One help with Portuguese phonetics
When we learn a new language, one of the major difficulties is the phonetic. The text
according to the words in Portuguese that follows is a pronunciation guide, and is an
approximate phonetic equivalent of the English words.
In general, the penultimate syllable is stressed phonetically, except where there is an accent,
or the word ends with a diphthong, ie two vowels are pronounced as one syllable; ends or any
of the following letters: i; l; r; z; im; A; ins; a - in which case, stress is the last syllable.
Vowels
Á- Open Pronunciation, like the ‘a’ in ‘father’
-For example: água (water)
Ã- Pronounced through the nose, is like "-an" in ‘angry’
-For example: amanhã (tomorrow)
E- at the end of a word is silent.
-For example: doze (twelve), pronounced doz
E- When “e” means “and” the sound is like From the first ‘e’ in ‘people’
É- The sound is like ‘e’ in ‘net’.
-For example: pé (foot)
I- Like ‘i’ in ‘bee” or “free”. Note: ‘i’ is never pronounced like the ‘i’ in ‘like’.
-For example: filho (san)
O- when on its own or at the end of a word, it is like “u”
-For example: comboio (train)
Ó- like ‘o’ in ‘hot’
-For example: pó (dust)
Diphthongs
ÃO- sounds like a nasal "ow"
-For example: cão-dog
EI- sounds like the "a" in "table"
-For example: Correio- Post
OU- is pronounced similar to the "o" in "over"
-For example: Outono- Autumn
Consonants
C- sounds as in ‘cold’
-For example: casaco (coat)
C- has an "s" sound before "e" or "i", sounds like in ‘lace’
-For example: cidade (city)
Ç- pronounced as an "s" (note, the cedilla must not be used if the following letter is ‘e’ or ‘i’).
-For example: começar (start)
CH sounds like “sh” like in”share”
-For example: Chá- Tea
G- sounds as in ‘gold’. If the ‘g’ is followed by the letters ‘ui’ or ‘ue’, the ‘u’ is therefore silent
(or rather, it joins with the ‘e’ or ‘i’ to form a diphthong) and "g" sound like in gold
-For example: gato (cat) or guitarra (guitar)
G- is also pronounced like the "s" in "pleasure" before "e" and "i,"
-For example: Gelo- Ice
H- is silent. We write, but we don’t have any sound for H
J- is pronounced like the "s" in "pleasure".
-For example: Janela- window
LH- is pronounced like the Italian "gl"
-For example: Partilhar (Share)
NH- is pronounced like the Spanish "ñ", similar to the "ni" in "onion"
-For example: Espanha (Spain)
QU- is pronounced as a "k" before "e" or "i"
-For example: Que that)
But as the "qu" before "a" or "o"
-For example: quadrado (square)
R- in the middle or at the end of a word is a rolled sound, close to but stronger than the English
"r".
-For example: comer (eat)
RR- Rolled. The tip of the tongue is placed near the alveolar ridge, the vocal cords vibrate. This
is the most difficult sound to achieve, but for most people will come with practice. The rrrrrr
(like a cat) is a lot easier and an acceptable alternative if you really can’t do th rolled sound.
-For example: carro (car)
S- is soft except when occurring between two vowels, when it is pronounced like a "z"
-For example: casa (house)
S- at the end of a word or syllable, before another consonant is "sh"
-For Example: Inglês (English)
S- In otherside it sounds like the "s"
-For example:e sol (sun)
X- There aren’t really any rules governing the pronunciation of ‘x’. But I try to find some tips.
"X" at the beginning of word, after a diphthong, after words beginning with the prefix "en",
initiated by syllable words after "me" and at the end of a word is pronounced "sh"
-For example: xadrez (chess), baixo (small), enxaguar (rinse), mexer (move) .
X- In words that begin with "EX" followed by vowel, the sound is “z”
-For example: exemplo (example)
X- Also, some of its sounds like “ks”. But for the most part, you just have to learn by exposure.
-For example: sexo (sex)
Z- sound like “s” in final position and before unvoiced consonants.
-For example : Eficaz (effective)
I hope you found this interesting and worth reading!
Até à próxima!
Picture by Abaddon1337, (CC BY-SA 3.0)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Portuguese_inscriptions#mediaviewer/File:Lord
%27s_Prayer_Portuguese.jpg