www.skreinig.com

Why should I learn Portuguese?

Today, as many as 280 million people throughout the world speak Portuguese as their native language. Portuguese is the eighth most spoken language in the world (third most spoken western European language after English and Spanish) and is the official language of seven countries:

Angola (10.3 million)
Brazil (184 million)
Cabo Verde (346,000)
Guinea-Bissau (1 million)
Mozambique (15.3 million)
Portugal (10.1 million)
São Tomé and the Príncipe Islands (126,000)

When Portugal first colonized Brazil in 1500, (after having been discovered by the portuguese Pedro Alvares Cabral) Tupi or Tupinambá (a language of the Tupi-Guarani family spoken by natives living on the Brazilian seacoast) was used along with Portuguese as the general language of the colony.

In 1757, Tupi was banned by royal decree, even though it had already been overshadowed by Portuguese. However, the Portuguese language in Brazil adopted numerous geographical names as well as words for plants (including medicinal) and animals from Tupi and other indigenous languages; among these words are abacaxi (pineapple), mandioca (manioc), caju (cashew), tatu (armadillo), piranha (the fish).

The Portuguese language in Brazil received new contributions with the influx of the 3.6+ million African slaves forcibly brought to Brazil from 1500 until 1850. The African influence came primarily from the Lorubá spoken by slaves from Nigeria. Lorubá contributions to the language primarily involved words connected with religion and cuisine. From the Angolan Quimbundo language came such words as caçula (youngest child), moleque (street child) and samba.

During the 18th century, differences between the Brazilian and European Portuguese widened as Brazil became isolated from the linguistic changes occurring in Portugal as a result of French influence. Brazilian Portuguese remained loyal to the pronunciation used at the time of its discovery. However, when Don João (the Portuguese king) took refuge in Brazil in 1808 (following Napoleon's invasion of Portugal), his presence helped to reintroduce the Portuguese spoken in Brazilian cities to the Portuguese of Portugal––especially Rio de Janeiro.

Following Brazilian independence in 1822, Brazilian Portuguese became influenced by Italian and other European immigrants migrating to the central and southern parts of the country. These changes reflect the various nationalities settling in each area.

In the 20th century, the split between European and Brazilian Portuguese widened as the result of new technological words and the Brazilian propensity for using idiomatic expressions. This occurred primarily because European Portuguese lacked a uniform procedure for adopting new words while the Brazilians eagerly embraced almost anything that worked. They still do. As a result, many words took different forms in the two countries. For example, in Portugal it's comboio (train), autocarro (bus), rato(computer mouse) and ecrã (screen) while in Brazil it's trem(train), ônibus (bus), mouse (computer) and tela (screen).

Portuguese entered its modern phase in the 16th century when printed grammar books first defined Portuguese morphology and syntax. When Luis de Camões wrote Os Lusíadas in 1572, the language was already nearing its current structure. Since then, linguistic changes have been relatively minor and although reforms for the language have been planned none has taken place as of 2008.

During the Spanish domination of Portugal (1580 to 1640), Spanish words such as bobo (fool) and granizo (hail) were adopted by Portuguese. French influence during the 18th century changed the Portuguese spoken in Portugal, making it different from that spoken in the colonies.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Portuguese absorbed new words of Greco-Latin origin reflecting technological advances including such words as automóvel (automobile), rádio (radio) and televisão (television). This was followed by technical English words such as checkup and software and many new ones that enter the language each day through the miracle of internet.

In 1990, the onrush of new words led to the creation of a commission consisting of representatives of the all Portuguese speaking countries in the world. Its goal was and is to create a uniform technical vocabulary and avoid the confusion that occurred when different words were used to describe the same objects. One could question the success of their efforts as, even today, different words in Portugal and Brazil are used to describe the same thing:

In Portugal, the noun disquete (diskette) is a feminine noun while in Brazil it's masculine. Portuguese spelling such as facto (fact) and baptismo (baptism) become fato and batismo in Brazil. Idiomatic expressions further confuse the issue, for example, the common Brazilian expression bate-boca (noun = argument, quarrel) assumes the literal, confusing and nonsensical translation of the verb form beat mouthin Portugal.

With different spelling, pronouns and idiomatic expressions, some believe that the difference between Brazilian and Luso, Continental or European (whichever you prefer to call it) Portuguese may be in excess of 25%.

Brazil is a huge country and Portuguese is the national language. Although English is taught in secondary and in high schools, only a few people (former exchange students, foreign language students, people who have lived or worked abroad) can speak English well and you will  probably find them only in the big cities, hotels, multinational companies, airports, etc. and you will most probably not want to stay in these places during the whole of your visit to Brazil.

If you intend to live or work in Brazil for a while, you must learn Portuguese to communicate with the local people.

Even if you just go for a short holiday, you should pick up some Portuguese before you leave. Foreigners are welcome in Brazil and the Brazilian people like to talk to foreigners a lot (even if they don’t always understand what they say – due to the friendly temperament of the people.)

Your holiday will be much more fun if you can communicate with the people of that beautiful country!

Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation is more consistent throughout Brazil than the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. This surprises many people considering the fact that Brazil is so much larger in both area and population. Even then, almost all the regional traits and characteristics of European Portuguese are present either in standard Brazilian Portuguese or in one or more of the regional Brazilian dialects.

Because there is a lack of scientific data describing the differences between various regional dialects spoken in Brazil, they cannot be classified in the same manner as the dialects of European Portuguese.

There is a proposal to classify Brazilian Portuguese dialects along pronunciation lines, a method similar to the one used to classify European Portuguese. This method is based on vowel pronunciation and speech cadence. For example, pegar (to take) can be pronounced with an open or closed e.

Using this method, it is possible to differentiate somewhat between the two major Brazilian dialects (northern and southern) as well as their respective sub dialects:
Amazonian, Northeastern , Bahian, Fluminense (Rio de Janeiro), Mineira (Minas Gerais), e Sulina.

All new words that enter Brazilian Portuguese today are influenced by technology and modern times, (e.g music, internet, movies, clothing - fashion).

N.A. There is one key point you need to decide – European Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese? The two main dialects are slightly different. But because of the size and influence of Brazil and its culture, I would lean toward Brazilian… unless you have a specific need or desire to learn the dialect of the European Portuguese.

Brazilian and European portuguese sounds and pronunciations are very different. Saying which one is the most beautiful is a bad idea, but each "accent" has its fans. Brazilian is clearer and has less particular sounds. Easier to learn and internationally preffered nowadays.

On top of these facts and the ever increasing potential of those two beautiful countries, by learning Portuguese you will find that it is many folds easier to learn other latin/roman languages such as Spanish, Italian and even French after you have mastered Portuguese!

There are some interesting nasalized vowels (like its cousin language French) but they aren't too difficult once you get a handle on them. 

If you already have some experience with one of those languages, Portuguese is a breeze!

Have fun learning this beautiful language.

Edy Skreinig

--------------------------

A word from the author:

The reason for this booklet to be written in English is obvious and why do I teach another language other than my own?

I am primarily an ESL teacher and despite the fact that I was born in Brazil I realize that my mother tongue is not (unfortunately) as sought to be learned as it deserves to be. So, basically, in this booklet, what I am trying to do is to teach you “through” English - which will make learning Portuguese a lot easier, specially for those who speak German! 

In other words, if you already know English it will be much easier to go from there to learn Portuguese and use many of its cognates, comparatives and similarities and in that case, the program you will find here is definately for you!

I hope you have as much fun learning with it as I have had preparing it for you!

Sincerely,

Edy Skreinig