Spanish vs. Brazilian Portuguese

[Lucas88]

Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese were the two contenders for my first foreign language when I was still a baby HA'er in my mid teens. I was a fervent Hispanophile and also had a certain fascination for Brazil and its Lusophone culture. In the end, I went with Spanish since I already had connections to Spain through my expat family and I would soon enroll at an immersive language school in Valencia and ultimately relocate to that city just a few years later.

I still love both Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese to this day. Spanish has a really crisp phonology while Brazilian Portuguese is extremely melodious and a joy to the senses. Which one do I find most beautiful? That's a tough question. Brazilian Portuguese in its spoken form sounds more exotic and delightful to my ears but Spanish has a "purer" and more organized aesthetic in its written form and the Hispanophone world has considerably better music in my opinion (for me, music and language go hand in hand).

As far as utility goes, both languages are spoken throughout extensive and often attractive regions. Spanish has the most native speakers after Mandarin Chinese and is spoken in countries as diverse as Spain, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina while Portuguese is not only the official language of the vast territory and excellent HA destination that is Brazil but is also spoken in the charming Southern European country of Portugal and its former African colonies such as Angola and Mozambique (other possible HA destinations for guys who like Black women with big bundas ).

When it comes to difficulty, the conventional opinion seems to be that Spanish is marginally easier than Brazilian Portuguese; however, as somebody who has dabbled also in Brazilian Portuguese after learning Spanish to a high level, I don't think that I agree with that. I know that I'm not alone. I've seen others say the same at places like Reddit and our own @willymonfrete recently told me in a private message that he finds Brazilian Portuguese easier to pronounce than Spanish.

I think that I know what willy and others mean about Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation. I now have very good Spanish pronunciation to the point where I don't speak like a gringo after years of living in Spanish-speaking countries, but back when I was a 17 year-old beginner, I did find the rhythmic and machinegun-like quality of Spanish pronunciation quite difficult to learn (unlike English, Spanish is a syllable-timed language). Most Anglophone learners never get this part of the language right. Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, has a smoother rhythm and is more musical than Spanish - more similar to English in that regard. The sounds tend to just flow off of the tongue with ease. The intonation also feels really natural.

Some people will argue that Brazilian Portuguese has more vowels than Spanish including nasal vowels (which is true) and is therefore most difficult, but the extra vowels of BP are quite natural for a native English speaker. For example, the reduced "a" at the end of casa (pronounced ka.zɐ) is common in English. So is the distinction between /ɔ/and /o/, the latter being orthographically represented as "ô" in Portuguese. These sounds are easy for a native English speaker. Furthermore, vowel reduction follows predictable patterns. Word-final unstressed "a" becomes /ɐ/, word-final unstressed "o" becomes /u/, and word-final unstressed "e" becomes /i/. E.g., "falo" is pronounced as /falu/. Simple. Even the nasal vowels (ã, õ, -am, -em, -im, etc.) aren't that difficult to master with proper instruction regarding tongue placement.

Then there's the grammar. Brazilian Portuguese verb conjugation is actually simpler than that of Spanish with the second-person singular and plural verb forms (-as and -ais) not used in everyday speech, which limits the verb forms that one needs to use (eu falo, você fala, ele/ela fala, nós falamos, vocês falam, eles/elas falam). This makes the grammar somewhat easier for people who aren't used to intense verb conjugation.

Some people will say "but Portuguese has the future subjunctive and personal infinitive!" (Spanish on the other hand simply uses the present subjunctive in place of these), but in most cases these are identical to the basic textbook infinitive in form or you simply add the appropriate personal ending to the same infinitive!

E.g., quando eu chegar à casa, quando você chegar à casa, quando ele chegar à casa, quando eles chegarem à casa, etc.

Brazilian Portuguese syntax is often simplified in comparison to Spanish too. In both spoken and written language, you find constructions such as "Eu amo você" and "ele viu ela" in place of the Spanish "Te amo" and "él la vio". Pretty neat, right?

As for regional varieties, I find Brazilian Portuguese easy to understand and pronounce but most of the time I don't have a clue what Portuguese people are saying. You need to make a special effort to learn the differences in pronunciation between the Brazilian and European varieties of the language. However, Angolan Portuguese is easy to understand with a Brazilian language base. The grammar is like that of the European variety but the sounds are clear and vowels are not as reduced as they are in EP.


10 Brazilian Portuguese Accents




Brazilian Portuguese vs European Portuguese (How DIFFERENT are they?!)

