O problema da diversidade dialectal do Centro-Sul português: informação perceptiva versus informação acústica

Abstract

This paper is based on acoustic data presented by Brissos (2014) for central-southern Portuguese dialects. It is divided into two main parts. 1, A review of the information found in the literature addressing or relevant to the problem of central-southern Portuguese dialect diversity. The geographical area under consideration corresponds to that studied in Brissos (2014). 2, Comparison of that information, which is based on impressionistic data, with the results presented in Brissos (2014). Auditory phonetic data on specific dialects or local speech varieties leads to the same basic conclusions as Brissos' data. This suggests a revision of some of the ideas stated in studies of the dialect classification of central-southern Portuguese. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that it is based on two different methods: that of impressionistic (i.e., traditional) dialectology, and that of acoustic dialectology. Both methods should be used in a complementary manner in present-day dialectology; the study of phonetic aspects of dialects cannot be based on impressionistic descriptions alone, as has traditionally been the case.