Click on the links below to hear genuine native Portuguese speakers with different accents reading the following paragraph.  With careful listening practise, you should eventually be able to distinguish different accents and identify whereabouts the speaker is from.  This can be quite difficult to start with!

"Dom Sebastião I era o décimo-sexto Rei de Portugal, e sétimo da Dinastia de Avis. Era neto do rei João III, tornou-se herdeiro do trono depois da morte do seu pai, o príncipe João de Portugal duas semanas antes do seu nascimento, e rei com apenas três anos, em 1557. Em virtude de ser um herdeiro tão esperado para dar continuidade à Dinastia de Avis, ficou conhecido como O Desejado; alternativamente, é também memorado como O Encoberto ou O Adormecido, devido à lenda que se refere ao seu regresso numa manhã de nevoeiro, para salvar a Nação."

^{(Taken from:  "Sebastião de Portugal." Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. 2 Jan 2006, 20:26 UTC. 13 Jan 2006, 08:30)}

Male, Northern Portuguese (from Porto, Douro Litoral)

Female, Northern Portuguese (from Porto, Douro Litoral)

Female, Portuguese (from Amadora, Lisbon)

Male, Portuguese (from Oeiras, Lisbon)

Male, Portuguese (from Coimbra, Central Portugal)

Male, Azorean (from Água Retorta, Povoação, on the island of São Miguel)

Male, Angolan

Female, Angolan

Male, Southern Brazilian (from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)

Female, Southern Brazilian (from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)

Male, Southern Brazilian (from Curitiba, Paraná)

Male, Southern Brazilian (from Santa Catarina)

Female, Central Brazilian (from Goiania, Goias)

Male, Central Brazilian (from Brasília, Federal District)

Male, Northern Brazilian (from Belém, Pará)

Male, Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro) The city of Rio de Janeiro is in the state of the same name.

Female, Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro)

Male, Paulista (from Guarujá, São Paulo)

If you are able to supply an audio file for this section with an accent that is not already featured here, please contact me.

Trouble playing the audio files? Click here.

Comments

Wow, good job Russell! Written by Krystoffer on 2006-02-01 20:48:36 IP: 201.34.68.95 It's much more real to be able to hear it! =D  And it's so beautiful, I love the European accent! hehe  Brazilian accent is quite dull... =P

Nice Written by Joel on 2006-02-19 22:18:19 IP: 80.3.128.8 I myself like the European accent a lot better - it's quite plesent to hear it.

to the administrator Written by joe on 2006-02-22 07:52:28 IP: 80.3.128.8 Hi there, I like this site a lot - I'm Portugeuse and I like what you have done here in this site, thanks. Take care of yourself, keep doing a great job, Joe.

Uma boa idéia Written by Paul B on 2006-04-24 17:18:30 IP: 80.3.128.8 Reminds me of a lesson I attended on a hort course in Thetford, where three different teachers from different parts of Portugal read out a paragraph for us - it was a great lesson in understanding why I had problems understanding much of spoken Portuguese.

Great! Written by Ivy on 2006-04-24 17:17:47 IP: 80.3.128.8 Really appreciate it! WOW. You are a great teacher...thanks. I am currrently on basic portuguese and your materials are currently helping me a lot

Brazilian accent is beautiful Written by Rick B. on 2006-05-27 01:01:08 IP: 24.141.61.26 I'm the head of the languages department at a high school in Canada. I'm fluent in Spanish and French. I've had a couple of Brazilian students and I love their accent. It sounds much more melodic than European Portuguese. I went to school with Portuguese kids and I always thought it sounded rough and ugly, but now that I heard the Brazilian dialect, an interest in the language has grown in me. I don't like the shhh sound of the s's and the silent endings. I'm planning a trip to Brazil soon.

Brazilian coming soon Written by Administrator on 2006-05-27 08:53:26 IP: 80.3.128.8 I am hoping to add Brazilian accents here soon. I have a theory that Americans (including Canada and South America) prefer the sound of the Brazilian accent, and Europeans prefer the sound of the Portuguese accent.    Of course, both have their merits, and Brazilian is certainly easier to understand, but personally I like the slushiness of European Portuguese. It's kind of gooey, if you know what I mean. Brazilian is certainly more 'melodic' - they almost sing.

