Portuguese alphabet and pronunciation

Go to Omniglot page about Portuguese alphabet

my notes:
- the b and d are very, very, very soft, like a feather... the same with all the other consonants... I don't think any other language offers as much variation in the pronunciation as Portuguese.
- e is often [i], and disappears in the end of the word. In "bem"... it's almost Danish "ej". O is [u] and ou is [o] :-D
- some vowels sound like the Swedish ones - one must be very careful with the vowel sounds to get them right. Sometimes vowels are not pronounced, the bindings are interesting etc. There probably are rules, but I don't know them yet, so I need to struggle with them.
- m is sometimes almost n or ng
- r can be anything from the almost French r to the... er... there is a Swedish dialect that pronounces the R the Portuguese way, with a lot of roll and a bit of rock :-D (And every now and then there's a hint of L in the R, too...  Here's quite a good example. The rock-and-roll R is about 1:50 when she sings "Rolar no meio de tanta riqueza"

Tu achas que eu sou uma selvagem
E conheces o mundo
Mas eu não posso crer
Não posso acreditar
Que selvagem possa ser
Se tu é que não vês em teu redor (teu redor)

Tu pensas que esta terra te pertence
Que o mundo é um ser morto mas vais ver
Que cada pedra, planta ou criatura
Está viva e tem alma, é um ser

Tu dás valor apenas às pessoas
Que acham como tu sem se opôr
Mas segue as pegadas de um estranho
E terás mil surpresas de esplendor

Já ouviste o lobo a uivar sob a lua azul
Ou porque ri o lince com desdém
Sabes vir cantar com as vozes da montanha
E pintar com quantas cores o vento tem
E pintar com quantas cores o vento tem

Vem descobrir os trilhos da floresta
Provar a doce amora e o seu sabor
Rolar no meio de tanta riqueza
E não querer indagar o seu valor

Sou a irmã do rio e do vento
A garça, a lontra são iguais a mim
Vivemos tão ligados uns aos outros
Neste arco, neste círculo sem fim

Que altura a árvore tem
Se a derrubares não sabe ninguém

Nunca ouvirás o lobo sobre a lua azul
O que é que importa a cor da pele de alguém
Temos que cantar com as vozes da montanha
E pintar com quantas cores o vento tem
Mas tu só vais conseguir
Esta terra possuir
Se a pintares com quantas cores o vento tem

Silêncio e tanta gente...

One of the most beautiful Eurovision song contest songs EVER. It got 38 points and become #11.
On the other hand, Italian Il treni di Tozeur competed the same year and didn't win. 8-o
Sweden won with "Diggiloo, Diggilei".

Europeans are stupid.

Às vezes é no meio do silêncio
Que descubro o amor em teu olhar
É uma pedra
Ou um grito
Que nasce em qualquer lugar

Às vezes é no meio de tanta gente
Que descubro afinal aquilo que sou
Sou um grito
Ou sou uma pedra
De um lugar onde não estou

Às vezes sou também
O tempo que tarda em passar
E aquilo em que ninguém quer acreditar

Às vezes sou também
Um sim alegre
Ou um triste não
E troco a minha vida por um dia de ilusão
E troco a minha vida por um dia de ilusão

Às vezes é no meio do silêncio
Que descubro as palavras por dizer
É uma pedra
Ou um grito
De um amor por acontecer

Às vezes é no meio de tanta gente
Que descubro afinal p'ra onde vou
E esta pedra
E este grito
São a história d'aquilo que sou 

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

Even when there is nothing left but silence
I often see the loving in your eyes
Sometimes happy, sometime tearful
Never tiring, full of life

I see the same among so many people
Their silence helps me understand
Sometimes happy, sometimes tearful
Making me what I am

I'm living in a time that slowly goes by
I need to feel alive, but I don't know why
And sometimes in my mind, I never know when to laugh or cry
Now and then I feel as if I'm living in a dream
Now and then I feel as if I'm living in a dream

Even when there is nothing left but silence
I always seem to find the words to say
Sometimes happy, sometime tearful
No two words can mean the same

I hear what's said among so many people
Their silence can be heard in many ways
Sometimes happy, sometimes tearful
Every story is here to stay

I'm living in a time that slowly goes by
I need to feel alive, but I don't know why
And sometimes in my mind, I never know when to laugh or cry
Now and then I feel as if I'm living in a dream
Now and then I feel as if I'm living in a dream

I'm living in a time that slowly goes by
I need to feel alive, but I don't know why
And sometimes in my mind, I never know when to laugh or cry
Now and then I feel as if I'm living in a dream
Now and then I feel as if I'm living in a dream

Challenge 52 in 52: Portuguese

I want to learn Portuguese. I think it is one of the most beautiful languages of the world, I love how it sounds. :-)

But I want to learn the European Portuguese. Not the Brazilian one. It is because I'm European and my focus is in the European languages, not in "what is the most useful language" or "how will I be understood by the most people of the world".

The problem is that most resources of learning a language on-line are for Brazilian Portuguese.
I know it's basically the same language, but... I want to learn the European Spanish, too, and not the American Spanish. I assume the difference is about the same.

Challenge 52 in 52: Castilian

Spanish is the world's second biggest native language and #4 in most spoken languages. There's almost half a billion people who speak Spanish as their native language.

Spanish is a Romance language. Its closest (bigger) relatives are Portuguese and Italian. It's relatively possible for a Spanish speaker to understand some Portuguese and Italian, at least in written form.
French is also a Romance language, but it's very different from Spanish. Interestingly enough it's easier for French speakers to understand Spanish than for Spanish speakers to understand French.
The relation is a bit like with Danish and Swedish. Danes and Norwegians understand both, but Swedish people find it hard to understand Danish.

As with Portuguese, I want to learn the European version of this language. Now, my Spanish speaking friend speaks Chilean Spanish, but the language itself is the same. Sort of. It's like with any language that has a European and an American version.
Also, as with Portuguese, the European version is a bit hard to find. There's a lot of information about Spanish, but most of it is in American Spanish. After all, some 80% of Spanish speakers live in Americas. :-D

There are some slight differences in the alphabet. I think the European Spanish is softer and just nicer. If I have understood it correctly, the rest of the world think it's too soft.

Here's the numbers

It's really easy to find the frequency lists, Spanish radio and music, Spanish tv shows and movies, and Spanish texts of all kinds online, so the world is your oyster there.

Challenge 52 in 52: Catalan

Challenge 52 in 52: Romansch

Challenge 52 in 52: Romanian

"The spirit of linguistic discovery spurred me on and led me next to learn Romanian. To this day, I find Romanian very fetching. It has more of a country flavor than French and is more “manly” than Italian and more interesting than Spanish, due to its Slavic loanwords."
- Kató Lomb

Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 million people as a native language, primarily in Romania and Moldova, and by another 4 million people as a second language.

Romanian is a part of the Balkan-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin separated from the Western Romance during the 5th-8th centuries. To distinguish it within that group in comparative linguistics it is called Daco-Romanian as opposed to its closest relatives, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian, respectively.