Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese Europe an and Brazilian Portuguese present some differences, perhaps not more or less than those existing among the several varieties of English, Spanish or French. (Here we are not referring to Creole languages or dialects). There are two official standards of Portuguese, and so, most Portuguese-as-a-second-language textbooks, dictionaries and grammars identify the variety of Portuguese that they contain. Nevertheless, some good grammars are international - like the Gramática do Português Contemporâneo, by Lindley Cintra and Celso Cunha, one of the most important grammars of recent years. Due to the distance between varieties, some film titles and subtitles, book translations and computer jargon are different, just like in French (France/Canada), Spain and English (with the exception of computer jargon, which in English is uniformily American throughout the world). While the Portuguese can generally understand the Brazilians because of contact with the spoken language of the much larger ex-colony--there are many Brazilian telenovelas or soap operas on Portuguese television, and Brazilian music is played on Portuguese radio stations--the opposite does not usually occur. Most Brazilians have never heard European Portuguese, especially away from the large urban centers of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where there was a large Portuguese immigration. This is similar to what happens with Spanish, although European Portuguese is much less heard in Brazil than Spanish in Spanish America. The situation ressembles that of English: Most Britons understand American English, but Americans seem to be quite at odds with some varieties of British English (since Received Pronunciation is spoken by only 3% of Britons) The fact that many people emphasize the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese is perhaps due to sociological reasons, more that linguistic ones. Linguistically speaking, Portuguese is one of the most uniform international languages, at least among standard varieties. Popular varieties vary a lot, just like in other languages (like Spanish, French, English, Catalan, etc.). Vocabulary There are many lexical differences, due to the long separation of these two variants of Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese has taken on many African and Amerindian words The word for pineapple in European Portuguese is "ananas", in common with some other European languages, but in Brazilian Portuguese it is the Amerindian "abacaxi". It has had greater contact with English words from the United States (mouse, overnight), whereas European Portuguese has a tendency to use more words of Spanish (tejadilho) and French origin (chaufage, estore), although this is not a rule. On the phone, Portuguese will answer with "Estou" and Brazilians with "Alô". While a Portuguese might hang up with "com licença" a Brazilian would probably say "tchau", although this last word is being increasingly used in Portugal as well. Sometimes the difference is in the use of suffixes: "aposentaçâo" instead of "aposentadoria", "paragem" instead of "parada". Geographic terms also vary: "canadiano" instead of "canadense" or Otava instead of Ottawa. Vocabulary can present problems especially when reading newspapers or when first arriving in the country, though after a time the learner gets accustomed to the differences. A Brazilian arriving in Portugal and seeing the word "Drogaria" would expect to be able to buy medicine, Instead, this store sells brooms, buckets, and assorted household items. He may laugh at the use of the word "bicha" to mean line or queue, as in Brazil, it is a term for a male homosexual. Another Brazilian asking for "durex", expecting duct tape, would be surprised to receive a box of condoms. (This terminological confusion is also famously found between Australian and British English.) Spelling Brazilian Portuguese has different spelling from European Portuguese, usually simplified letter combinations. For example the words for action and actual in Brazilian Portuguese are "ação" and "atual", whereas in European Portuguese, they would be "acção" and "actual". Pronunciation The most important reason why Brazilians have difficulty understanding European Portuguese speakers is the pronunciation (phonetics), especially in the near suppression (unstressing) of the final vowel [i], written e. The near suppression of this vowel sound also occurs in intervocalic position. A word like "quente" is heard to be [kent], and is not often understood. Other changes occur in diphthongs--[bein] becomes [bain] in many regions of Portugal, and in the north many people change the [b] and the [v]. The town of Ermezende becomes [ermzend], while in Brazil it is read [eRmezendji] (not scientific notation of sounds). Another pronunciation that Brazilians are not prepared for is the [shi] sound in uncareful spoken European Portuguese for written "sc" (piscina--[pishina] and when "s" antecedes "s" (as sete--[ashet]. There are also regions of Brazil--certain areas of the Northeast--where a Portuguese person would be hard pressed to understand the locals. All this is due to lack of contact between the two varieties. For the most part, the actual differences do not exceed those of American and European English, although this is hard to verify. Grammar There are a few major grammatical differences between the two varieties discussed below, but they do not present any great problems for comprehension. The use of the infinitive instead of the gerund In BP people say, "estou falando", "estou escrevendo", etc. In EP the norm is "estou a falar", "estou a escrever." Both solutions are well understood in both contries. The Brazilian form is also used in Portugal in certain regions and situations and is considered correct. The Portuguese form would