Different accents in Brazil Written by Hugo on 2007-02-11 08:49:48 IP: 80.3.128.4 Im a native speaker from Portugal, and in Portugal there are different accents for the language - just like in Brazil, there are different accents there, including there are regions where you can hear the slushiness typical of European Portuguese or even the use of tu instead of você.     It really depends on the region where the language is spoken. I think it really depends on the speaker themself, to determine whether the language is understandable or not. Sure, all people might say the Brazilian accent rules over Portuguese people, and I do like that accent, but I would invite those people who say the Portuguese accent sucks, to listen and try to understand the accent of the Brazilans in the north of Brazil.     Great job with your site, it really ROCKS !!!!

Wow Written by Bryann on 2006-10-25 07:13:17 IP: 80.3.128.8 As an (almost) native Brazilian Portuguese speaker, I always loved the Brazilian Portuguese accent. It almost 'sings' to me (like admin said). When I heard European Portuguese for the first time, I thought it was a Brazilian with a speech impediment... Anyway, I may be biased [Ed: Yep! Then again, so am I!], but I personally think that European Portuguese is, well, feio [Ed: 'feio' means 'ugly']. It's far too 'slushy' and unclear.     Then again, that's just my opinion. I'd rather speak with a Brazilian than with a Portuguese anyday...    By the way, GREAT JOB with the site. I NEVER understood the tenses. Never. Thank you so much!

Accents Written by Ricardo on 2006-11-26 08:33:40 IP: 80.3.128.6 Even though Portugal is a small country, you can find a different accent in almoust every town... the rough and "feio" is the one that I speak... it's almoust "accentless" and dry and it's from the capital, Lisbon . But I had a Finnish girlfriend and she loved it - she even went to learn it for a few years and I think she's still learning it. Now, if you cross the bridge and go South from Lisbon you can notice a slight difference in the melody of the speech, and if you go all the way down like in the Algarve, it seems like a different language. If you go North, you can hear them almoust singing... it's kind'a like Italian.    Brazil is HUGE... it's almost a continent... in the south the accent is very similar to the European Portuguese and in the north, (to be more precise, in the north east) it is not "feio"... it's "horrivel" - I guess everyone understood that one...    Portuguese from Portugal is more versatile, has more sounds and less "sugar".  Portuguese from Brazil is "sweet" and "mellow" and easier to learn.    Don't forget Portuguese from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe, Macau and Timor... they are all different, but in the end all alike.    Take care.

Thanks Written by Leah on 2006-12-03 21:26:05 IP: 80.189.122.158 Hi - your site is wonderful. It was great being able to compare the accents. Even though I still class myself as very much a beginner, I can easily spot whether someone is from Brazil or Portugal. Personally I think European Portuguese is just so beautiful. Sometimes I think it sounds quite Slavic. I would be very interested to hear comparisons from within different regions in Portugal.  Thanks again - your site is such a help.

Brazil & Portugal Written by Maya on 2006-12-31 12:33:59 IP: 198.54.202.195 I've been to both Brazil and Portugal and both countries are lovely. I don't have any problem with any of their accents at all. I think both are equally unique of course, though I prefer the Brazilian accent over the Portuguese accent. Not because I think the Portuguese accent is ugly, but becuase the Brazilian accent in my opinion is is much more sophisticated and sexy as well.

Brazil accent Written by Shaanti on 2006-12-31 12:31:46 IP: 196.25.255.195 I like the Brazilian accent much better than the European one....it sounds way too rough in my opinion and I don't like the compressing of the words. The Brazilian accent is definitely much more melodic and sophisticated.

Brazilian accent Written by Thiago Wolff on 2007-01-13 08:45:34 IP: 65.27.195.73 I really love the Portuguese language, especially with the Brazilian accent. It sounds really beautiful. However, it depends on the region of Brazil. There are some regions that the accent is even uglier than the accent from Portugal (actually those are quite similar, e.g. Santa Catarina). I would say the accents from Rio de Janeiro and from Rio Grande do Sul are really nice.  I wholeheartedly suggest the website to put some audio with a Carioca accent as well. The differences are huge.

Carioca Written by Administrator on 2007-01-13 08:46:00 IP: 80.3.128.6 I would love to add a Carioca accent, but so far I have no volunteers!

