European Portuguese vs. Brasileiro Falado
Someone (George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde?) famously quipped that the United States and Britain were “two countries separated by a common language.” People in both countries may speak English, but words, phrases and even subject/verb agreement can be quite different. The same is true, and perhaps to a greater degree, of spoken Brazilian Portuguese—Brasileiro Falado—and European Portuguese.
Brazil was originally a colony of Portugal but became independent 200 years ago. The Portuguese language in the New World evolved over the ensuing two centuries, picking up many words from indigenous languages such as Tupi-Guarani. To those who don’t speak Portuguese, the two versions sound like different languages. European Portuguese is more clipped and guttural, with uvular Rs produced in the back of the throat. The R in Brazil is pronounced as H in most cases. Words with a terminal E are pronounced “ee” in Brazil but are silent in Portugal.
Forms of address are quite different, with the “você” form of you common in Brazil, where “tu” is used more often in Portugal. The term of respect used with elders or superiors, “a senhora” or “o senhor”—the lady or the gentleman, avoiding “you” entirely, is common in Brazil, though it seems to be dying out with younger generations. My granddaughter calls me “você,” I call my mother-in-law “a senhora.” My younger colleagues at the university here in Portugal sometimes say “a Justine”—the Justine—to convey respect, instead of directly calling me “you.” It’s said that the a senhora and o senhor persisted in Brazil after developing as a form of address enslaved people used to speak with enslavers; directly naming them was forbidden.
A few examples of differences in usage.
In Brazil the gerund is used constantly, as in “Estou falando,” I am speaking. In Portugal they use the infinitive, “Estou a falar.” This has been almost impossible for me to adapt to.
When someone says thank you in Brazil, it’s polite to reply “Obrigada você.” Meaning: no, thank YOU! In Portugal, the reply is “Obrigada eu.” As in, no, I am the one that thanks YOU. It’s taken me a while to change my response, because here in Portugal saying “No, thank YOU!” sounds like I’m saying, you’re the one who should be thanking me!
In Brazil, if something meets with your approval you say, Bom! Good. In Portugal it is Boa.
Juice is suco in Brazil, sumo in Portugal.
A bus is called ônibus in Brazil, autocarro in Europe.
Gasoline in Brazil is gasolina, in Portugal combustível.
Dogs are called cachorro in general in Brazil, while in Portugal this means a puppy, and the terms cão or cadela (male and female dogs) are common usage.
Zucchini squash is abobrinha in Brazil, curgete or the overtly French courgette in Europe.
Espresso coffee is cafezinho in Brazil, uma bica in Portugal.
There are many, many more examples, but you get the idea!
The other subtlety is how people in each country regard the other dialect. I was discussing my thoughts on this blog post with a Portuguese friend, and she sniffed a little and grinned at me. “Justine, you know here in Portugal we say Portuguese and Brazilian. None of this “European Portuguese” stuff.
I went to dinner at a restaurant in Lisbon and struck up a conversation with the owner. He said, “My goodness, you speak Portuguese very well. It’s a pity you speak the incorrect version.”
I asked him to elaborate, and he went on: “The Brazilians have simply ruined our language. It’s very sloppy and informal.”
I said, hmmm, very interesting. And we continued chatting about various topics. He again shook his head and said, “See, all that you just said was almost perfect. But then you said, ótimo (great) which is so Brazilian, we never say that here.”
I smiled at him and said “Pisei na bola.” Brazilian soccer slang meaning, “I stepped on the ball.” My bad.