Discussão em português

[jumbojak]

I can see I have a lot of practice ahead of me.

[Magdalena]

Me da mucha verguenza decir que no se ni una sola palabra en Portugues.
Wait, does knowing the words, Bossa Nova count as knowing a Portuguese word, or two? Yes?

[xSilverPhinx]

Me da mucha verguenza decir que no se ni una sola palabra en Portugues.
Wait, does knowing the words, Bossa Nova count as knowing a Portuguese word, or two? Yes?

I guess it does.



Spanish and Portuguese are cousins. Mas me dá muita vergonha dizer que não sei muitas palavras em espanhol even though Brazil is surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries.   

[xSilverPhinx]

I can see I have a lot of practice ahead of me.

Nonsense. You'll be reading The Lusiads before you know it!

[Magdalena]

Me da mucha verguenza decir que no se ni una sola palabra en Portugues.
Wait, does knowing the words, Bossa Nova count as knowing a Portuguese word, or two? Yes?

I guess it does.

Spanish and Portuguese are cousins. Mas me dá muita vergonha dizer que não sei muitas palavras em espanhol even though Brazil is surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries.   

One language at a time...

[xSilverPhinx]

Spanish and Portuguese are cousins. Mas me dá muita vergonha dizer que não sei muitas palavras em espanhol even though Brazil is surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries.   

One language at a time...

[jumbojak]

I now have a few grammar books and dictionaries on the way but I'm starting to recognize the patterns. Eu escrevo leite but Você bebe agua. Or sugar water masquerading as tea. Whatever floats your boat and wags your tail...

[xSilverPhinx]

You look motivated to learn.

Do you speak any other languages other than English, even if partially?

[jumbojak]

Not really. I took Spanish and tried learning Russian at one point but never stuck with it.

[xSilverPhinx]

Not really. I took Spanish and tried learning Russian at one point but never stuck with it.

If you took Spanish then Portuguese won't be too difficult because they're very similar...but they might interfere with each other in your mind because they're so similar. 

[jumbojak]

I'm not too worried about it. I slept a lot in Spanish class so it never really stuck!

[xSilverPhinx]

I'm not too worried about it. I slept a lot in Spanish class so it never really stuck!

Heh, yeeeah...me too.

Damn afternoon classes.

[jumbojak]

Mine were morning classes. I just didn't give a damn! This is fun though.

Question, how important are the accent marks? Would a native speaker be able to discern meaning and intent, and be willing to overlook the errors of a foreigner, or should I really drill that early? I'd like to become proficient enough for casual conversation as quickly as possible but don't want to stunt myself if that will be crucial later on.

[xSilverPhinx]

It depends on the words. Some words mean something else entirely if you omit the accents or put them in the wrong place. For instance, coco (stress is on the first'o') and cocô (stress is on the second 'o'). The first is the coconut fruit and the second is, welp, poop. Another example: é (is) and e (and). In internet speak it's common for people to write eh instead of é because...I have no idea.

But in general, people will be able to tell from the context what you're trying to say. It's gotten easier though...in 2009 a lot of accents were simply done away with.

[jumbojak]

Yes, I don't want to accidentally refer to any fecal fruits so I'll drill the accents. You know what they say - drillers are killers.