Sorry Written by Shaanti on 2007-01-13 08:44:55 IP: 196.25.255.195 Awww I can't help cos I'm not Cariocan. But I'll see if I can get help......hopefully.     Rio accent:  The European accent has too much "slushiness" and too much compressing of the words...thats why the Rio accent still sounds nicer even though they have the "sh" sound in common.

COOL Written by Gail on 2007-03-08 09:14:57 IP: 156.34.181.223 I Love Portuguese!

Brazilian accents Written by Theresa on 2007-02-10 12:19:49 IP: 198.54.202.195 First when I heard the Portuguese language I never liked it at all...I remember I was in Lisbon at the time. But after touring Brazil I couldn't believe how beautiful those Brazilians sound when speaking.It's so wonderful. I absolutely have taken a huge interest in the Brazilian language and culture. They speak Portuguese so beautifully...not just the Cariocans and and Southern Brazilians.    And as far as the north eastern accent is concerned, first I found it kinda ugly too but later I found it a bit amusing...Now whenever I hear the north eastern accent I can't help but smile out of delight of course. I can just listen to Brazilians all day     Great job on your site...it's definitely been very helpful. Keep up the good work

Portuguese accent Written by Rui on 2007-02-27 22:20:07 IP: 86.141.84.173 Firstly let me congratulate you for this excellent forum and a very good site. I am teaching Portuguese from Portugal and I agree that Brazilian Portuguese sounds great. But so does Portuguese from Portugal. Just like English from England is not better or worse than English from anywhere else. They're just different. And that's the most fascinating thing about languages - their diversity. I am grateful to be able to appreciate Caetano Veloso as well as Mariza and Madredeus and to read Jorge Amado as well as José Saramago, to be impressed by Carlos Drummond de Andrade as well as Fernando Pessoa. A language or accent is not more beautiful or uglier than any other. It depends on the speaker or writer and the use they make of it! Enjoy your Portuguese learning!

Brazilian accent or Portuguese accent Written by Leonardo on 2007-03-08 09:16:02 IP: 201.67.99.74 Well, Portuguese is Portuguese. there is no Brazilian accent because even in Brazil there are lots of different accents. The best ones are from those who studied more - well educated people speak better. The Portuguese accent is nice too, but it depends on who is speaking.    If you stick to just one accent and despise the other you will never improve your portuguese as you should. And the way you pronounce will vary according to where you live. If you don't live in Brazil or in Portugual your accent won't be Brazilian or Portuguese, your accent will be "Canadian" "English" "American" or whatever. You only pick the accent by living where people speak the language otherwise you will always have a foreign accent. The accent is not important, let's study and learn how to speak and understand the language and then after that the accent will come according to where you are. Thanks.

Preferences Written by Administrator on 2007-03-08 09:11:53 IP: 80.3.128.6 Some valid points made by Leonardo, but I think it is natural to have preferences when it comes to accents - no matter what the language. Also, some people do have the ability to imitate other accents with great accuracy - even if they don't live in the native country or area. I would encourage students of Portuguese to try to imitate the accent of their choice, as accurately as they can, because this will make it easier for natives to understand what they are saying.

Written by Hugo on 2007-04-03 13:32:49 IP: 201.10.190.175 Both Brazilian and Portuguese accent are nice. It is just a question of liking or not. I prefer Brazilian, more melodic. European accent may sound very polite, I prefer casual way of living.

Accent Written by Lozano on 2007-06-26 21:41:58 IP: 71.96.7.51 I am fond of the Portuguese accent many have stated that is sounds too rough but to me its sounds very masculine and the pronounciation is continuous never changing that is why I prefer it over the Brazilian accent which is too complex almost sounds like a speech impediment and I must state that I have been exposed to the various regional accents of Brazil.

Did you know that... Written by Nuno on 2007-07-19 20:08:51 IP: 87.196.29.2 It was actually Portugal who declared independence from Brazil, and not the other way around. After the Napoleonic invasions, the true heir to the Portuguese throne stayed in Brazil…    Some experts say that the “truest” form of Portuguese is spoken by upper-class “cariocas”, since Rio de Janeiro was Brazil’s most important city during Portuguese rule and was where most Portuguese settlers ended up (along with São Paulo), and it wasn’t affected by French influence as the European version did.    And what about African Portuguese? It may be closer to the European version (Portugal had colonies there which lasted 500 years) but it still has a different sound. Give me some “kizomba” music anytime : )    May I also suggest Galician Portuguese? Now that's a freakin' weird accent...

