Brazilian accents

**curupira** · 01-29-2013, 09:20 PM

In Brazil there are very many different accents. Some local slangs can be difficult for people from other regions to understand. Even within small distances there can be significant differences. People from the interior of São Paulo state, even those not too far from the metropolitan region of São Paulo city, speak very different from those of São Paulo city. Rio, which isn't far from São Paulo, has a very different accent as well (and mannerisms too).

There are significant differences in behaviour and ways of carrying oneself, which the examples below also show.

This guy here - his nickname is Thunderbird - has a very marked paulistano way (from São Paulo city), the interviewed man wearing glasses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDYUnL1wXaE

Alexandre Frota, on the other hand, is a typical carioca (from Rio de Janeiro city), including his way malandro of being ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malandragem ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKOCW0INdcI

In the Northeast of Brazil, those from Paraíba/Pernambuco are known as "gente arretada" (hot blooded people), the older man is Ariano Suassuna, a playwrighter with deep Northeastern roots, very regionalist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDaSZ...eature=related

Eduardo Bueno, on the other hand, is very typical of Rio Grande do Sul in his accent (Eduardo Bueno became famous after his book on the history of Brazil, he is also known for his passion from Grêmio, a football club from Rio Grande do Sul)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ord2h...eature=related

Carlos Drummond de Andrade, poet, from Minas Gerais, his accent and ways (introverted, melancholic, kind of sad) are stereotypical of Minas Gerais, in this video he reads his poem "E agora, José?", one of his most famous poems:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M-Zw...eature=related

Carlos Drummond de Andrade interviewed (one of his rare interviews):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_OGl...eature=related

A youtube video with typical accent from Ceará in Northeast Brazil. It tells the story of Father Cícero ("Padre Cícero"), a religious figure from Ceará, a symbol of the folk culture of that state.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLk_j...eature=related

**Smaug** · 01-29-2013, 10:25 PM

São Paulo Accent:

I think in this video we can hear better his accent, but he seems to have external influences:

But I think this boy has what a would call "typical São Paulo accent".

OBS: Eu não concordo com as idéias deste garoto, não sou separatista! Sou brasileiro e com orgulho, só postei esse vídeo por causa do sotaque forte que ele tem.

Characteristics of São Paulo accent:

-Palatalization of /di/ e /ti/

Exampels: "tio" ['tʃiu] e "dia" ['dʒiɐ]. It means:

The 'd' before 'i' sounds like the English 'j' like in "Jack". Before a/e/o/u sounds like a normal 'd'.
The 't' before 'i' sounds like the English 'ch' like in "Chocolate". Before a/e/o/u sounds like a normal 't'.

-The fricatives /s/ e /z/ are never patalized:

Examples: "isto" ['istu] e "desde" ['dezdʒi]. It means:

In São Paulo portuguese 's' and 'z' never sound like 'sh'. For example, in Rio de Janeiro accent, "problemas" (problems) would sound "problemash", but in São Paulo accent it sounds just "problemas"

-Tap or trilled "r" surdo (/ɾ/)

Examples: "brincar" [bɾĩ'kaɾ] e "carta" ['kaɾtɐ]. It means:

The 'r' sounds trilled. On the second video, minute 0:06 you can see how he pronounces the 'r' on the word "forte" (strong).

-In São Paulo "você" (you) is always used, but we never use "tu" (thou), even in formal occasions

São Paulo accent has strong Italian influences. In early 20th century Italian and other languages from Italy, mainly Venetian, were more spoken in São Paulo than Portuguese itself.

It also has influences from othe immigrants, mainly Spanish, Arabs, Germans and Japanese to a lesser degree. Amerindian languages also had an impact, mainly Tupí-Guaraní, from old Colonial times.