Orthographic omissions and syllable structure in the alphabetization cycle in the elementary school

• Grant number: 20/05606-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2020
• End date: February 28, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Lourenço Chacon Jurado Filho
• Grantee: Marciel Antonio Alves da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Marília. Marília , SP, Brazil

Abstract

We are looking for a better understanding of the importance of phonetic and phonological aspects of language in a phenomenon quite common in the orthography of children in the Alphabetization Cycle in the Elementary School: orthographic omissions and its relationship with syllable structure. Two aims guide the development of the study: (1) to verify in which extent the omissions depend (or not) on the different positions that graphemes occupy in the syllable structure; and (2) to verify in which extent omissions depend (or not) on the school year. Data are extracted from a database with school compositions by children of both genres and age between 6 and 9 years, regularly enrolled in classes in the Elementary School (1st to 3rd grade) of a public school in a city in Western São Paulo. To analyze data related with the first aim, we will compare the total possibilities of orthographic records in each position and the total of omissions in each position in all the material analyzed. Therefore, we will be able to confirm (or not) the first study hypothesis, i.e., as the syllable has a hierarchical organization of elements, according to Selkirk (1982), this difference in organization would also be found in a higher or lower incidence of orthographic omissions. In addition, to analyze data related with the second aim, they will be divided according to the occurrence in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of the Alphabetization Cycle. Then, we will perform a comparative analysis of the distribution of these data across the three years analyzed. Therefore, we are able to confirm (or not) our second study hypothesis, i.e., with the progression in the Cycle, omissions change in quantity and nature. This study intends to generate information for pedagogical and medical practices that involve child writing.