ENGLISH
PORTUGUESE
LINGUISTICS & CULTURE
PORTUGUESE
LINGUISTICS & CULTURE
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ENGLISH
PORTUGUESE LINGUISTICS & CULTURE |
| Autor: | Dale |
| E-mail: | não-disponível |
| Data: | 20/JAN/2005 3:37 PM |
| Assunto: | Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska |
| Mensagem: | To tell the truth, Paulo, I've never spent the night staring at the ceiling while I worried about "ão". I really don't see a problem with it, but then I've never been around English speakers who spoke Portuguese. I've met one American in Brazi, and he has lived there for about 40 years. I've never been where I could take Portuguese lessons. What I know, I've learned on my own or from friends. Once in a while Jo Soares will have an American or Englishman on his show who speaks Portuguese with a heavy accent. Do you remember "Aquarela do Brasil"? There was an "American" nurse who spoke Portuguese. I almost died laughing, not at her accent but at the idea that an American would just so happen to speak Portuguese. I haven't paid attention, however, to any specific problem with "ão". The "ã" is nasal, the "o" sounds like "u". What is the problem? Of course, I could write to the forum of "Portuguese Made in America" and complain and ask why it has to be pronounced like that! rsrsrsrsrs The "th" sound is definitely difficult for Portuguese speakers. I've met several teachers of English in Brazil who could not pronounce it well. It's only a guess, but perhaps they were trying too hard, paying too much attention to it. By the way, I apologize for not remembering the name, but another writer mentioned that "th" has more than one pronunciation. It was only recently that I noticed. "THe baTH" has two very different "th" sounds. Another sound very difficult for Portuguese speakers is "rl". Have you seen the film "Bossa Nova"? It's a great film! Some of it's in Portuguese, and some is in English. In the story there is a very funny (but very true) scene in which a teacher is helping a Carioca student pronounce "world". I could identify! "Girl" is another killer. Even my name is difficult. The "e" is not pronounced, of course. The "a" is actually two sounds somewhere between "ea" and "eo". When I worked among Italians, I was given the nickname "Pasquale". Since "Dale" was so difficult for Spanish speakers, I started using "Pascual" as a nickname while among them. Many of my old Nicaraguan friends still call me that - and some other names too! Another reason is that "Dale" in Spanish means "Hit him". They would say in jest, "Dale duro...Dale con un palo...Dale otra vez..." Paulo, Brazil is full of beautiful girls who would like to have a boyfriend. Why don't we stop worring about "th" sounds and go out and find one? All the best, Dale (and you can pronounce it anyway you want) PS: One more thing. The Forum may be for Portuguese speakers who are learning English, but I learn a lot from it too. |
English Made in Brazil -- English, Portuguese, & contrastive linguistics
TH – Paulo 19/JAN/2005, 1:36 PM Re: TH – Maria Valeska 19/JAN/2005, 7:00 PM Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Paulo 20/JAN/2005, 12:22 PM Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Tom 20/JAN/2005, 3:21 PM 
Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Dale 20/JAN/2005, 3:37 PM Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Paulo 20/JAN/2005, 7:31 PM Paulo /TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Dale 21/JAN/2005, 2:11 AM Re: Paulo /TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Paulo 21/JAN/2005, 1:51 PM ão -au – Johannes 21/JAN/2005, 9:08 AM Re: ão -au – Maria Valeska 21/JAN/2005, 10:13 AM Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – André oliveira 21/JAN/2005, 10:48 AM Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – Paulo 21/JAN/2005, 1:41 PM ão - Paulo – Johannes 21/JAN/2005, 1:56 PM Re: ão - Paulo – André Oliveira 21/JAN/2005, 4:44 PM Re: TH - To Dale/Maria Valeska – André Oliveira 21/JAN/2005, 4:42 PM Re: TH – Simar 
20/JAN/2005, 3:03 PM Re: TH – Tom 20/JAN/2005, 3:17 PM Re: TH – Dale 20/JAN/2005, 4:12 PM Re: TH – Tom 20/JAN/2005, 7:23 PM