Dear Marina,

thanks ...it` s nice to be among all these translators...There is something I` ve always wondered about the Portuguese...is there a big difference between the language you speak in Portugal and the language spoken in Brasil?

P.S. I agree that what Ljilja suggested might appear difficult to accomplish, but at least we could try.

Cheers.

Azra

Ljilja,

I sent you a message.

John

Yes Marina, it does. Now I have a much clearer picture of your language which I like very much, since it has a very interesting pronunciation.

Azra

Hi, all,

I would like to ask everybody who would like to meet people from TC for a few days provided we bear share of expenses to speak up so that we can see if there is interest to pursue this. Thank you.

Ljilja

Ljilja,

I gave you my point of view concerning the topic. You can count on me as long as we are clear that I will do what I can and with plenty of time to plan ( as well as the participation of others).

John

Count on me  as well you two  

Thanks, Azra

Originally written by Marina Oliveira on April 21, 2006 3:01 PM On the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese, basically they have different spellings, as Brazilians dropped all mute consonants, some differencies in verb tense usage and prepositions but no big deal. Also some different vocabulary, particularly on common spoken expressions. The major difference is in the accent, which makes it harder for Brazilian people, for instance, to understand the Portuguese. The Portuguese usually hate to read Brazilian texts because it looks "crippled". But we do read each other and manage to understand the speech, provided people do not speak too fast. Enough differencies to call for separate translations and/or localization, though. (I know Portuguese and Brazilian people who prefer an English version to one in a Portuguese variant other than theirs!) Hope this answers your question. Best, Marina

I've never give much tought before about the real differences of PT-BR and PT-PT but one of the first experiences I remember is back in the 90's when I was watching John Travolta's Phenomenon (1996) there was a scene where he learns the "most difficult language in the world" (Portuguese).

It happens that I was watching the subbed version and when he started speaking in portuguese there was no subtitling, and for my surprise I couldn't understand any word he was speaking. Later I've watched the scene a few more times and finally could understand what they were saying... it takes some time I guess, to one get used to the new pronounce and adapt to other differences.

As for the "crippled" aspect you refer, the reverse is also true... when we read a pt-portuguese text it does have a look of "ancient" portuguese, like the galego-português and other variants we learn in literature classes.

Anyway, I don't think in the way you said of prefering an english version instead of a pt-portuguese one, they are in the same level for me. But if the case is Spanish (here in Brazil we think of Spanish as a very similar language to PT-BR) I wouldn't follow the "common sense" and choose for the english one.

[]'s

Paulo