Portuguese Written by KathyBlue on 2007-08-31 12:54:40 IP: 80.251.171.125 They say the "original and well-pronounced" Portuguese is spoken in Coimbra.   I do prefer Portugal's Portuguese = original Portuguese.

Portuguese accent for me. Written by Arthur on 2007-11-01 19:53:07 IP: 71.97.114.37 'Some experts say that the “truest” form of Portuguese is spoken by upper-class “cariocas”, since Rio de Janeiro was Brazil’s most important city during Portuguese rule and was where most Portuguese settlers ended up (along with São Paulo), and it wasn’t affected by French influence as the European version did.'    Im sure these 'experts' are Brazilian and choose to ignore that Brazilian Portuguese has evolved incorporating foreign elements    The mission of this site is to help others in Continental Portuguese, notice the picture of Portugal in the upper left corner. Notice the vowels presented in this site are European I seriously doubt that the Portuguese post pedantic and irrelevant comments on sites relating to Brazilian Portuguese.

Careful Written by Administrator on 2007-11-01 19:59:13 IP: 80.3.252.130 Ok folks, let's not start a war between Brazil and Portugal!     There seems to be a surprising degree of animosity in some comments submitted on this page (a number of which I have edited or deleted altogether as they were too inflammatory!). Please let's all acknowledge that different people prefer different accents, and that there is no one 'true' Portuguese accent - every accent must have evolved to some degree since the birth of the language.    Whilst the focus of this site is European Portuguese, comments about Brazilian Portuguese are acceptable if relevant to the subject of the page, and on this page (comparing accents), they are more relevant than on most other pages.    Now, play nice!

Interesting! Written by Ian on 2007-11-08 21:01:07 IP: 86.56.50.130 Nice site!    I personally like the Carioca accent best. The one spoken by the guy from Porto also sounds very nice to me.    I found the lady from Goiânia very hard to understand.    It's amazing how diverse Portuguese accents are. For comparison, Spanish accents are not that different from each other, at least relative to the Portuguese ones.    Good work!

Madeira accent Written by Eiryl on 2007-11-09 15:19:20 IP: 81.157.164.228 I go to Madeira on holiday and am learning Portuguese. I find it very hard to understand the pronunciation out of context. If I start to try out my Portuguese, the person I am speaking to speaks so quickly and I am lost and feel defeated!. I would like to hear the Madeiran dialect.

this is awesome! Written by Ange Kirkwood da Silva on 2007-11-10 11:41:17 IP: 124.168.37.93 As an Aussie learning Portuguese not fast enough for my liking (family & friends are very well meaning but I get lost in conversations & I'd like to say a bit more than vamos dormir which is what I feel like during most gatherings ) you are a godsend and it's about time I found you     BTW a very amusing accent is the one from Madeira, lots of interesting vowel shifts, for instance vinho is almost like vonho & eu sei is almost eu sooi (lengthened like that too!). My husband (from near Coimbra) has worked with lots of Madeirenses and likes to "put on" their accent, trouble is when I first heard a real Madeirense speaking I thought he was putting it on...oops!    And I prefer the sloppy European accent too, and the way they cut the word endings; we ozzies like to do that too     Seeya soon!

Written by Sarah on 2007-11-20 22:19:15 IP: 72.54.24.226 I appreciate the language- I think it's so beautiful and melodic. I'm sure I am biased, though, since my fiancee is a Carioca. Though it is the accent that I am trying to emulate and the one I love the most, I appreciate all the other accents. The only negative aspect of the Portuguese accents is that I can barely understand what they are saying. Even my fiancee has a bewildered look on his face when a Portuguesa speaks. I guess it's like an American trying to understand an Austrailian or vice versa (but with really strong accents). Viva Brasil!

