DIALECT PERCEPTIONS OF VARIATION: SPEAKER ORIGIN IDENTIFICATION THROUGH CODA /S/ IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE

A IDENTIFICAÇÃO DA ORIGEM DO FALANTE A PARTIR DO USO DO /S/ EM CODA NO PORTUGUÊS BRASILEIRO

Abstract

This article investigates how speakers from six Brazilian capitals (Natal, João Pessoa, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Porto Alegre) assign geographic origin to speakers based on listening to utterances containing different realizations of the fricative /S/ in syllable coda position. The study is situated within the field of perceptual dialectology, which seeks to understand how non-specialist speakers perceive, categorize, and evaluate regional linguistic variation. The research was based on the hypothesis that specific phonetic variants – notably the palato-alveolar and alveolar – function as social indexes associated with particular Brazilian regions. The experiment employed the paired-stimuli technique, with strict control of phonetic variables, and involved 240 listeners balanced by city, gender, and age group. The results show that palato-alveolar fricatives tend to be associated with Rio de Janeiro and Recife, especially by listeners from the Southeast and Northeast, respectively, while the alveolar variant is more frequently linked to São Paulo and Porto Alegre, particularly by listeners from those same regions. These recognition patterns reinforce the principle of "perceptual proximity," which states that speakers identify linguistic traits of regionally close or culturally salient varieties with greater accuracy. Data analysis suggests that interdialectal perception is systematic and influenced by phonological, geographical, and social factors, offering important implications for studies on variation, identity, and linguistic stereotyping in Brazilian Portuguese.