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Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese Linguistic Differences



When I approach first the Portuguese language as Italian speaker, I was thinking to a single unitary block. I already expected some dialectal influences, in particular in Brazil, due to the fact that is composed of many federal states. However I could never expect that Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese could differ in grammatical, syntactic and lexical forms. We are not talking about British English and American English, we are talking about almost two different languages and cultures.

Of course also for the people who do not know the syntactical and lexical differences, it seems to be evident the musicality of the Brazilian variant, due to the different pronunciations of the words.

Pronunciations:
Ex. Saudade, felicidade, aonde, depois (“d” sound for Portuguese, while “gi” sound for Brasilian variant)
Ex. Noite, gente, sentir  (“t” sound for Portuguese, while “tch” sound for Brazilian Portuguese)

Besides, I recollect 10 different expression and words,  which you have to bear in mind when you are visiting these two countries, for work or for holidays. They will help you to understand better the cultural differences between the two countries.

1.First of all the greetings:
   P. Olá, como estas?
   B.Oi, como vai? Tudo bem?
We can notice, how first of all “olá” is more used in Portugal, the same for the second singular person “tu”(you), “como estas?”. In Brasilian Portuguese you use the third singular person “você” instead of “tu”. “Como vai (você)?”.

2.Which is your name? My  name is…
   P.a.Como te chamas?
   P.b. Chamo-me …
   B.a. Qual é o seu nome? Como você se chama?
   B.b. Me chamo…
We still notice the second singular person for the Portuguese, whereas the third person for the Brasilian “seu”, “você”, “se”.  Besides in the answer we can notice how the pronoun “me” is postponed in Portuguese, whereas in Brazilian Portuguese is before the verb.

3. The present continuous
    P. Ele está a fazer. (He is doing)
    B. Ele está fazendo. (He is doing)
In Portuguese it is used the verb “estar” + a + infinitive verb, while in Brasilian Portuguese it is “estar” + verb+ “ando, endo, indo” depending on the conjugation of the verb.

4. The most impressive differences in lexic:
   P. Casa de banho (Bathroom)
   B. Banheiro

5. P. Pequeno almoço (Breakfast)
    B. Cafè da manhã

6. P. Autocarro (Bus)
    B. ônibus

7. P. Comboio (Train)
    B. Trem

8. P. Boleia (a lift, a ride)
    B. Carona

9. Now the funniest one:
  P. Bicha (queue) It means “queu” only in Portuguese, since in Brazilian it means    Transgender. (!) Be careful!
  B. Fila (queue)

10. P.Rapariga (girl). It means “girl” in Portuguese but “bitch” in Brazilian (!) Be careful    either!
     B. Moça (girl)

To have more information see:
http://www.soportugues.com.br/secoes/curiosidades/Port_brasil_port_portugal.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v26B-DsUAUE
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