Learning Portuguese

What's the recommended language learning package, specifically
Portuguese? I'm a bit of a language mong so its target audience needs to
be 'remedial'.

I recall someone/software being highly rated - who was it and has anyone
got a copy I can borrow?

Off to Brazil in December and I think I'll need a bit more than my usual
beer, petrol and "How much for your sister?".

 

Michel Thomas is the usual one that's recommended, but I believe his sets
were French, German, Spanish and Italian.

 

Igor! Where have you been hiding. Now go and put fresh soil in the
coffins, it'll be sunrise soon.

 

I found these good for both Czech and Dutch:
http://eurotalk.com/en/
The base level CDs are/were available at PC World.
Alan.

 

If Spanish was like Portuguese, I'd agree with you. But it isn't.
Although a latin language, Spanish has more in common with Italian than
Portuguese.

 

heh, just had lunch in Sintra with my Portuguese SiL

Be careful to learn Brazillian pronunciation rather than the
Portuguese version IYSWIM as they're different.

 

Brazilian Portuguese has been bastardised with Spanish and other local
languages, IIRC.

 

get this excellent film to help you learn useful profanities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_God_(film)

also the follow up TV series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Men

Both are available to hire from Lovefilm/Easycinema or isohunt is your
friend.

There's another film out in November too
http://dvd.easycinema.com/visitor/product_detail.html?product_id=114560

 

With castellano (castllian) one is supposed to always lisp the z and the
c before i or e. In Madrid they lisp the d in certain circumstances
("Marith", "libertath"). In south america they hiss.

Written portuguese looks pretty much like spanish - I can read it easily.
Spoken it sounds like something eastern european. We currently have lots
of portuguese blokes in the village where I live, and I can't understand
a word.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird (Buen mueble de patio)
And a pushbike of some sort.
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30

Ovejas y buitres:
http://obscuredomainname.org

 

Like I just said, written it's almost identical.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird (Buen mueble de patio)
And a pushbike of some sort.
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30

Ovejas y buitres:
http://obscuredomainname.org

 

Indeed it has, very different from Portugese Portugese...

Rosetta Stone is supposedly very good, too. Not cheap, though.

 

**** but that is a fantastic film.

 

I wanted to go to see City of Men at the cinema. It appears it was only
shown in London and for just a week.

As I said up there, the DVD is out in a few months.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, sweller

Repeat after me:

Aos irmãos das barricadas! Nós mataremos os cães capitalistas e
queimaremos os opressores!

 

Não pode ser aquele diferente do espanhol, certamente?..?

Rosetta Stone has been mentioned, and whilst it is expensive, I've heard
it's very, very good.

D.

 

As a non-Portugese speaker, I appreciated the carioca habit of letting
every word trail off in a "dgggzze" sort of sound. It means you don't need
to learn any grammar at all.

 

heh, I always think of it as "drunk Spanish"

 

You mean just like Italian and Spanish are almost identical?
(2nd-eldest brother speaks Spanish and Portugese and he seems to think
they are reasonably different).

Nearest English equivalent I guess would be the difference between
Old English and Old Frisian before it got too contaminated with Dutch.
They were both (mostly) mutually intelligible (ie a speaker of one
could understand about 70% of the other) but written quite differently.

Phil

 

If it's still available the BBC's 'Get by in Portuguese'. Two cassettes
you can have in the cage and learn the language while commuting
(something that the Apostle Paul called 'redeeming the time'). The series
covers meeting and greeting, ordering food, booking a room, asking for
directions (and understanding the reply) etc. Worked for me but that was
10 or more years ago and I've since forgotten it. Might still have the
cassettes somewhere if you're interested?

 

Okay, I see written portuguese every day. I can read it. That kind of
suggests it must be "reasonably similar" or to a non native "almost
identical".

Italian and Spanish are mutually understood. They interview Rossi in
Spanish and he answers in Italian. Everyone understands.

There's an Italian plumber coming to my house this afternoon. I'll speak
to him in Spanish. He'll understand.

Want to talk about Mallorquín v Catalán v Valenciano etc.? I suspect that
a "native" like Domenec would probably say they're all different, but
they're not different to me.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird (Buen mueble de patio)
And a pushbike of some sort.
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30

Ovejas y buitres:
http://obscuredomainname.org