Interferências linguísticas na aprendizagem do Português de Timor-Leste (PTL) por falantes do Tétum: a concordância verbal

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the linguistic interference of Tetum in Portuguese, specifically with regard to verbal agreement produced by speakers whose mother tongue is Tetum at the Basic Education (3rd cycle) and Secondary Education levels in Timor-Leste. To this end, texts produced by Timorese students in the process of learning Portuguese from four different schools were analyzed. The justification for this research is based on the differences in verbal structures between Tetum and Portuguese condition interference in Portuguese. The methodology adopted was that of Variationist Sociolinguistics, based on the studies of Labov (2008) and Weinreich, Labov, and Herzog (1978). Accordingly, the dependent variable selected was the phenomenon of verbal agreement interference, with the following variants: standard agreement, non-standard agreement, absence of the verb, and use of the infinitive. Regarding linguistic variables, the following were selected: type of verb (action and state), type of subject (simple and compound), verb tense, type of verbal conjugation, and grammatical person. In addition, the extralinguistic variables considered were level of schooling (3rd cycle of basic education and secondary education), sex (male and female), type of school (public and private), as well as the factor of mother tongue. The theoretical framework of this research draws on theories of Bilingualism (Grosjean, 1982; Weinreich, 1970), Diglossia (Ferguson, 1959; Fishman, 1967), Interference (Odlin, 2003; Weinreich, 1953; Cardoso, 2005, 2007), as well as the theory of Linguistic Variation and Change (Labov, Weinreich, Herzog, 1968; Labov, 1972). For the description of Tetum, works by authors such as Hull and Eccles (2005) and Costa (2001, 2015) were consulted. A total of 120 written texts produced by students from the 3rd cycle of basic education and secondary education were analyzed, yielding 1,527 identified data points. Of these, 52.65% (804 occurrences) exhibited standard agreement, while 47,35% (723 occurrences) presented interference phenomena, including non-standard agreement (20,37%), absence of the verb (16,37%), and use of the infinitive (10.61%). These results demonstrate that the verbal structure of Tetum significantly influences the learning of Portuguese by Timorese learners, given that nearly half of the data showed interference. With respect to the extralinguistic and linguistic variables selected for this study, the extralinguistic factors that favored interference were basic education (3rd cycle) and public schools. Thus, the results regarding the schooling factor converge from those of other studies that controlled for schooling in samples of Brazilian Portuguese (Scherre & Naro, 1997; Monguilhott, 2001; Rodrigues, 1997; Vieira, 1994). As for linguistic variables, state verbs, compound subjects, future tense, and first person and third person plural stood out. These results concerning linguistic factors confirm precisely what Costa (2015) points out: in Tetum, verbs are invariable words, that is, they are not inflected. All verbal forms are reduced to the infinitive and are used to denote present, past, and future, as well as moods and different persons and numbers. Markers of person, number, tense, and aspect are expressed through words that occur in the sentence (adverbs, adverbial phrases, verbal periphrases, etc.). Thus, it is concluded that the linguistic system of Tetum, specifically its verbal structure, favors interference in the learning of Portuguese.