Bem-vindos ao Brasil!
Welcome to Porto Alegre in
Rio Grande do Sul!
PEOPLE
If you’re from Rio Grande do Sul, you are “Gaucho” - a term deriving from .
POSTURE
- MEOW!
I call Brazilian Portuguese the MEOW language.
Lead to ‘Sao Paolo’
-bit of nasality in our posture!
PRONUNCIATION
Consonant Glory!
TH can be /d/ or /f/ or /v/!
At the beginning of a word it’s likely to be /d/: The man talked to them = De man talked to dem.
At the end of a word it might be /f/: Talk with her = Talk wif her!
Sometimes in the middle it’s /d/ or /f/: My other brother is farther away = My udder brover is farder away.
L at the end of a word can be /w/!
Practice:
Better Call Saul= Better Caw Saw!
I told Paul to hold my calls.
R – so fun!
R Version 1: Fun fact for Portuguese: When R is at the beginning of a word it’s pronounced with just some breath: an H!
So ‘Rio de Janeiro’ is actually ‘Hio!”
Practice: Rafael and Renata are going to Rio during Ramadan. (Hafael and Henata are going to Hio during Hamadan).
*Note: Older speakers tend to do this when speaking English. Younger speakers tend to be more practice at this ‘rrr’ sound.
R Version 2: *What many speakers share is a bit of ‘hugging’ on the Rs.
Practice:
I realized I very much want to go dere.
The restaurant burned the bread on Thursday.
Regarding T: Use the blade of the tongue. It will create more friction and a more textured sound.
*A great way to spot a Brazilian Portuguese speaker is to listen for the word “to/two/too” - it will often sound like “CHOO!”
Practice: I have to get two tickets for Tuesday.
= I have Choo get Choo tickets for Choosday.
*Illustration by Cocoretto
Vowels
FOOT /u/ - we often get a full “oo” sound here.
Practice: Put on the wool sweater.
PROSODY
SCHWA fun!
A lot of syllables native English speakers ‘smush’ will get a lot more love.
Classic Example: condensed can become ‘condense-ed.’ *Condensed milk is used all the time in Brazil, particularly for desserts.
Try it: “Now we add some condense-ed miwk.”