Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Open & closed vowels

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

PDF: www.decodingwords.com/pronunciation

[@indiraconnolly2889]

I can definitely hear the difference in your video and can physically make those sounds. It's more when there's no accent to help me, I end up using the wrong pronunciation.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Yes, that's the hardest part. To me, the vast majority of courses out there don't focus nearly as much as they should on open/closed vowels. The FSI course that I talked about has one of the best methods I've seen of teaching it....unfortunately, most people won't do it since it's an incredibly boring program. This was really just an intro to the concept of open/closed sounds, I'll definitely be delving much more into this in future videos. I think there's a much better way of learning them through drilling curated sets of sentences.

[@indiraconnolly2889]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew It's interesting to see that there ARE sounds in English with which we can associate Portuguese vowel sounds. It definitely helps to make those comparisons. Thank you in advance for delving more into this in future videos.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Yes, even though a lot of times they might not be exact equivalents, I find it extremely useful to relate them to what you already know in English as a reference point.

[@maraj8215]

for me, the distinction between closed and open O was easier than that of closed and open E (this one sounds identical for me xD), I guess it's a matter of time to master this, thank you for the explanation and video!!

[@Michael747And]

Ive been studying Portuguese for 25 years, and this is the best explanation of open and closed vowels Ive encountered.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Thank you so much, I appreciate it!

[@mateuszpatua3016]

This has to be my first serious obstacle learning Portuguese. Thanks for your tutorial!

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

It is for pretty much everyone :)

[@ningl2862]

I just go to the local school to learn Portuguese, but the teacher doesn’t teach much about the pronunciation. Your video really helps a lot, I just know the exactly sounds of the word, thank you so much!❤

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Glad you found it helpful! Keep it up :)

[@Linguist_Ricardo]

Andrew, I just love the way you teach. You make everything to easy to understand. If I had to give you any advice at all, it would be: don't change anything you're doing.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

I appreciate it Ricardo, so glad to hear you find everything easy to understand!

[@NadiraJamal]

The open o sound is my very first language-learning memory, and one of the earliest things I can remember. I was three, and mom was teaching me some Polish words, and that only uses the open o. That was her first language but we didn’t speak it at home, but I heard my grandfather and aunt use it a lot . I think hearing non-English sounds as a kid helped me a lot with language learning as an adult.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Interesting, thanks for sharing! I agree that that probably helped you!

[@w0rmery867]

this was an incredible explanation! i have always struggled with pronunciation even in my native languages and thinking about mouth shapes just made everything click for me. thank you so much.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ChristopherWashington-ko4xt]

I’m looking forward to learning Portuguese with you man! These videos are amazing, thanks 🤛🏽

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Glad to hear it Christopher, great to have you here!

[@сюш-о4ф]

thank you! i just started learning portuguese and this helps A LOT!

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Happy to hear that! :)

[@EnglishwithMax]

Super helpful! Thank you!

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

So great to hear that! :)

[@corynicolas3175]

Nice job! You have a great understanding of the many variations of Brazilian Portuguese. It comes with years of speaking to Brazilians from all different regions and I'm sure you also have studied using resources that others have produced before us (Pois Não/Com Licença are great books). I've done the same type of analytical work as you. I've heard and observed the many different accents of Brazil and have categoried and trained the different sounds. I've also chosen which sounds I would incorporate into my speech, for example, I say "dji/tchi," I use erre aspirado before a consonant or at the end of the word (although it can be almost omitted or sound a like Spanish R) instead of erre retroflexo. I've trained the nasal sounds extensively and have also verified which vowels are open/closed or have variations. For example, many people use different vowels for problema, fonema, tema (some use more open or closed than others). We also have faz/fais, nós/nóis, mas/mais, bonito/bunitu, come/comi, etc... The word "distinguir" has so many possibilities and combinations (guir/güir/di/diji/ti/tchi + different types of r's at the end of the word). There's also the s that become a /z/ depending on the sound it precedes (as facas = /s/, as línguas /z/, os brasileiros /z/ = basically the same reason why mesmo has /z/ sound) = s before voiced phoneme = z. Eu fiz = /s/ & eu fiz isso = fiz_isso (z). The r between two vowels belonging to different words has many possibilities: Vou falar a língua (pause and pronounce aspirado, retroflexo, tapped or connect and omit or tap). I like to write my own phonetic notes such as "queda de cabelo" = quéda de cabêlu and things of that nature. It's amazing how they become totally natural and even show up (inadvertently) when speaking other languages. I have tones of glossaries, notes and tables that I have compiled throughout the years. I like to form sentences to drill the pronunciations and connected speech. Perhaps we could compare notes one day. I look forward to your next videos.

[@mariamroz7662]

Excellent 🎉 such clear teaching with sufficient repetition 10/10!🎉

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Thanks Maria, glad you enjoyed it!

[@adambrakey6351]

Awesome video thank you

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Thanks Adam, glad you enjoyed it!

[@MolinaDew-Brunis]

Thanks for another great video!!! I'm so excited to be able to speak my family's language. I'll keep on saying thank you!

