rd Linguistic Symposium of Romance Languages (LSRL), New York, 17–19 April, 2013 (pp. 39–58). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bisol, L.
(2003) Sandhi in Brazilian Portuguese. Probus, 15, 177–200. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D.
(2004) Configuring the intensity contour. Retrieved from http://​www​.fon​.hum​.uva​.nl​/praat​/manual​/Intro​_6​_2​__Configuring​_the​_intensity​_contour​.html (16 August, 2018).
(2017) Praat. Doing phonetics by computer [Computer program] (Version 6.0.25), Retrieved from http://​www​.praat​.org/ (11 February, 2017).Google Scholar
Bush, N.
(2001) Frequency effects and word-boundary palatalization in English. In J. Bybee & P. Hopper (Eds.), Frequency and the emergence of linguistic structure (pp. 255–280). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bybee, J.
(2006) From usage to grammar. The mind’s response to repetition. Language, 82, 711–733. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bybee, J., File-Muriel, R. J., & Napoleão de Souza, R.
(2016) Special reduction. A usage-based approach. Language and Cognition, 8, 421–446. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Davies, M., & Ferreira, M.
(2006)  Corpus do português . Available online at http://​www​.corpusdoportugues​.org/ (12 November, 2019).
Eddington, D.
(2011) What are the contextual phonetic variants of /β,ð,γ/ in colloquial Spanish? Probus, 23, 1–19. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Felgueiras, C. M.
(1993)  Análise da variação no uso da preposição para (Unpublished master’s thesis). Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Ferreira, M. O.
(2014)  A variação da preposição para na fala de Londrina pelos dados do Varsul (Unpublished master’s thesis). Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Gazola, A.
(2008) A estrutura prosódica da preposição para do português do Brasil. Uniletras, 30(2), 367–396.Google Scholar
Gradoville, M.
(2011) Validity in measurements of fricative voicing. Evidence from Argentine Spanish. In S. Alvord (Ed.), Selected proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology (pp. 59–74). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
(2012) Task effects in /t/ and /d/ palatalization in Várzea Alegre Portuguese. In M. Díaz-Campos & K. L. Geeslin (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 14th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 88–101). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
(2015) Social and stylistic variation in the use of phonetic variants of Fortalezense Portuguese para . Sociolinguistic Studies, 9(4), 373–398. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2017) The cognitive representation of multi-word sequences. A usage-based approach to the reduction of Fortalezense Portuguese para . Lingua, 199, 94–116. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hualde, J. I., Simonet, M., & Nadeu, M.
(2011) Consonant lenition and phonological recategorization. Laboratory Phonology, 2(2), 301–329. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Huback, A. P.
(2012) Chunking and the reduction of the preposition para ‘to, for’ in Brazilian Portuguese. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 5(2), 277–296. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ilari, R., de Castilho, A., de Almeira, M. L. L, Kleppa, L., & Basso, R.
(2008) A preposição. In R. Ilari & M. H. de M. Neves (Eds.), Gramática do português culto falado no Brasil (pp. 623–808). Campinas: Editora Unicamp.Google Scholar
Kewitz, V.
(2006)  Gramaticalização e semantização das preposições A e PARA no português brasileiro (séculos XIX e XX) (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Universidade de Brazil, São Paulo.
Ladefoged, P.
(2003) Phonetic data analysis. An introduction to fieldwork and instrumental techniques. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Lucena, R. M. de
(2001)  Comportamento sociolinguístico da preposição PARA na fala da Paraíba (Unpublished master’s thesis). Universidade Federal da Paraíba.
Macambira, J. R.
(1987) Fonologia do português (2nd ed.). Fortaleza: Imprensa Universitária.Google Scholar
Machado, R. V.
(2009) A elisão no dialeto pessoense. Letrônica, 2(2), 86–100.Google Scholar
Maya, L. Z.
(2004)  A variação da preposição para na fala de Porto Alegre (Unpublished master’s thesis). Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul.
Napoleão de Souza, R.
(2014) Extreme high frequency, segment deletion and chunking. A study of emerging inflected pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese. Presentation at the 3rd Biennial Workshop on Sound Change.
Noll, V.
(2008) O português brasileiro. Formação e contrastes (M. E. Viaro, Trans.). São Paulo: Editora Globo.Google Scholar
Pagliuca, W., & Mowrey, R.
(1987) Articulatory evolution. In A. G. Ramat, O. Carruba, & G. Bernini (Eds.), Papers from the 7th International Conference on Historical Linguistics (pp. 459–472). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Perini, M. A.
(2002) Modern Portuguese. A reference grammar. New Haven CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
R Core Team
(2018) R. A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Silva, N. de A.
(2010)  A preposição para e suas variantes no falar araguatinense (Unpublished master’s thesis). Universidade Federal da Paraíba.
Silva, T. C.
(2001) Fonética e fonologia do português. Roteiro de estudos e guia de exercícios (5th ed.). São Paulo: Editora Contexto.Google Scholar
Thomas, E. W.
(1969) The syntax of spoken Brazilian Portuguese. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.Google Scholar
Vellasco, A. M. de M. S.
(1998) Um estudo da variação da preposição para no português do Brasil. In S. Grosse & K. Zimmerman (Eds.), ‘Substandard’ e mudança no português brasileiro (pp. 291–314). Frankfurt: Teo Ferrer de Mesquita.Google Scholar
Williams, E. B.
(1962) From Latin to Portuguese. Historical phonology and morphology of the Portuguese language. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar