Brazilian and European Portuguese: one language, many forms

Portuguese is spoken by approximately 250 million people worldwide, and a large chunk of those speakers are found in Brazil and Portugal. But are they really speaking the exact same language?

Is one language really just one language? Or is it many, a collection and intermingling of multiple varieties, all encompassed under the same umbrella? As with most questions in the field of language and linguistics, there is no simple answer. On the contrary, there are thousands of different opinions about what the word ‘language’ even means, and whether it is restrictive to categorise two varieties as the same language at all. Portuguese is one such example. Being the official language of nine countries and one territory, Portuguese is far from a homogenous language, boasting idiosyncrasies in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation across each and every variety. And all ten varieties (which will certainly have sub-varieties within them, too) enjoy their own unique features. Nonetheless, in the interest of not straying into dissertation territory, in this blog post we’re going to focus on the Portuguese of Portugal, and the Portuguese of Brazil, commonly known as, shockingly enough, brasileiro.  

Vocabulary

In addition to the expected differences in national and regional slang, European (EP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP) also diverge significantly in more standard vocabulary, too.

• Café da manhã (BP) vs Pequeno almoço (EP)
  • Even such a commonly-used word as ‘breakfast’ is different in Portugal and Brazil, with the European form literally translating to ‘small lunch’, whilst Brazil seemingly opts for a ‘morning coffee’ (though the term does indeed account for any and all food and drinks consumed for breakfast).
• Ônibus (BP) vs Autocarro (EP)
  • The humble bus has a different translation between the two countries, with the European version presenting an adaptation of the Portuguese word for car (carro).
• Banheiro (BP) vs Casa de banho (EP)
  • If you’re lucky enough to travel to either Brazil or Portugal, make sure you ask for the bathroom in the right way! The European form literally translates to ‘house of bathing’.
• Tênis (BP) vs Sapatilhas (EP)
  • Trainers/sneakers at the ready! Alike Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese opts for sports shoes named after tennis, given that what we now consider general activewear shoes were originally produced for tennis players. Meanwhile, European Portuguese adopts an inflected version of the word for shoes (sapatos).

Grammar

Everyone’s favourite. The rules of grammar are not exempt from dissonance either, with some rather notable differences between Portugal and Brazil.

• Tu (EP) vs Você (BP)
  • One of the main differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese is the use of the pronoun ‘you’. Whilst Brazilians use você in both formal and informal contexts, European speakers usually reserve você for addressing senior people and in formal contexts, with tu being the more familiar pronoun.
• Estou a estudar (EP) vs Estou estudando (BP)
  • The gerund or continuous form looks a little different between the two varieties. To connote that an action is in progress, such as ‘I am studying’, Brazilian Portuguese adds –ando, –endo or –indo to the verb’s root, whilst European Portuguese maintains the verb in its infinitive verb, but adds the preposition a.
• Dá-me (EP) vs Me dá (BP)
  • Although the positioning of pronouns before or after the verb can be permissible in both varieties, European speakers typically prefer their pronouns after the verb, whilst Brazilians usually put them before.
• Há (EP) vs Tem (BP)
  • Again, whilst há is grammatically correct in both varieties to say ‘there is/are’, Brazilian Portuguese frequently uses tem instead to connote the same meaning.

Pronunciation

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for people learning Portuguese is getting accustomed to two different ways of pronouncing the same words. After all, even native Brazilian and European Portuguese speakers sometimes find themselves coming up against something of a language barrier!

• S and Z sounds
  • In Brazilian Portuguese, words containing s or z are pronounced with an ‘s’ sound, as might be expected by English speakers. However, those same sounds are pronounced more like ‘sh’ by European speakers, meaning a word such as mais is pronounced as ‘maish’.
• L sounds
  • In Brazil, an ‘l’ at the end of the word is probably vocalised, and therefore pronounced more as a ‘w’ sound, whilst European speakers typically pronounce that ‘l’ distinctly.
• Ts and Ds
  • These consonant sounds, when found before an ‘i’ or ‘e’, are mostly pronounced as ‘tchee’ and ‘djee’ in Brazilian Portuguese, yet European Portuguese favours a more phonetic, hard consonant. For example, the word universidade would be ‘universida-djee’ in Brazil and ‘universi-dad’ in Portugal.
• Nasal and vocalic (BP) vs Stressed and staccato (EP)
  • Overall, Brazilian Portuguese is considered to sound more melodic, using a lot of nasal sounds and open vowels. On the other hand, European Portuguese is more staccato and closed, often likened to Slavic languages in its pronunciation.

So, it seems that these two varieties have their fair share of dissimilarities, especially considering that this list is just a brief look into some of the most obvious differences, and is in no way a completely comprehensive assessment. Then, if we factor in the other eight varieties, it’s hard to truly picture just how much variation exists within the language we call Portuguese. However, rather than seeing these differences as a force for division and isolation between speakers, we can instead see them as evidence of just how rich and bountiful this language is. Remember, language is never static, and as time goes by, these varieties will continue to develop even more features that make them unique. And I for one can’t wait to see what happens next.  

Author: Lucy Singer

Photo by Surendran MP, available on Unsplash