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

So glad to hear it's helping you connect with your family roots...I appreciate you Molina!

[@musicislife8755]

Brigado muito!

[@somayatofan4269]

Muito obrigado ❤

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

obrigado a vc!

[@Ouahiba1125]

Is this playlist enaugh for a beginner? And what to do next plz

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

Hey! Have you gone through all the videos in this playlist? kzbin.info/aero/PLS2n39P9SS59z6E3tSSVsuQpzdn2xh30V

[@hitomiheadge3142]

that’s pretty helpful to understand pronunciations!I I just started to learn Portuguese but i’m confused sometimes when i listen to some words. sometimes “O” sounds like kinda “U” for me, also “E” for “todo bEn” sounds like “ei”. Maybe there’s some rules of pronunciation that i don’t know yet…?

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

hey there, I cover all that in my beginner's playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLS2n39P9SS59z6E3tSSVsuQpzdn2xh30V You can start with the second video, Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: intro. Then you can skip the 3rd video (this one) and go straight to the 4th one which is on nasal sounds. let me know how it goes!!

[@hitomiheadge3142]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew i’ll check them out! Thank you!

[@indiraconnolly2889]

Ótimo vídeo, muito obrigada. Meu sotaque em português não soa natural. Acho que minha maior dificuldade com a pronúncia são as vogais E e O. Nunca sei quando se trata de um O ou E fechado ou aberto.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

é realmente muito difícil porque parece que existem tantas exceções quantas regras! obrigado pelo comentário, pode ter certeza que eu vou falar mais sobre as vogais abertas e fechadas.

[@indiraconnolly2889]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew Perfeito, muito obrigada de antemão por esses vídeos. Preciso trabalhar a minha pronúncia em português especialmente as vogais abertas e fechadas.

[@tonypumpkinhead]

Just watched three videos from you. Thanks for your time! Question, why don't they ALWAYS use accents to distinguish between the written words?

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

If you're asking why they don't always use accents to distinguish between open and closed vowels, then the answer is that's just the way it is. If the written system did have that, it would definitely make it a LOT easier for a Portuguese learner!!

[@tonypumpkinhead]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew Thanks. Yes, it would make it a lot easier :)

[@Mirador2]

What about closed and open A?

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

I was planning on making a dedicated video just for that

[@Mirador2]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew I understand that the opening of E, O, and A does not really change the meaning of the words, and that it is best to pronounce E and O always closed, and the A always open, and never nazalize any vowel, is that correct?

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

As I explain in the video, it actually can change the meaning of the word. For example, "gosto" can mean "taste" or "I like" depending on whether the first "o" is pronounced open or closed. The "a" can be open or closed depending on position. If it is not stressed, then it is often "closed"--for example, in the word "nada" (nothing), the first "a" is stressed and is open, but the second "a" is not stressed and is closed.

[@Mirador2]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew Okay, I understand, thank you. Can you please recommend me an online dictionary or similar resource where the pronunciations of Brazilian Portuguese words are correctly indicated, I have been researching the pronunciations of some words in different dictionaries and many times they do not coincide with each other, I do not know which pronunciation is the standard or if it is correct at all, the vowel sounds are very difficult for me to distinguish.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

@@Mirador2 yeah, those aren’t reliable…I would actually just use Google Translate, it gets it mostly right

[@bobwhite3588]

I’m going to Brazil in 5 weeks eh, I’m in trouble babah

[@Thisnotmysandwich]

Hardest damn thing I’ve done is trying to learn Portuguese. Crazy small subtleties. Seemingly impossible.

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

You can do it!! It’s not impossible

[@oso_westside47]

It’s hard especially after you’ve learned Spanish then you go on to this and be like “WHY NOT JUST USE SPANISH! They are almost the same !” 😂😂

[@oso_westside47]

⁠@@DecodingWordswithAndrew thank you Thor the breakdowns though these have been very helpful planning to visit Brazil next year and this has been very helpful for me. Hopefully I don’t get mugged cause my great speech lol

[@franciscofajardo1916]

Gets much easier! Expose yourself to media, KZbin videos, music, read books, etc. at the same time you go through your lessons! I promise it will get better soon!

[@kameosorg]

THE GOATTTT

[@jennyquiroz1381]

I'm gonna have to watch this video every day for the rest of my life to understand 😅

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

That means I need to do a better job explaining! :)

[@jennyquiroz1381]

@@DecodingWordswithAndrew maybe I just need to watch more videos... I just started learning the language! I speak Italian & some Spanish so 😵‍💫

[@DecodingWordswithAndrew]

@@jennyquiroz1381 the open and closed o’s and e’s are the same as in Italian!

[@robken84]

Well, I think I got the hang of differentiating the open and closed O sound, but the E sounds so similar to me! 😂

[@phen-themoogle7651]

Some of this sounds more like an intonation difference than actual difference in pronunciation...at least for some parts to me, not all words. Pitch accent difference idk how to explain it...

[@joka9125]

My ears and mouth weren't created for these sounds. I just pronounce the open sound louder than the closed ones