Palatalization in Brazilian Portuguese revisited

This article discusses palatalization of alveolar stops in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), focusing the analysis on the palatalizing variety from Fortaleza (Ceara) and in non-palatalizing varieties from Afonso Bezerra and Guamare (Rio Grande do Norte). The theoretical assumptions are based on Multi-representational Models (BYBEE, 2001; PIERREHUMBERT, 2001). The results presented indicate that palatalization of alveolar stops is spreading in BP. We suggest that what is traditionally referred to as a phenomenon of palatalization of alveolar stops in fact involves complex and interconnected relationships between various patterns of sound. Within this view, phonetic and lexical diffusion patterns are crucial for the reorganization of the phonological grammar.