In Love With Lisbon

Tag: foreign language learning

  • The Portuguese Alphabet and Pronunciation – Part 1

    “Let’s start at the very beginning
    A very good place to start
    When you read you begin with A-B-C
    When you sing you begin with do-re-mi…”

    Azulejo 4The Portuguese alphabet or alfabeto consists of 23 letters. It is derived from Latin as is our own English alphabet. You will notice that K, W and Y are missing from Portuguese. This is because these letters only appear in foreign words. Y used to be used (although rarely) during the Renaissance but in 1911 The Portuguese spelling reform displaced the letter Y forever – prefering to signify its sound by the letter ‘i’. “Iate (yacht) is a good example. Well, we aren’t going to learn to sing just yet but we are going to start right at the beginning and learn our Portuguese A-B-C

    Like English some letters are pronounced in different ways according to where and how they appear in a word. So for example in English we have the words ‘ever’ and ‘even’. Both start with the letter ‘e’ but this ‘e’ is pronounced differently each time. Whilst I think it is sometimes difficult to reflect on your own native tongue, it seems to me that Portuguese is more structured than English when it comes to pronunciation. There are a set of rules to follow which do need to be learned but you will find that if you listen to Portuguese a lot these rules eventually become absorbed and you will instinctively know how the letters are pronounced. Compared to English, Portuguese is much more ‘say it as you see it’. I imagine for someone trying to learn English they might struggle with words such as ‘though’, and ‘rough’! We have words that may look very similar but their pronunciation is completely different. You can relax with Portuguese because once you’ve learned the rules, you can make a reasonably accurate stab at pronouncing the word you see.

    In this article I am going to explore the different ways the letters are pronounced. You will notice the terms ‘stressed’ and ‘unstressed’. We will explore this in the next part of the series.

    Note that I am aware that in English there are some regional differences in how we pronounce certain letters so in using the comparisons below I am using standard ‘bbc’ English.

    Vowels

    A
    Stressed: like a in ‘father’ Fado (Fado music)
    Unstressed: Like a in ‘ago’. Mesa (table)
    E
    Stressed: ranges from e in ‘they‘ to e in ‘let’. Sete (seven)
    Unstressed: Like ey in ‘prey‘. Bebida (drink)

    At the beginning of a word or the conjunction e (and) – like ee in ‘eel’. Edifício (building).
    Note – often when e is at the beginning of a word it can seem to disappear. At the end of a word it is not pronounced in European Portuguese.

    I
    Stressed and unstressed are the same: Like ‘i’ in ‘bin’. Idade (age)

    O
    Stressed: ranges from o in ‘opera’ to o in ‘sore’. Bolo (cake)
    Unstressed: Like oo in ‘book’. Fado (fado music)
    Note at the end of a word this letter often almost disappears

    U
    Stressed and unstressed are the same. Like oo in ‘roof’. Susto (fright)
    However it is not pronounced in the following combinations
    Gue
    Gui
    Que
    Qui

    Consonants

    B
    Same as in English but perhaps slightly softer. Obrigada (thankyou when said by a female)

    C
    Soft like c in ‘face’ if it’s followed by an ‘e’ or an ‘i’. Cidade (city)
    Hard like c in ‘cup’. Comprar (to buy)

    D
    Similar to English in European Portuguese though slightly softer. Dormir (to sleep)

    F
    Same as in English f in ‘face’. Fechado (closed)

    G
    Soft like s in ‘measure’ before ‘e’ or ‘i’. Gelado (icecream)
    Hard like g in ‘garden’ when before ‘o’ ‘u’ or ‘a’. Gato (cat)

    H
    Never pronounced unless in combinations like ‘ch’ ‘nh’ and ‘lh’
    ch is like sh in ‘shoot’. Chuva (rain)
    nh is like ni in ‘onion’. Banho (bath)
    lh in like ll in million. Mulher (woman)

    J
    Like s in ‘measure’. Jornal (newspaper)

    L
    Same as in English. Loja (shop)

    M
    Same as in English except at the end of a word. Manta (blanket)
    At the end of a word m is naselised and sounds a little like the ng in ‘sung‘. Bem (well)

    N
    Same as in English. Nariz (nose).
    Note – When words that end with m are made plural the m changes to an n; for example jovem becomes jovens. The n here is always nasalised.

    P
    Same as in English. Pato (duck)

    Q
    Like qu in ‘quick’. This letter is always followed by u. Quando (when)
    When ‘qu’ is followed by ‘e’ or ‘i’ the u is not pronounced. Quem (who)

    R
    Perhaps one of the most difficult letters to get to grips with.
    At the beginning of a word or double r the sound is either gutteral or trilled.
    Rir Trilled

    Rir Guttural

    Carro Trilled

    Carro Guttural
    For the trilled version think of how the Scottish pronounce the letter ‘r’
    When I first started learning Portuguese the lesson I learned was that is was definately trilled like in Spanish. Although I can just about make this trilled sound I find it much easier to use the gutteral ‘r’ and listening to a lot of Portuguese radio I find it is in fact quite common.
    In the middle or at the end of a word the r is ‘tapped’ where the tongue suddenly stops the sound – see Obrigada above

    If you would like to investigate this further the technical terms are as follows
    For the trilled sound look up the “alveolar trill”
    For the gutteral sound look up “voiced uvular fricative”

    The University of Iowa has an excellent page here. Click on Spanish – vibrantes and compare carro and caro to give you a good idea of the difference between a trilled rr sound and a ‘tapped’ ‘r’ sound.

    This is one you will need to practice.