be thought odd in Brazil. Position of object pronouns Brazilians usually place the object pronoun before the verb in the affirmative--"Ele me viu", while in Portugal it comes after the verb--"Ele viu-me". The EP "me" is suppressed and becomes a schwa sound, while the Brazilian "me" is pronounced [mi]. One almost disappears while the other is emphasized. In informal BP speech the form "eu vi ela", "eu vi ele", "eu vi você" with subject pronouns replacing object pronouns is common. In Portugal this does not occur. Examples taken from the Portuguese translation of Lituma nos Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa: "Sei-o tão bem como sei que me chamo Lituma." ". . . estendeu-lhe Dionisio um macinho de tabaco negro". "Perseguia-me por todos os Andes". Another difference is combination of the direct object pronoun with the indirect object pronoun to form one word. Thus "me" + "o" becomes "mo", "te" + "os" becomes "tos". This often occurs in spoken EP and always in the formal written form. In Brazil it has disappeared entirely. Adolescent informants confirmed that these forms are used in spoken EP. "Encham-no à força, e se vomitar que vomite". "Não fale assim dela, rogo-lho eu, agora que ela é minha mulher". The final difference is in the mesoclitic position, that is in the middle of the verb. This is only possible with forms of the simple future or the conditional. Thus we see in the EP formal written language: "Calar-me-ei and Calar-me-ia". To the relief of all, these rather bizarre forms--to the observer--are rarely used in spoken EP. Students in Vila Real said that they would use the present simple instead. Instead of "ver-te-ei amanhã" they would say "vou te ver amanhã". Two examples of mesoclitic pronoun use from Lituma nos Andes: ". . .deitar-lhe-iam a mão e levá-lo-iam à mina abandonada para o atirarem ao poço." These forms are exclusively written, being very odd in spoken language. Most differences are used in the popular varieties of language. In standards, differences are few, although Brazilians use the object pronoun before the verb even in formal written languages, while Portuguese do not. Use of Subject Pronouns (Pronomes de Tratamento) Tu In standard European Portuguese, the pronoun "tu" is used as the most intimate form. It is used between parents and children, between grandparents or uncles and aunts and grandchildren and nieces and nephews, between brothers and sisters or friends, between husband and wife, between workmates of an equal age or nearly equal. Some years ago tu was not employed between children and their parents, but now it is becoming the rule. Students in Vila Real agreed that they used tu with their parents, and with some grandparents, but used o senhor with their great-grandparents. What occurs in practice among family members (especially in the villages of the interior) is that many of the parents, grandparents, godparents, and uncles and aunts are not comfortable with their children, grandchildren, godchildren, nephews or nieces calling them by of "tu", and so they are addressed by the term of relationship:: o pai, a mãe, o avô, a avó, o padrinho, a madrinha, o tio, a tia, etc. For example: O pai esta zangado? A mãezinha vai dar-me dinheiro? Vi a avozinha na igreja. A tia não é servida? This use is unheard of in Brazil, where você is used for all persons in an intimate situation of equals or with superiors to inferiors. The most frequent treatment in Portugal between individuals of the same age and social category but which don't share intimicy is the third person of the singular accompanied by the name or surname of the interested person. Thus: A Maria Manuela foi ontem à aula? O Rodrigues está a brincar comigo. Between friends this use is quite rare. Você Equivalent to this treatment is você, which in its simplicity is gaining ground. It is used often on the radio in ads or to talk to listeners. Nevertheless, in some regions of the country it is considered to be a little impolite. While in almost all of Brazil tu has been substituted for você as an intimate form or as a term for equal to equal or for superior to inferior, in Portugal você normally has only the last value--that of equal treatment or of superior to inferior (in age, in social class, or in hierarchy). Only among certain high social classes in Portugal is você used as a loving form of intimacy. In Continental Portuguese it is still difficult to use você for inferior to superior, in age, social class or hierarchy. O senhor O Senhor, a senhora, and a menina are the European variants of the forms of respect and courtesy. O senhor is not used often. Você is replacing this form. In Brazil o senhor is used much more than in Portugal. In Portugal, when a person talks to someone who has a professional title or occupies a specific position, the forms of o senhor and a senhora are usually accompainied by the respective title or position: o senhor doutor, a senhora doutora, o senhor engenheiro. In Brazil these forms are not used. The use of specific titles in dealing with people is much more widespread in Portugal than in Brazil, where only in very special cases is o senhor used with the title. The title of Doutor is used officially in Portugal not only for medical doctors as in Brazil or in Spain, but for any graduate of a university course, being written Dr. The full form Doutor is used for PhDs. With engineering and architecture graduates, the professional titles engenheiro or arquitecto are used rather than doutor. External links A list of some common vocabulary differences can be found in the European Portuguese--Brazilian Portuguese Dictionary. See Tips - Portuguese for a short, but well organized list of vocabulary differences See Instituto Camões for dialects in Portugal. See What is the word for you in Portuguese? for pronoun use. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.