Variação entoacional no Português do Brasil: uma análise fonológica do contorno nuclear em enunciados declarativos e interrogativos

Abstract

In this paper we present a phonological analysis of the nuclear contour of declarative and interrogative utterances in Brazilian Portuguese, as spoken in 7 regions, along the Atlantic Coast - Paraíba, Sergipe, Bahia (North); Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (Center), Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (South). Declaratives present a falling contour, with phonetic differences across varieties. As for interrogatives, more variation was found. Namely, two types of nuclear contours were observed: a rising contour in the North and a rising-falling in the Center-South. Unlike declaratives, the two interrogative patterns display a phonological continuum, in which the Center-Southern pattern spreads towards the North.