Pronunciation questions...

[Tom D.]

Does anyone know of a good online resource with pronunctiation tips on various Port-related terminology? Some of these Portugese place names and winemaking terms are killing me, especially as I don't often get personal contact with more experienced Port people, so I rarely hear them spoken.

Thanks!

[Glenn E.]

Tom,

Pimsleur sells a 10-lesson language set on CD for European Portuguese (Lisbon dialect) that I've used, and I thought it was great. It's significantly less expensive than the Rosetta Stone series (which only has Brazilian Portuguese) but also doesn't go into great detail. It's been enough for me to get by in emergencies, but that's about it.

One thing it did do for me was help me with pronunciations. You can also get some pronunciation help out of tourist phrase books. I have the Rick Steves version for Portuguese and it helps me retain what I learned from Pimsleur.

[Moses Botbol]

I hear both Portugal and Brazil dialects everyday. Portugal sounds like there's something on their tongue, much of which is difficult to pronounce.

[Roy Hersh]

if you take it easy on us by asking a few words at a time, maybe we can help you with correct pronunciations.

[Eric Menchen]

Warres = the plural of the English "war", as in, "We fought in two wars." This pronunciation provided by Dan Carbon of Symington, as I recall.

[Andy Velebil]

Has anyone used Rosetta Stone? I was thinking about getting it to try and better my horrible grasp of the Portuguese language.

[Tom D.]

There seems to be a good deal of collective wisdom around here. I think I'll just feel free to post any words I'm uncertain of, and I'm sure someone will be able to guide me on the generally correct pronunciation, at least a passable anglicized approximation. My immediate goal isn't necessarily to gain a grasp of the Portugese language (although I wish I had time to do that), just to avoid sounding like even more of a dummy than I already am when discussing Port...

[Dylan Howard]

The Rosetta Stone program for Spanish is great. I find it helpful and much less unbearably boring than other programs. I presume the program for Portuguese is similar.

[Glenn E.]

Has anyone used Rosetta Stone? I was thinking about getting it to try and better my horrible grasp of the Portuguese language.

Just remember that Rosetta Stone version of Portuguese is Brazilian, not European.

Plus Rosetta Stone is a lot more expensive than Pimsleur. I'd only go that route if you're intent on actually learning the language in full. As I recall the Rosetta Stone series is about $300.

[Derek T.]

According to Wiki "Roughly speaking, the differences between European Portuguese and standard Brazilian Portuguese are comparable to the ones found between British and American English."

Andy,

Based on the above, I would suggest you avoid learning to speak Brazilian Portuguese because no one in Portugal will know what you are talking about

[Peter W. Meek]

Two countries, separated by a common language. (George Bernard Shaw)

Sounds like it's true for Portugal and Brazil as well.

[Derek T.]

Two countries, separated by a common language. (George Bernard Shaw)

So true. But in the UK we have many dialects separated by a common language. My job requires me to frequently travel to all parts of the UK and the differences in dialect and accent are quite remarkable, especially given the relatively small area. The whole of the UK would fit inside many US states yet in many instances the language that people use is alomst unrecognisable. Is this the same in other countries?

[Peter W. Meek]

re: Mutually unintelligible dialects.

... Is this the same in other countries?

It is hard to separate actual inability to understand from deliberate misunderstanding.

That said, even with the leveling influence of radio and television, there are plenty of regional accents/dialects in the USA that this flat-voweled midwesterner has a hard time with.

Some things are hard to erase. I'm in my 60s and an expert can tell that my mother was born to Swedish-speaking parents, just by the slight remaining effect on the way I say certain vowels. Now that's persistence.

[Andy Velebil]

OK so it looks like Rosetta Stone is out for true Portuguese Maybe I should just get the Spanish one and do some serious and much needed work on it.

[Eric Menchen]

OK so it looks like Rosetta Stone is out for true Portuguese Maybe I should just get the Spanish one and do some serious and much needed work on it.

I'm thinking start with Pimsleur, since it is less than a good bottle of VP. If I get through that, consider getting the Rosetta Stone. I have a friend that speaks Portuguese, but his is Brazilian as well.

[Glenn E.]

If one of you wants to borrow my Pimsleur CDs let me know, I'd be happy to loan them out. I'll need 'em back in time to run through them again before the Harvest Tour, but that's not until this fall so there's plenty of time!

[Roy Hersh]

Glenn,

I would. Seriously!

[Glenn E.]

You can pick 'em up tonight, I'll go set them out now.

[Bryan H.]

Brazilian Portuguese differs a fair amount. I've never gotten Rosetta Stone for that reason.

However, most of my Portuguese friends say that Brazilian Portuguese is easier to learn in a number of respects, and you will certainly do fine in Portugal with that. So, if you are looking for basics, you could go with Brazilian.

[Tom D.]

So is there a huge problem in learning a bit of Brazilian Portuguese and using it in Portugal? Would you at least be able to communciate okay? Would a person using the Brazilian dialect be considered rude or receive a cooler receptionl in Portugal than a speaker of European Portuguese?