Brazilian Portuguese Textbooks/Tapes

[Guest n2color]

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments about Brazilian Portuguese textbooks/tapes/cd's? I have plenty of time to practice before I am able to go to Brazil (6 months or more) and was wondering what methods people have used.

 

I seem to have a knack for languages, but most of those I speak are Asian.

 

As a long-time lurker, I'd like to compliment all of you for your near-universal friendliness, good humor, and willingness to share. Your posts are almost always as entertaining as they are informative. Thanks.

[CT Dick]

I know some Spanish so I was able to use this page to teach myself a bit of Portuguese:

 

http://www.saunalahti.fi/~huuhilo/portuguese/

 

Dick

[trilingual]

I know of at least two, although I haven't used them myself. One is the "Teach Yourself Brazilian Portuguese" set, the other is from the "Living Language" series. Do be sure to get the Brazilian Portuguese materials. There are just enough differences between written Brazilian and European Portuguese to cause some confusion. In some cases, words are spelled differently in the two countries. The difference in the pronounciation of the spoken language between Brazil and Portugal is large; greater (I would venture) than the difference between U.S. and British English. Verb usages are also different. In Portugal the "tu" form is widely used; in Brazil, the common form for "you" is "você." (In Brazil, "tu" is commonly used only in the southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, so you should be familiar with it if you're planning a visit there.)

[trilingual]

P.S. I think the "Teach Yourself" set may be newer, and therefore more up-to-date, than the "Living Language" set.

[Mike_M]

I'm presently preparing for a trip to Rio from 11/5-11/14. I first got a 12 cassette program published by Barron's that is advertised as having been developed for U.S. diplomats. Got it for about $50 from Amazon. I was good and thorough - I got a lot of information but didn't really feel I was prepared for conversation. I think it would work well in conjunction with a teacher who stressed conversational practice.

 

I then got a set of 16 tapes of the Pimsleur program, published by Simon & Schuster. I also got it though Amazon for about $150. This system uses no printed material and stresses conversational style and repetition. As I felt I had a good basic introduction from the Barron's set, I jumped right in at Level 3, which worked out fine. (they have three levels, each with 16 tapes. Both programs are specifically Brazilian portuguese) I wish I had begun with the Pimsleur level 1 at the beginning. It's more expensive, but I really like the way it works.

 

I made a trial run by going to the Ironbound district of Newark (NJ) where they have a large Portuguese community and a lot of Brazilians moving in as well. Found a news store that was like right off Copacabana. Had around 20 daily newspapers from all over Brazil and scores of magazines (was unable to find 1 in manhattan). I then went to a busy lunchenette style Brazilian restaurant that had only Brazilians working there and not 1 person speaking English or even seeming prepared to speak it. I was nervous as hell, but seemed to function well - all the eye candy of Brazilian working men around me helped a lot! I think I'm as well prepared as I could expect to be after using a cassette program and look forward to being forced to use it.

 

This is my second trip to Brazil - the first one was 26 years ago! I had taken some group classes at some Brazilian-American society at the time and was I think less well prepared than I am now. (in the meantime I have studied some Spanish and used it alot, which actually seems to hurt rather than help - it's too close to portuguese and leads to confusion. I don't know how trilingual does it) I found at the time of the first trip that Brazilians are charmed by the fact of a gringo having made the effort to have learned their language and react very positively to you, going out of their way to understand you and slowing down to make themselves understood. I hope they haven't changed.

 

As I count down the final week before my trip I have to say I'm very nervous about the crime problem. I've lived in New York 30 years and never been mugged on the street. I love rough street trade and have made Times Square my stomping ground the last 25 years. I have had a couple of bad situations with guys I've brought home in the past and am a lot more careful now. I hope my NYC street smarts work for me there.

 

I hope my information has been helpful. Best wishes for your future trip. I'm more of a lurker and don't usually post, but will try to after my trip and share whatever may seem helpful to all you guys. I have to thank all of you, especially trilingual, but also tomcal, axiom, verde and others whose names I can't remember right now for your generousity in sharing your experiences.

[jivau3930]

Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese CD set is excellent. No books, no dictionary - just listen and repeat. This is a set of 4 CD's and can be purchased through Amazon.com. Only one problem - you have to listen to the CD's - I thought I could just acquire through osmosis.

[trilingual]

At times, Tri gets a little confused, too, between Portuguese and Spanish, particularly when traveling between Brazil and Argentina and having to switch gears instantly! Especially when I've only been in one country or the other for less than a couple of weeks and the old linguistic gears are still a bit rusty! Inevitably, I fall into "Portuñol," the mixture of the two languages that is practically the local dialect in the border zones of Rio Grande do Sul. I don't like mixing the two languages, and try hard to avoid it, but it's difficult not to! And even though I grew up speaking Spanish, I now get confused. (Advancing decrepitude, I suppose.) On occasion, my friend Roberto in BA just looks at me appalled and asks "WHERE did you get that word?" and I realize I've just used something in Portuguese that either sounds peculiar or makes no sense at all in Spanish! :7

 

Brazilian newspapers and magazines are available on West 46th Street (betw. 5th and 6th) in Manhattan. Unfortunately, there no longer seems to be a ground-floor establishment that sells them; the place is now in one of the upstairs shops and I don't remember the exact name or address. However, if you go into the Brazilian café that has a Rio-style phone booth outside (closer to 5th than 6th, on the north side of the street) they can tell you where the shop is located. I just remember that it's across the street and upstairs. I can't recall if they now have Border's bookstores in NY, but some of their stores carry O Globo. By the way, your Times Square street smarts will stand you in very good stead in big Brazilian cities!

 

Brazilians are still thrilled when foreigners make the effort to learn and speak Portuguese. They know it's rarely taught anywhere outside the Portuguese-speaking world, and don't expect foreigners to know the language, so they really appreciate visitors who try. It opens all kinds of doors, and you'll appreciate your experience in Brazil so much more. Unlike France, nobody will laugh at you or give you attitude because you don't speak the language well. Instead, you'll get lots of encouragement. It's worth all the effort you put into learning Portuguese; it's a delightful language spoken by delightful people!

[CT Dick]

>Brazilians are still thrilled when foreigners make the

>effort to learn and speak Portuguese.

 

Agreed. Just trying got me lots of points.

 

I think one of the reasons I had such good times with the sauna boys was that I learned some dirty words in Portuguese. They loved it.

 

Dick

[trilingual]

Somewhere in these threads are some lists of the words you won't find in your Portuguese Berlitz phrase book! They've very handy!