Wish of Hearing More Dialects and Written by Lone Wanderer on 2007-11-23 09:46:23 IP: 130.243.144.62 Stumbled upon this website only earlier today and have to say this place is absolutely fantastic!     There are not many chances to hear spoken Portuguese so I really enjoyed the sound samples on this site. Hopefully it's possible to get more natives record their dialect for public use. As has been mentioned many times already, people have their own preferences. For me the Porto accent was the most interesting, it's as if pronouncing words like that would need more effort than the Southern Brazilian accent! :P    I see this comment earlier in this thread was posted near a year back but eh, I'll quote anyway: "Sometimes I think it sounds quite Slavic. I would be very interested to hear comparisons from within different regions in Portugal."  – Agree with you on that and likewise hope to hear more of Portuguese dialects on this site. When I first heard Cristiano Ronaldo (of Selecção and Manchester United) being interviewed in Portuguese in some press conference on the tele some years ago, at first I thought he was speaking Russian! Then as I related my opinion on one Internet messageboard at a later date, some thought I was crazy because as far as linguistics go, Portuguese does not belong to the same language group as Russian does... Nice to know that I'm not alone with my opinion!    Muito obrigado, Admin! Keep up the good work!

Madeira and the Brazilian accent Written by Lucy Gibbs on 2008-01-20 19:39:22 IP: 86.161.246.78 Hi    I am in English person thinking about going to live in Madeira in a couple of years and I would like to learn Portuguese. I want to buy the Rosetta Stone language course that covers the 'Brazil' accent. Does anyone have a view on whether this accent will help me get by in Madeira. I have tried another of their courses and the ability to continually hear what a word sounded like made a huge difference to my learning speed. If I get a regular course with CDs in European Portuguese I doubt I will get enough experience of the spoken word. Any comments would be appreciated.

Madeira Written by Administrator on 2008-01-20 19:41:54 IP: 80.3.252.130 Madeirans will have no trouble understanding you if you speak Brazilian Portuguese, however if you are going there to live, I would highly recommend trying to learn European Portuguese, as that is what they speak. If you can get used to the European accents, you will find it easier to understand Madeirans, and they will probably find your speech a little more palatable. Although Rosetta Stone is very effective, there are other CD-Rom based courses out there that use similar techniques and also teach European Portuguese.

Sotaques: Written by Mark Soldiers on 2008-04-24 19:16:32 IP: 206.127.125.130 When I reached the point that I wanted to hear spoken Portuguese I looked for movies dubbed into Portuguese. They were all done in Brasileiro sotaque. Curiously, the movies most often dubbed into Portuguese are the Horror Flicks. I thought this was dumb at first, but the phrases in the flicks were quite short and repetitive. And they also have a certain piquancy: por exemplo -- Agora aqui você deve deixar toda a desconfiança para trás. Ou -- A morte não é o fim - o sofrimento é para sempre! But I did luck out and also found the Liz Taylor, Richard Burton’s, Taming of the Shrew dubbed into Portuguese. Also Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility. The first worked terrifically, because the actors were quite physical. The second had almost non stop dialogue. But the actors were quite English, very few grand gestures. I also subscribe to Brazil’s Globo TV. The news broadcasts are the easiest to understand (plus you see Brazil as a backdrop). No the advertisements were the easiest to understand. Then I began watching the Telanovalas. Marivahlosa! The acting is grand. The women are beautiful; the men handsome. And the emotions are deliciously excessive. Finally, maybe someone can answer this: I’m told you can get by in Italy with Brazilian Portuguese. This, because of all the Brasileiros with dual citizenship, Italy/Brazil.

The Beauty of Refinement Written by CC on 2008-05-16 15:12:48 IP: 58.143.206.70 Regarding the Brazilian and European Portuguese accents:    I believe that although the Brazilian accent is beautiful in its own way, once you actually learn the language completely, you begin to notice how it contains more flare than refinement. European Portuguese is to Brazilian Portuguese as is Parisian French is to Canadian French: Brazilian P seems to be much more in your face and fun; however, I would never want to speak politics or philosophy in the Brazilian accent (no offence intended). Euro P is the most refined and classy way to speak, not to mention proper. Although Brazilian Portuguese is quite suave and beautiful in its own way, there are many people who prefer Euro P... and with very good reason. (And if you think Brazilian P is really nice, wait till you get to the outer skirts of São Paulo, where they pronounce their Rs as they do in English! :S Makes my skin crawl)

Great site Written by William on 2008-05-27 14:27:20 IP: 86.149.211.221 Hi, I'm English but a quarter Portuguese (My paternal grandfather is Portuguese). I'm currently learning the language and this site is a really useful tool - I above all need to improve my accent so this page is especially useful!    Thanks and keep up the good work!

