Brazilian or Continental Portuguese?

Question

Hey there, I want to take a Port language course just because I love the Portuguese language but not sure which one to choose from...I know that main difference is in pronounciation. Any suggestion?

Answer 1

The Brazilian portuguese is more widely used and taught. I like the sound of continental portuguese, that is what I learned because I lived there.

Brazilian portuguese is also a little easier on the American tongue. The Portugal accent is very thick and throaty.

Answer 2

I just got back from a trip in Portugal, and I'd been learning Portuguese prior to that from Brazilians. I had some trouble adjusting not only to the "girias" (slang), but also to the thick "sotaque" (accent).Brazilian Portuguese is the one you'll want to learn if you're planning on using it for business, as Brazil is one of the biggest emerging markets right now. Brazilian Portuguese will let you communicate with many more people. I still prefer the European Portuguese, because even though it's harder to understand the accent, it's prettier. And I travel more in Europe more than South America so it's more useful for me. They both have advantages. It's your choice.

Answer 3

I'm brazilian and we realise the whole thing that's spoken through the Portugal persons. They have somewhat little bit of drawback to realise what the Brazilian talk. Here in Brazil now we have unique accessory in every neighborhood (North, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and South). These accessory variations can also be rough to be understood through the European audio system of Portuguese. Here in Brazil we talk quicker. We have many slang and we do not use the general grammar and the right verb types for casual talks. This does no longer occur in Portugal. The Portugal persons speaks in line with the general grammar of Portuguese and they do not have many slang. The brazilians use the portuguese just like the Portugal persons just for records and formal talks.

Answer 4

Personally, I like the Brazilian Portuguese. It seems a little more flexible and a little more lyrical sounding. But even then, there are many regional dialects/accents.

Answer 5

Olá, Aggatha!

What do you love about português? Maybe the answer to your question lies there.

I moderate a group for practicing Portuguese and come across the question of "to B or to E" often. I like to tell people to ask themselves, "Who do I want to communicate with more: Brazilians or Portuguese (and angolanos, moçambicanos, cabo-verdianos)?" (Lusophone Africa--Cabo Verde, Angola, Moçambique, et al--use the European standard.)

In the absence of any preference one way or the other, I suggest that Europeans learn Continental Portuguese as they would probably have more opportunity to use it than BP.

There are differences in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, but each variety is equally valid, so, on those points, it comes down to a question of taste. And there's no accounting for taste: It's just a tomayto/tomahto thing ;o)

I started studying BP and fell so in love with it that I decided to major in it. Then I went to Portugal and was so swept off my feet by the sound of it that I switched dialects. The more I study EP, the more I become intrigued by its intricacies.

On this page, you'll find a little article that addresses your question:
http://www.geocities.com/email_theguy/newportweb/portuguese_language.htm

Anyway, whatever your choice, I hope that you'll join us at our group. We have lots of educational sites, and lots of fun, nice people--native speakers and otherwise--who would enjoy helping you with Portuguese:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awfulportuguese/

I hope to see you there!

Oops...Forgot to mention that I'm moving to Brazil soon (Maranhão), so I'm back to studying both dialects.

Answer 6

I think you should take Brazilian Portuguese lessons as it is cooler and doesn't have a strong accent.