Progressive palatalization of alveolar stops /t/ and /d/

a systematic review

Abstract

This study aims to describe the social status of progressive palatalization of the alveolar stops /t/ and /d/ in BP in research focusing on linguistic perception and/or production. As the main criterion, we considered works that address this phenomenon in a progressive or regressive context and apply the methodology of Variationist Sociolinguistics with a focus on linguistic production and/or evaluation (Cf. Weinreich; Labov; Herzog (2006 [1968]); Labov (2008 [1972]). The search for texts was carried out between January 24 and 25, 2024 in order not to exclude pioneering work on the phenomenon of palatalization in BP. The period chosen was from 1996 to 2024. The corpus consisted of twelve primary studies: ten articles, one thesis and one dissertation, among which five address the perspective of linguistic perception of palatalization and seven address the production of the phenomenon, pointing out the factors that favor or inhibit the application of the palatalization rule. From the results of linguistic production and perception, we can see that the phenomenon of progressive palatalization is a characteristic use of the Northeast region of Brazil, which can be related to older people, mostly men. Such use is subject to negative social pressure and is consequently socially stigmatized.