Very good site Written by Solon on 2008-05-30 02:18:04 IP: 74.186.31.160 Spanish is my first language and my parents are from Nicaragua, so my accent is different from others and I think its very nice to see the differences in another romance language and how the European Portuguese has many similarities to European Spanish and French while the Brazilian Portuguese reminds me a lot of Central American Spanish. funny but great site and its helping me very much!

What accent is better for a english girl Written by kelly83 on 2008-08-10 12:01:01 IP: 89.240.61.87 Hi,    I came across this site and cant belive how great it is. I am learning portuguese this year and want to know 1) what accent is easy to master for a english person?. I read a comment that if you don't live in Brazil or Portugal you will not have either accent you will sound English! - Which I agree! However if you are learning a language you want to sound as close as you can to the real thing and I would like to sound as close as I can to a native so they can understand me .... what would you advise in terms of accent for more ease?.     My second question is if you learn a Brazilian form language will it be very hard to get by in Portugal-and vise versa...even though there are slight differences with accent is the actual language transferable with ease? I'm asking as I will be visting both these countries at some point! I have a huge interest in Brazil and the culture especially in the north, and have friends there. But Portugal is so close to the UK (and cheaper!) to fly to as a holiday destination more often and I know I will do this at least once per year.    Please help!    I have listened to all these accents and I must admit I do love the European accent but it sounds so hard to master - a lot of 'ish' and 'shh' where the Brazilian does sound like everything is pronunced with nothing left off!

Sotaque do Norte/Northern Accent Written by Gary S. on 2008-08-05 17:38:48 IP: 198.102.32.250 Nice page. Thanks!    Although I am not a native, I lived in northern Brazil (Amazonas, Acre, Rondônia) for a couple of years and became fluent. The typical northern accent is about the same as the Carioca sample linked on this page.    I knew many people from all over Brazil when I was there, so I heard many "sotaques." I prefer the northern accent and that is the one I tried to adopt. The southern Brazilian and Portuguese accents are harder for me to understand, but with exposure I'm sure they would sound normal to me.

Easy Accent Written by Administrator on 2008-08-10 12:05:32 IP: 81.105.190.109 Without a doubt, the Brazilian accents are much easier for an English person to understand and to pronounce. As you say, they do not clip the end off words like Europeans do, and the pronunciation is a little closer to English. In terms of being understood, the language is easily interchangeable - there are a few words that are used exclusively in European Portuguese that might not be understood in Brazil and vice-versa (although the abundance of Brazilian TV shows makes it easier for Europeans to understand Brazilian peculiarities), but it is not much different to the contrast between US English and British English.

Written by M on 2008-11-04 10:56:26 IP: 83.132.127.159 Ok, stop saying the Portuguese accent is bad. I am a native Portuguese speaker from Lisbon (female, so I can't really help for this page, sorry), and I love the Brazilian accent, but there is no need to disparage the Portuguese accent. As to which one is easier, I think that for the English people Portuguese from Brazil might be easier to understand and to adopt the accent, however, they are not that different, and independently of whichever one you choose, you will be able to perfectly understand the two of them, I believe.    I find this website extremely interesting, and it is amazing how you managed to put together accents from so many different places! I am teaching Portuguese to foreign friends of mine, since I do not live in Portugal, and it's been really useful to have this website. Thank you for all the help.

