Portuguese Language Learning by Haitian Immigrants: the Perception of the Liquid Consonants /l/ and /ɾ/

Abstract: This paper deals with the acquisition of Brazilian Portuguese as an additional language by Haitian immigrants, more precisely with regard to the perception of liquid consonants /l/ and /ɾ/ in intervocalic context, as in pala, mala, and Sara. Fourteen Haitian immigrant men with average ages of 30,07 (SD = 4,98) who were living in Pato Branco/PR (Brazil) participated in the study. The discussion is based on theoretical assumptions of L2 Phonological Acquisition (FLEGE, 1995; BEST; TYLER, 2007) and results revealed a tendency to the assimilation process, which means that /l/ and /ɾ/ are categorized together. Besides, the participants who attended the language classes the longest and lived in Brazil with their Haitian families showed a positive effect in perceiving the liquids.