Learning Portuguese as a Spanish speaker…

January 22, 2013   Photos, Travel   8 Comments

 

……….MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM!

Ok, seriously, it sucks. Just when you think you’ve figured the beast out, it swoops down like a vampire, simultaneously biting you on the shoulder and pinching your ass ’til it bruises, and then flies off.  Talk about ABUSE.

What I mean is there are a ton of similarities between Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, but pronunciation is SO different. And certain grammar rules are just barely different enough to cause you to forget how to speak Spanish properly.  And mastering Portuguese starts to seem like a dream as elusive and ass-kicking as a blood thirsty vamp.

….In the end really all you’re left with is an imaginary language called Portuspanglish, that you may as well just mumble to yourself since NO ONE else on the face of this earth will be capable of deciphering what the hell you are saying.  

Whew!  Deep breaths…gooos fraaabaaa.  Alright, now that I’ve made it clear that Portuguese has been the bane of my existence for the past few weeks, let me explain why…

I’m going to Brazil in a few days!

brazil buzios

A beach in Buzios, a beach town ~3 hours from Rio

Now you might ask: Is it really necessary to learn Portuguese before traveling to Brazil?

No, of course not!

Any traveler will tell you that it is possible to get around without knowing the language in pretty much any country, and you will certainly find some Brazilians who know English.   But in my opinion, the more meaningful exchanges you have with locals, the more fulfilling and rewarding the trip will be.  I often remember more about the people I meet while traveling than I do about the actual place, so it makes sense that I would want to learn the language spoken in the country I’m traveling to.

So is my current level of Portuguese good enough to have a full conversation with someone?   HA.  HA…..yeahhh….so I’m hoping my English and Spanish will be enough to get me by.  Reading Portuguese is a breeze for the most part, but my listening comprehension skills are whack and my speaking level is pretty much ZIP, ZILCH, NIL, NADA, NEIN.

That being said, here are a few online resources I’ve found really helpful in trying to teach myself Brazilian Portuguese:

And here are a couple free e-books for your Kindle or smart phone to look at during your commute to work (WARNING: You May Get Strange Looks On The Subway For Murmuring To Yourself)

 

To be fair I love the challenge of learning a new language, so I’m actually enjoying myself quite a bit.  I just want to emphasize that already knowing Spanish when trying to learn Portuguese can be both a benefit and a hindrance.  Unfortunately, my level of Portuguese is not strong enough for me to ask difficult questions about social and political issues, but perhaps it will be enough to order um cafezinho and ask where o baneiro is.  The rest will have to be communicated through charades, grunts, and smiles :)

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  • http://twitter.com/thismyhappiness Jenna Francisco (@thismyhappiness)

    Those seem like great resources. Thanks for sharing!
    I speak Portuguese as my second language because my husband is from Brazil. The pronunciation is indeed tricky but there are just a few rules that you have to learn to get it…the difficulty comes in the fact that there are differences in pronunciation in different parts of Brazil, so the Rio accent is different from Sao Paulo, for example. I am sure you will have a blast–Brazilians are so friendly–and will notice that you can even be understood in Spanish with many of the locals.

    • http://www.fleetinglife.com Fleeting Life

      Thanks Jenna, you are so right! After getting used to the pronunciation in Bauru, the pronunciation in Rio was quite tricky and it was like starting all over again! Luckily many people were able to detect my slightly Spanish-esque pronunciation of Portuguese, and they would switch to Spanish if they were able to. Brazilians are definitely some of the friendliest people I’ve met!! :)

    • http://www.facebook.com/MagEakaWebutante Margaret Nahmias

      The hindrance is wanting to insert Spanish words in the conversation I write pero instead of mas for but and y instead of e for and . The grammar is certain aspects is close enough that you have to relearn it However one has to getting using the future subjunctive and the personal infinitve and the simple pluperfect form which I am sure is not used that much The sounds at least for me are not hard to produce just rememeber the variations not to mentions the voewl but for those I try to learn the pronunaction of the word indivually instead of hard to remembers rule. But a lot of words are close to Spanish and there are some patterns in spelling. for example
      jar to xiar lhar.
      quejarse quexiar
      dejar deixar
      trabajar trabalhar
      .
      jor lhor
      mejor melhor

      ll ch in certain verb and nouns not all-
      llegar chegar
      llover chover
      llorar chorar
      llave chave.
      the only expection I have found so far is llevar which levar in Portguese and chefe which is jefe in Spanish

      many words with h in Spanish retain the orginal f of Latin in Portguese
      hacer fazer ( many expressions with hacer in Spanish have equivalents with fazer in Portguese.
      herir ferir
      higado figado
      hurcan furacão.

      Understanding patterns like this can help with vocabulary.

      • http://www.fleetinglife.com Fleeting Life

        Thanks so much for the tips Margaret! Using Spanish words in Portuguese conversation seems to be my biggest issue now as well. Hopefully this is just a phase that I will grow out of!

        Best :)
        Christina

  • http://twitter.com/Bpack_Diplomacy Andy

    I cant totally relate to this article. I thought it was funny the second that I saw the title as I know your frustrations. Definitely true, how you may think that you have it then not so much. They are so similar yet really different at the same time.

    Thanks for sharing the good links!

    Andy
    BackpackingDiplomacy.com

    • http://www.fleetinglife.com/ Christina

      I’m glad I’m not alone in my frustrations! Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to checking out your blog :)

  • http://twitter.com/johanna_bradley Johanna Bradley

    As someone currently struggling to learn Polish, with a head already full of loose Portuguese phrases, I fully understand. When I open my mouth I have no idea which language I’m speaking, and neither have the natives because it falls somewhere in the middle! Never thought of looking on You Tube for languages. Seems a good idea!

    • http://www.fleetinglife.com Fleeting Life

      Ahh, you are my hero, I’d love to learn Polish someday! How are you learning? My Polish heritage unfortunately has only taught me how to say some traditional foods. Hopefully someday I’ll learn more :)

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