Fantastic website Written by Entity on 2008-12-28 02:14:06 IP: 84.13.116.241 I came across your site on a random google search & I am glad I did.  I am very keen to learn Portuguese and have been wanting to for some time now, here seems like the perfect place to do so, thank you for having an excellent site to visit, I for one really appreciate the time and effort you have put into it     I have listened to all the samples and I am in love with the Southern Brazilian Portuguese from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, it is absolutely beautiful, for me the accent seems to roll off the tongue and is very melodic, I had to listen to it a couple of times because I really like the sound of it.    Have listened to all of the other samples of Portuguese and am fascinated by the different dialects, personally I am of Sicilian origin and the dialect compared to mainland Italian spoke in Italy is very different, so in a way I presume it is somewhat easy to define the way each of the Portuguese samples are spoken from that particular country.    Anyhoo this is the perfect platform for me to get started, I can hardly wait

Great site Written by Matt on 2009-02-27 15:08:12 IP: 76.19.47.92 I have family in the Algarve. If you want to learn Portuguese, never try to pick it up there! They speak extremely colloquially, cutting off endings and even beginnings to words as well swallowing words. In addition, they do this super fast! Its really difficult to understand (at least for me).    Some examples:    Um bocadinho said "um cadeeen"  Podemos or Vamos said " Podemsh Vamsh"  Os Estados Unidos said "Os Estadsh Unidsh"  Ate Logo said " Tay Log"  "Muit Obrigad"    and worst, sometimes verbs are often not conjugated or abbreviated. Often "I have" is said "Eu Tem"

Brazilian accent Written by L.C on 2009-04-23 06:19:45 IP: 76.19.239.200 The female accent from Goiania in this example is very fast and shes speaking in a rush, she does skip most of ponctuations. Therefore I dont think is the best example. We do speak a little slower and clear than the rest of Brazil. having a degree in communications I definitely think that was not the best example. However, I still think you did a great job with the site.In addition, I wish we had a few more examples like European P from continent and Islands. And to clarify, the accent from RIO/Carioca is one and the same, no diference.

Goias accent Written by Ana on 2009-05-01 10:08:06 IP: 98.223.189.90 Hi, L.C. I'm from Goiania, and I was the one who posted that accent. It's a little fast, I acknowledge, because of my recording software (I was using a trial version and I had a limited amount of time on my recording).  But despite of my being a little fast on my reading, I can say that people from that area do mostly speak like that. I was born and raised there and I know how people from Goiania are made fun of when they travel outside of their area because of their accent.   We usually don't pronounce the words entirely, that is for sure! And it has nothing to do with education, because everyone in my immediate family has a college degree and had attended good schools growing up (learning how to speak and write properly), and they all speak like that.  One other thing to mention: Goiania has had waves of migrants coming from the North, specially from the state of Tocantins, so this might be an influence on the way some people speak, since the accent up there is closer to the Northeastern accent.    Ana

Portuguese accents Written by Marisa on 2009-07-04 16:49:52 IP: 89.152.105.138 As a native portuguese speaker with relatives spread across Portugal, I must say that there are a LOT of different accents across the country (like in any other country )    You have done a great work here... however, since your focus is on European portuguese, maybe you could try to get more accents from Portugal. For example, try to get someone from Algarve, Setúbal, Trás-os-Montes and, specially, Azores or Madeira!    Óptimo site, excelente trabalho :D

Accents from Portugal Written by Administrator on 2009-07-15 08:45:53 IP: 81.103.153.54 I would love to add more accents from Europe, but I can only add samples from people who volunteer to send me a recording - and Brazilians seem a lot more keen to help out in that regard than Europeans! A couple of the non-Brazilian samples given here were more-or-less "press-ganged" into it! So if any European Portuguese out there would like to help, please record yourself reading that paragraph and send it to me.

Written by Kevin Geraghty on 2009-07-29 04:13:31 IP: 216.39.172.126 As someone who has studied quite a lot of spanish, but no portuguese, the accents are interesting. I agree with some other posters, I don´t think the variation of accents or other language elements across the spanish-speaking world is as great as the ones on display here. I also think the Brazilian examples are easier than the iberian ones, and I can catch significantly more of the meaning.    All those vowel sounds, and not-terribly-apparent pronunciation rules, make me appreciate the beautiful simplicity of spanish orthography--it is in fact true, that you always know exactly how to pronounce a printed spanish word (unless it is a foreign loan word with non-regularized spelling)

