CURRENT ISSUES IN PORTUGUESE PHONOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY

Abstract

This chapter addresses the relationship between Portuguese phonology and orthography with the purpose of showing how phonetic-phonological processes affect the grapheme-phoneme correspondence, making it less transparent for orthography learners. Phonetic-phonological processes of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) are outlined through unconventional spellings frequently attested in texts by Middle school students. The author argues that unconventional spellings manifest speech characteristics and, most importantly, put into action students’ phonological competence in contrast with their knowledge about orthography. Through this analytical exercise, the author shows features of the complex relationship between phonology and orthography in BP.