    To make the gutteral sound you just need to pretend you are gargling water.
    To make the trilled sound, loosely curl your tongue up and place the tip on the roof of your mouth. I find it works best if I place my tongue just at that point where the roof starts to curve up behind your teeth (not right behind your teeth!). Now to practice the sound  attempt to blow out the air you have inhaled through this small gap between the roof of your mouth and the tongue. Keep your tongue relaxed. It is hard to do but once you have managed it you will know what it feels like and will be able to repeat it.

    S
    At the beginning of a word like s in ‘sun’ – Sinto (I feel)
    between two vowels or at the end of a word when the next word begins with a vowel like s in ‘pleasure’. Casa (house)
    At the end of a word or before a consanant like sh in ‘show’. Livros (books). Estudar (to study)

    T
    Slightely softer than English. Tudo (everything)

    V
    Same as in English. Vinho (wine)

    X
    The one letter that doesn’t seem to have many rules!
    Generally if it appears at the beginning of a word is is pronounced like sh in ‘shawl’. Xale (shawl)

    Otherwise it can sound like the x in ‘taxi’ or the sh in shawl. Sometimes it doesn’t sound at all.

    Z
    Same as in English z in ‘zoo’ when at the beginning of a word or in the middle of a word. Dizer (to say)

    At the end of a word it is pronounced like s in ‘measure’. Luz (light)

    This concludes the first part of this series. I hope you have found it helpful.

    Go to Part 2

  • From Babble to Babel

    Azulejo 3As a child from the first moment I discovered English wasn’t the only language in the world I was hooked. The trouble was, no one in my family spoke anything other than English. Aside from the odd please and thank you in barely remembered French or German from school, I was generally starved of this mysterious world. When people spoke in other languages on television I would be glued to the screen and the odd word I learned felt so exotic. I still remember babbling away in a made-up language to try and impress people (yes I was perhaps an attention seeking child!) and to this day when I can’t find the lyrics to a song that I’m writing, I will sing in this same incomprehensible language until I find some real words.

    Unfortunately when it came to school, life conspired against me. We moved several times as a child and therefore I went to 7 different schools before the age of 16. During one of these changeovers‚ I left one school that hadn’t started studying French to another where the pupils had been learning for almost a year. I still recall the horror of sitting in the first class not understanding a thing anyone said and wondering why the teacher addressed me as Isabelle when that wasn’t my name!

    I was a shy pupil and therefore didn’t like asking questions. The school thought I was slow at languages despite being a fast learner in other areas. I stumbled through a year of classes and then for a short time I had one to one lessons to try and build up my basic knowledge. My teacher was patient and methodical and I started to comprehend the basics of verb conjugations. However the lessons were expensive and after a few weeks had to stop.

    Once again I floundered. I also began to notice that despite the fact I really wanted to learn a language I didn’t feel particularly drawn to French. No disrespect to France at all but I just had a sense that this wasn’t my language. During the language lab lessons where we were supposed to écoutez et répétez (listen and repeat), I stayed absolutely silent – to the endless frustration of my teacher.

    The year before O’ levels began we also started German. Now I was really lost! My school report said “her attitude to the German language is something to be desired!”. Poor Mr. Lewis. I don’t think he ever realised what the real problem was. Either I understood the question but didn’t know how to reply or I just didn’t understand the question!

    By this point my confidence was at an all time low and as soon as I could I dropped languages at school altogether‚ yet at the same time I felt like I was missing something. I had discovered my great-great grandmother was Romany and found a children’s story in the library about a gypsy girl. On the last page were a few words and phrases in Romany. These I silently learned by myself.

    In the meantime, on UK television Channel 4 was launched (yes I am old enough to remember that!) and it began with a Japanese season. I flirted with the idea of learning Japanese but soon dropped it.

    A holiday is Spain renewed my passion for languages a couple of years later. By this time I was old enough to take a beginners evening course. Suddenly I found myself with people at the same level of me (complete beginner!) and I didn’t feel shy anymore. The course was a 12 week basic introduction learning typical holiday phrases and hello and goodbye and I loved it. Spanish felt more right but I knew deep down it wasn’t exactly right. To this day though I can still recite a short Spanish poem I learned on the course. But again, whilst Spanish was the closest I had come so far to finding my language something still didn’t sit right with me. It was close but not close enough.

    College years came and went. I studied English as linguistics was part of the course. I have always loved to write and I found learning the roots and structure of my own language fascinating. Foreign language went on the backburner as I wrestled with Shakespeare and Chaucer – a foreign language in themselves. During these years however, I became fascinated with Irish and Ireland. I felt some connection to the place and the people. After leaving college I found myself with close friends from Ireland and was able to indulge in learning more about the country and its myths and legends. I began to take a course in Gaelic but the teacher (bless her) was a wonderful person but a terrible teacher. I think it took about 5 weeks for everyone to leave. Whilst learning Irish was reduced to simply learning Clannad lyrics, my love of the country never died. I remember taking the boat there and have a sense of coming home. Perhaps it was due to having Irish in my blood, perhaps more…

    I’ve since heard that the Portuguese have an affinity with Irish and it came as no surprise to learn that for the Irish their closest cousins in genetic terms are the Portuguese. Perhaps it was this that drew me.

    I have to admit that the day I first heard Portuguese I didn’t actually know where Portugal was! I didn’t recognise the language at all but it was music to my ears. It sounded Spanish one moment, Russian the next. It felt familiar and strange all at once. I had the oddest sensation that this was a language I could already speak yet I didn’t know word of it. The strangest thing is that in some ways it sounds similar to that ‘made-up’ language I began speaking as a child.

    And then of course came the beautiful Portuguese soul who became the love of my life and so the journey continues.

    He used to say to me that he felt like he could talk to me in Portugeuse. Sometimes he would forget and do so and some part of me would understand. Little by little I could hear words. I dreamed I was speaking fluently in Portuguese as though some part of me had done so in another time, in another place. I still have these dreams.

    But that’s a story for another day.