Pronunciation

In this episode, we once again analyze record audio clips from our brave listeners! We listen to the Shorty, “À Busca de Doces“, and explore how to make your Portuguese sound more native with pronunciation subtleties and word choice. We also clarify some other challenging concepts, such as the differences between “aí, ali, & lá”.

Today, the tables have turned, because YOU, (our listeners) are the main voices of this special episode! European Portuguese learners from around the world bravely submitted recordings of themselves reading our featured Shorty, “Um Encontro“. We listen to each one, while suggesting subtle improvements for perfecting their pronunciation, including some challenging vowel sounds, and rules […]

Have you heard of Minimal Pairs? A minimal word pair consists of two words that vary by only a single sound.

For example, conta calculation and conto tale – the only difference is in the final sound (the vowel sounds represented by a and o).

Practicing with minimal pairs is a great way to perfect your pronunciation and comprehension because it teaches you to hear the subtle differences between similar sounding words. As you’ll see in the examples below, even a tiny change in pronunciation means you could be saying something much different from what you intend to say!

While we’re at it, let’s also make a distinction between minimal pairs, homophones, and homographs.

• Homophones are words with the same exact pronunciation but different meanings
• Minimal pairs are words that have the same pronunciation except for only a single sound, also known as a fonema (phoneme). That single sound difference is the only thing that lets you know they are two different words – they are minimally different.
• Homographs are words that are written the same exact way but pronounced differently. Some minimal pairs can also be homographs but that’s not the norm.

Let’s dive into some minimal pairs!

Open vs. Closed Vowels

à vs. a

• dá give da of
• àsto as the
• para – para stop – to
• falámos we spoke falamos we speak

In this episode, we deconstruct one of our latest “Shorties”. We go through some useful food vocabulary, discuss verb and tense choices, and Rui irons out Joel and Molly’s “estrangeiro” pronunciation! There’s also some exciting news about Practice Portuguese, especially for those of you who might be in the Algarve next weekend.

Compared to some other languages, Portuguese pronunciation is relatively consistent, once you learn and follow the basic rules. A huge exception to this idea lies the letter X, which is one of the most challenging sounds – even for more intermediate learners.

That’s because this letter makes a several different sounds, and it varies unpredictably… for the most part. To get started, let’s see what Sherlock has to say on the topic:

(A special thanks to our friend Wayne Wilson for not only writing and animating this video, but for also providing the voice of Sherlock! Please help us thank him below or in the YouTube comments!)

As you saw in the video, there are 5 different ways to pronounce X in European Portuguese. But when you see a new word that contains this letter, how will you know which of the 5 pronunciations to use?

The only way to be fully sure is to memorize the individual words. But to hopefully give you a head start, let’s explore some of X’s common pronunciation patterns:

Today we learn about one of the most important symbols of Portuguese culture, found all over the walls and buildings throughout the country – azulejos (tiles). As always, we explore new vocabulary and grammar, and correct more of Joel’s “pronúncia de estrangeiro!”

Our fabulously fictional Portuguese family is back (with peculiarly different voices 😂) and this time, they’re considering adding a new member. We explore new vocabulary surrounding food, animals and more, and also run into some new usage examples of the conjunctive and conditional moods. And just like in the last episode, Rui continues to help […]

In this episode, we learn about one of Portugal’s most important symbols and main exports: cork! We explore tons of new vocabulary, and later, for your benefit, Rui humbles Joel by tearing apart his pronunciation skills!

After our very challenging Diálogo, dedicated to the Algarvian dialect, we decided to record a follow-up discussion with Eliana, (who voiced the Algarvian characters). She will help us understand a bit better some of the difficult terms and expressions that came up in that episode, and how they’re typically used in the region.

In this video, Joel (o Canadiano) interviews Pedro, a personal trainer in Lisboa. When he saw which videos and website his Greek girlfriend was using to learn Portuguese, he immediately recognized Rui and Joel as members of the gym! Instead of just taking a photo together, we decided it would be a bigger surprise for […]

In this video, Joel (o Canadiano) interviews Pedro, a personal trainer in Lisboa. When he saw which videos and website his Greek girlfriend was using to learn Portuguese, he immediately recognized Rui and Joel as members of the gym! Instead of just taking a photo together, we decided it would be a bigger surprise for […]

Have you ever been confused by the way Portuguese natives pronounce their sentences?

Even if you know the individual words, when used together they can sound completely unfamiliar. This is often because some written vowels mysteriously vanish when spoken.

Watch this short video now, because in the next few days we’ll launch a new lesson to help you master vowel pronunciation. You’ll learn why these vowel sounds disappear so you’ll understand European Portuguese better while making your own accent sound more native!

Many learners find European Portuguese natives much more difficult to understand than Brazilians – mainly because when spoken, it sounds much more closed. In some cases, there are even vowel sounds that are barely audible! (Make sure you already saw the Mystery of the Disappearing Sounds as an entertaining 2-minute introduction!) In this 2nd of our 3 video lessons in this […]