Monophthongization of the falling diphthong /ej/ in Lábrea – AM: a study of the variables conditioning variation

Abstract

This article deals with the monophthongization of the falling diphthong /ej/ in Labrea – AM. The aim was to record and discuss the variation of the falling diphthong in this location, considering independent variables that condition monophthongization (deletion of the semivowel). To this end, we approached sociolinguistic assumptions from the perspectives of Quantitative Sociolinguistics or the Theory of Linguistic Variation and Change. The main theoretical foundation was based on the theoretical assumptions of Coelho et al. (2015), Haupt (2011), Labov (2008), Maia (2018), Martins; Martins; Justiniano (2018), Nascimento; Valteir (2016), Seara; Nunes; Lazzarotto-Volção (2011), Oliveira (2014), Tarallo (2007) and Weinreich; Labov; Herzog (2006). The theoretical perspectives on linguistic variation, the linguistic terms used in the study and the linguistic and extralinguistic factors considered in the research are presented first. Then we look at the data collection methodologies, namely the memory game and guided questions, the materials used, the informant profiles and, finally, the processes of phonetic transcription, coding and data analysis (GoldVarb X). This revealed the conditioning factors for variation in relation to the independent variables in order of relevance (following context, schooling, length of word and tonicity). In this study, the following context (tepe and length of the word) were the main conditioning factors for the linguistic phenomenon on an individual scale of the factors analyzed. Therefore, monophthongization of the falling diphthong /ej/ was found in the dialect of the community investigated, but in no independent variable analyzed did the innovative form occupy the variable’s preferred position. Therefore, the community investigated remains conservative in relation to monophthongization.