Brazilian and European Portuguese: What is the Difference?
The largest languages in the family of Romance languages spoken in the world are Spanish and Portuguese, with over 480 million native speakers of Spanish and around 250 million of Portuguese. Such massive communication parameters have played an important role in both languages being used around the world. Due to their similarity, which originated from Latin roots, as well as geographical proximity, there have been mutual influences that create interesting linguistic interactions. At Linguapol, one of the top Portuguese language institutes in Delhi, there are special courses that may teach how to dive into the two languages, truly appreciating their unique characteristics as well as points of convergence.
Spanish and Portuguese are descended from Vulgar Latin and were introduced to the Iberian Peninsula with the Roman colonizers at approximately 200 BCE. Diverging into two distinct languages occurred in the Middle Ages. Yet because they share the same origins, they retain around 89% lexical cognates, so most words are intelligible to speakers of either language. So while pronunciations, vocabulary, and grammar are very different, there may be problems finding mutual comprehension between interlocutors. Linguapol through their Portuguese online and offline classes and Spanish language classes imbibe the linguistic roots among the students.
With the Age of Exploration, Spain, and Portugal each colonized their lands over the planet and set down their respective languages on the African, Asian, and American continents. Hence, there were many instances of cross-pollination between the two nations, which is to say, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking communities. For example, areas like South America, with countries such as Brazil and neighboring states, consisted of mixed interactions among Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking people who traded with each other and intermingled in cultures. Such an exchange resulted in transferring vocabulary terms from one language into the other. Portuguese classes in Delhi at Linguapol, therefore, largely focus on these historical influences so that learners understand the dynamics behind the modern language.
This influence is very clear in the terms of mutual loans. The Portuguese borrowed several words from Spanish into their vocabulary, such as gente (people), and coche (car). Conversely, Spanish borrowed words from Portuguese, such as melancolía (melancholy) and flamenco (related to the music and dance form).
One of the most outstanding differences in this regard between Spanish and Portuguese relates to their phonetic systems. The vowel system is a little more complex in Portuguese compared to Spanish, with nasal sounds that are absent in the latter. This often makes the transition from one language to another a little difficult for the learner. Spanish has come to be perceived as being simpler in terms of pronunciation and hence its popularity as a foundational language for the subsequent course in a Portuguese language course before the actual pronunciations are learned by getting into the Portuguese language.
At Linguapol, the Portuguese language course in Delhi offers students thoroughly focused phonetic training mastering the nasalized vowels and distinctive sounds that characterize the language. For those who begin with Spanish, learning Spanish for beginners at Linguapol can give a good foundation because many of the grammatical concepts such as gendered nouns and verb conjugations are similar for both languages.
Today, the interchange between both languages persists in media, music, and pop culture. These days, several Brazilian musicians sing in Spanish to reach a broader audience across Latin America, but on the other hand, singers from Spain regularly entertain their fans in Brazil with the Portuguese version. Television shows and movies often feature characters speaking two languages; hence, the melting is further blurring the lines in popular culture.
Probably the most effective method of learning Spanish online or Portuguese often is by immersing oneself in this common media, as it puts real-world context around their similarities and differences. Linguapol offers both Portuguese language courses online as well as Spanish language learning programs that engage students with modern content such as films, music, and news by giving learners the experience of the languages as they are used today.
For those interested in this exciting linguistic intersection, Linguapol offers courses on Portuguese language courses in Delhi, and Spanish language courses, which cover the historical and cultural contiguities and modern relationships between the two global languages.
