A organização do componente fonológico e o comportamento do indivíduo

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the linguistic behaviour of specific individuals in relation to different phonological phenomena, evaluating the organization of the phonological component. It is suggested that individual variability, attested in speech production, is part of linguistic representation. The following multi-representational theories areconsidered: Usage-based Phonology (BYBEE, 2001), Exemplar ModelPIERREHUMBERT, 2001b, 2003a) and Probabilistic linguistics (BOD; HAY; JANNEDY, 2003). In this research, the leader concept of linguistic change as proposed by Labov (2001, v. 2) is considered. The methodological design includes two study types: a cross-sectional study of 12 individuals (6 leaders and 6 non-leaders) and a longitudinal study of 2 individuals that were selected in the cross-sectional sample. The longitudinal study is composed of 6 data collection sessions of each participant. The findings demonstrate the relevant inter and intra-individual variation and present aspects that are consistent withtheoretical models adopted in this work, such as the following: lexical dynamicity and plasticity; patterns of lexical diffusion of phonological change; probabilistic behaviour of language; individual lexicon and grammar in use.