Speech and writing: monophthongization in an age-grade context

Abstract

Although there is significant academic production on Phonology and the teaching of Portuguese, the recurrence of grapheme omissions in the school writing of students in the final years of elementary school is still observed. The presence of monophthongization, a process concretized by the reduction of diphthongs to simple vowels, in the writing of students at this stage of Basic Education, highlights weaknesses in the literacy process and demonstrates poor phonological awareness. Official documents such as the BNCC (National Common Core Curriculum) and the Pernambuco Curriculum emphasize the importance of articulating speech and writing in different language practices, guiding a systematic approach that develops critical subjects aware of their own expression. In this context, the incidence of monophthongization in writing, especially in the final years of elementary school, reveals the gap between the student's oral repertoire and the expected mastery of the written norm. In light of Linguistic Variation, it is recognized that this process is natural in the oral modality; however, its transfer to writing points to relevant pedagogical challenges. Thus, this article analyzes the social aspects of the variation in question and discusses the contributions of Phonology and Educational Sociolinguistics to the teaching of Portuguese, considering the impact of the age-grade variable on the development of writing. The results of the intervention carried out in this research present a promising path for the treatment of grapheme deletion, demonstrating the positive contribution of the study to linguistic literacy practices aimed especially at students in the final years of elementary school. The theoretical framework is based primarily on Bisol (2014), Câmara Jr. (2015), Cagliari (2009), and Bortoni-Ricardo (2004).