[willymonfrete]

spanish,because it has a pure and organized aesthetic.that is the definition of divinely beautiful.

[Lucas88]

I asked ChatGPT to compose a poem for me in Brazilian Portuguese about a mystical ethereal world. I then read the poem out loud while recording myself for reading practice (I always do this in order to improve my pronunciation in foreign languages).

Nas entranhas do plano astral, um mundo além da realidade,
Onde o etéreo se desvela em sua plena majestade,
Um lugar de sonhos, transcendentais e surreais,
Onde a luz da lua dança em seus véus ancestrais.

As estrelas cintilam em tons de azul celestial,
E a aurora boreal tece um manto celestial,
O chão é feito de nuvens, macias como algodão,
Neste reino etéreo, onde mora a inspiração.

Os rios são cósmicos, fluindo com magia pura,
E as árvores são feitas de fios de luz, na altura,
Os pássaros são constelações, em voo sereno,
E suas canções são melodias do universo pleno.

As criaturas que habitam este mundo singular,
São feitas de energia, amor e paz a brilhar,
Elas dançam na brisa, em uma dança sem fim,
E em seus olhos se encontra o segredo do saber, enfim.

Neste plano astral, os sentidos se expandem,
E a alma se liberta, em dimensões que demandam,
Uma mente aberta, coração puro e sereno,
Para desvendar os mistérios deste mundo pleno.

Assim, perdidos nas estrelas, encontramos o nosso lar,
No etéreo plano astral, onde tudo é possível amar,
Brasil, terra de magia, aqui no astral também és,
Um pedaço do céu, onde a alma se aquieta e faz paz.

I then asked ChatGPT to translate the same poem into Spanish and did the same thing.

En las entrañas del plano astral, un mundo más allá de la realidad,
Donde lo etéreo se despliega en su plena majestuosidad,
Un lugar de sueños, trascendentales y surreales,
Donde la luz de la luna danza en sus velos ancestrales.

Las estrellas centellean en tonos de azul celestial,
Y la aurora boreal teje un manto celeste,
El suelo está hecho de nubes, suaves como el algodón,
En este reino etéreo, donde mora la inspiración.

Los ríos son cósmicos, fluyendo con magia pura,
Y los árboles están hechos de hilos de luz en lo alto,
Los pájaros son constelaciones, en vuelo sereno,
Y sus canciones son melodías del universo pleno.

Las criaturas que habitan este mundo singular,
Están hechas de energía, amor y paz brillante,
Bailan en la brisa, en una danza sin fin,
Y en sus ojos se encuentra el secreto del conocimiento, al fin.

En este plano astral, los sentidos se expanden,
Y el alma se libera, en dimensiones que demandan,
Una mente abierta, corazón puro y sereno,
Para desentrañar los misterios de este mundo pleno.

Así, perdidos en las estrellas, encontramos nuestro hogar,
En el etéreo plano astral, donde todo es posible amar,
Brasil, tierra de magia, aquí en el astral también eres,
Un pedazo del cielo, donde el alma se aquiete y haga paz.

The translation is almost word for word but with the occasional change of content and structure in order to maintain the poetic element. ChatGPT is surprisingly quite good at composing and translating poetry, although I don't understand why in this case it decided to turn the last sentence into the subjunctive mood in the Spanish translation.

As can be seen above, the Portuguese version looks more exotic with its greater abundance of accent marks which mostly serve to indicate irregular word stress or nasal vowels. It is also more compact with higher frequency of contracted prepositions (e.g., da realidade instead of de la realidad; neste reino instead of en este reino, etc.) and the omission of the definite article (e.g., algodão instead of el algodón). The Spanish version on the other hand looks cleaner and more logically structured.

Playing back the recordings, wow! I think I have a good tongue for Portuguese. The sounds feel so smooth, the intonation feels so natural and joyful (almost like singing), and the nasal vowels and palatalization add character to the language. Portuguese feels so heavenly to pronounce. It's even more bonerific when spoken by a hot chick with bunda.

My Spanish pronunciation of the poem is pretty crisp too. Spanish is still baddass even if it's not quite as melodious as Brazilian Portuguese.

Hey @willymonrete, what do you think approximates a language to divinity the most - superior melody which touches greater and more varied notes of the great symphony of Creation, or more logical and organized structure which more closely reflects the Perfect Forms of the intelligible realm or Mind of God? Just asking!

[miley]

Spanish for me