[speakeasy]

I'm slowing making my way into trying to pick up Portuguese. The debate I'm having with myself is what accent to learn under. The Rio accent sounds sexier and exotic, but the Sampa accent seems more straightforward and less confusing. Definitely easier to pronounce.

[InternationPlayboy]

I think the places where most people would say they don't have an accent sounds best. I always make sure to try and pronounce my R's as they would in Minas Gerais, Rio, or Esperito Santo, never like in Sao Paulo. I've been told my accent doesn't sound American/English. I also had a lot of people think I was Italian.

[Chaz]

(04-07-2010 04:17 AM)Brandon E Wrote:  

I think the places where most people would say they don't have an accent sounds best. I always make sure to try and pronounce my R's as they would in Minas Gerais, Rio, or Esperito Santo, never like in Sao Paulo. I've been told my accent doesn't sound American/English. I also had a lot of people think I was Italian.

Brandon E, could you elaborate on that a little? I am just starting out learning Portuguese, trying to get my head around the pronunciations (which is tough, after taking a few years of Spanish). I have not yet learned about the different accents, but here is a quote from the introduction to a book I have, called Pronouncing Brazilian Portuguese, by Richard Teschner:

"We seek to present the prestigious Rio de Janeiro variety of Brazilian Portuguese as our model..."

I am not sure what is meant by this. What does this "variety" of Carioca Portuguese entail, and what makes it "prestigious"? How is it different and/or less prestigious over in, say, Sao Paulo or Floripa?

[Roosh]

I'd learn the Rio accent, just to be annoying to non-cariocas.

[speakeasy]

(04-07-2010 06:08 PM)Chaz Wrote:  

I am not sure what is meant by this. What does this "variety" of Carioca Portuguese entail, and what makes it "prestigious"? How is it different and/or less prestigious over in, say, Sao Paulo or Floripa?

I don't know all the differences between the various accents but I know that Rio Portuguese sounds most like French.

[InternationPlayboy]

Basically in Rio when they use the letter "s" it sounds almost like "sh". For example, the word lighter, "isqueiro" would be pornounced more like "shqueiro" in Rio. They almost cut off the "e" as well.

In Sao Paulo one real noticeable thing is the heavy accent on the "r". For example, "tarde" in most parts of brazil sounds almost like "tahge" but in sao paulo it would sound like "targe". Or at the end of words, in most of Brazil an "r" makes more of an "h" sound but in Sao Paulo it makes a true english sounding "r" if you get what I'm saying.

[Chaz]

Thanks much to Roosh, speakeasy, and Brandon E!! I guess I'll try to pronounce words the way they do on the CD that comes with that book. That way maybe I can be all "prestigious" and shit!

[Vacancier Permanent]

If you were to get one accent, get the Carioca one as it's so damn sexy. And one accent to avoid at all cost is the Paulista one which is so damn ugly. I'd even add the Paranense (from the state of Parana in the deep south) to that list. God the way they speak is awful. If you want a very neutral accent so to speak, get the Brasiliense one (from Brasilia). The Bahian accent is funny, specially the way they talk. And the most awful, and un-understandable and less sexy accent is the Portuguese accent (the one from Portugal). Nothing against Portuguese folks, they are as cool as it gets but the way they talk is just un-sexy.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

Yes Roosh, if you wanted to annoy the non-cariocas, you nail it! The carioca accent drives me crazy! Lol.
I love the south accent... "bah, guria, estás linda!" (hey, girl, you are beautiful!).

Well, about the accents, I can tell somethings:

1. Cariocas, as Brandon said, use the S like shhhhh and long weak R.
2. Paulistas (SP, as I am) exchange the o to u and e to i. For example: Leite (milk) sounds leiti (ih)
3. Baianos (northeast, Bahia) talk loughly and in a diferent ritm, sometimes too fast or too slow depending on where you are.
4. Vacancier: Don't worry, even us have problems sometimes to get what Portuguese are talking especially old people... Too fast! And to let you know, the News tend to use the Southern Accent on national broadcasting.

[Pepini]

(04-08-2010 12:43 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

And the most awful, and un-understandable and less sexy accent is the Portuguese accent (the one from Portugal). Nothing against Portuguese folks, they are as cool as it gets but the way they talk is just un-sexy.

Lolol. Granted that Portuguese spoke in Brazil is by far more sexier. I once had this italian chick telling me that portuguese (in Portugal) seemed like the noise when a door opens. Portuguese Brazilian is a sex language if you ask me. Every time I hear a brazilian girl speaking it seems like music. Normally foreigners enjoy more the way brazilian speak portuguese. The accent I enjoyed more while I was in Brazil was definitely the Carioca. Me and my wing gave a lift to three cariocas in Floripa it was really a melody. The nearest accent from the one used in Portugal was in the south (Rio Grande do Sul) Trilegal.

If I would rate sexiest languages would be:
- Portuguese (brazilian)
- Italian
- Spanish
- French.

The unsexiest:
German
Russian
Nordics
Swiss speaking french look like retards.

[speakeasy]

(04-08-2010 07:35 PM)Pepini Wrote:  

The unsexiest:
German
Russian
Nordics
Swiss speaking french look like retards.

I'd have to put the Asian languages at the top of unsexy. NOTHING sexy about Mandarin, Thai or Vietnamese.

[Roosh]

I do agree that the Portugal accent is very flat. Not much emotion in it.

[elguapo]

This is one area I've been pretty obsessed about. I've been relentless about getting rid of any gringo type accent in my Portuguese. While in Spanish, I didn't care too much.

Here's my advice if you want to more or less sound like a native,

1. Forget accent, learn to speak Portuguese more or less perfectly first. If you make silly grammatical errors, that's a quick dead away.
2. After your Portuguese is pretty much perfect, you should start focusing if you can recognize different accents. Recognizing different accents is the first step to mimick an accent. I can recognize Carioca, Mineiro, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre accents.
2. Carioca accent is great, but it's a difficult one for English speakers to learn because of the unique sounding 'r'. A lot of gringos actually pick up the Sao Paulo accent for that reason.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

I guess the most difficult thing in my language it is the vogal combinations and how it sounds, for example:
ideia (now without sign = idea) and pêra (= pear)