Portuguese from Portugal and from Porto Written by R.C. on 2009-08-26 00:48:39 IP: 83.132.203.13 For me is the best accent, is the portuguese from Porto. I'm from the city, so it's the best.     Joking of course. I agree with the one who says that the accent it's the beauty of language, and there is no accent better than another.    But I let here a challenge to those who says that the European Portuguese its rough and less versatile.  Ask to any Brazilian guy or girl to imitate the European accent (any one of the accent), and then ask any Portuguese to imitate the Brazilian accent. Perhaps you may ones who can imitate better. And you may understand which accent it's more versatile.  The Brazilian accent uses, a lot (much more than the Europeans), one of the Portuguese verbal forms (Gerundio), who give it the sweet sound. But that sound is there in the European accent too. But I love the Brazilian accent to, I thing that the accent is in the right place, in South America, with all the heat and sun, the accent fits like a glove.  The only thing that I don't like is the easy way that the Brazilian (maybe not all, but a big part) uses foreigner words to speak Portuguese. But the portuguese are starting to do the same.

Stress on the wrong syllable Written by PFL on 2009-10-19 11:51:58 IP: 200.149.121.139 Your site is awesome!    I just have one observation: the carioca girl and the two "gaúchos" (from Porto Alegre) didn't pronounce the word "Avis" correctly. The stress is on the second syllable! They kept on saying "Ávis" all the time.

Mis-pronunciation Written by Administrator on 2009-10-19 11:52:34 IP: 81.103.153.54 Yes, that had not escaped my notice - but if that's the way they choose to pronounce it, I am not going to argue! I suppose Europeans are more likely to be familiar with the name than Brazilians.

Accents in Brazil Written by Junior Rodrigues o on 2009-10-25 15:41:38 IP: 189.47.176.178 This web site is excellent. I'm Brazilian and the Paulistano accent is my favourite. The r's are spoken like in European Portuguese, the s's are the same spoken in Southern Brazil, and the "ão" and "an" are more open.

Rosetta Stone "Sotaque" Written by Patrick on 2009-11-18 20:15:06 IP: 68.107.68.148 Hi everyone,    I am currently on the third level of the Rosetta Stone Portuguese course, which, I understand, is Brazilian portuguese.     I hired a tutor for awhile, and he was from the interior of Brazil ( though I forgot exactly where ). The thing is, his accent was so different than those represented on the RS discs. His "R" was more like mine ( I am from USA ). Also, he clipped the endings of words a lot, like those from Portugal do. Does anyone know what regions the speakers on the Rosetta Stone discs sound like they are from? Are they cariocas? Paulistas?

More accents? Written by Barry O'Callaghan on 2009-12-09 23:58:24 IP: 81.193.246.224 I'm an irish guy living in Central Portugal. I'm at the stage where I can understand most of what a Portuguese person is telling me if they speak slowly and clearly. Some Portuguese around here have a very fast and very diffiuclt accent however, I think quite different from Lisboa or Porto. It'd be really cool if you could get even more accents on here. I'd imagine there's plenty more in Portugal alone.

preferences Written by Tayo on 2009-12-21 22:15:07 IP: 92.10.214.56 Hey,     Firstly this site is wonderful, its obviously so painstakingly put together and its really effective, I'm off on holiday to Lisbon in a couple of days and I feel confident I can master the basics, using your site, and my handbook     Regarding the whole which one sounds best, I'd say from the clips the Angolan one. However, as with any accent, everyone kind of has their own twist on an accent don't they. I mean depending on where they've lived, and everything, all the influences. But yeah the Angolan. Mmmm.    See ya x

Written by james on 2010-02-02 00:19:20 IP: 201.9.245.210 im from brasilia - DF and I live in Fortaleza - CE... absolutely the best brazilian accent to learn and sounds good in my opinion, is from from Brasília, Federal District....

Written by Cearense on 2010-02-02 18:45:22 IP: 200.233.79.235 I was born and raised in ceará, and would like to say that there is no northeastern accent, there are lots of them, mostly in tv typical northeastern characters try to speak like people from bahia or pernambuco, but there are least four great accents in brazilian northeast, and the differences between them are as great as between the accents from other regions. I hope more people contribute to make sure that everyone realizes how rich and diverse is our culture

Written by Peter on 2010-06-21 07:05:34 IP: 67.170.212.187 I take European Portuguese any day...I actually like its formal side and roughness...makes it very interesting!

This site is great! Written by Kristy on 2010-06-23 08:30:58 IP: 75.18.191.5 I'd like to hear what the accent in São Paolo sounds like.    Out of these recordings, the ones from Rio Grande do Sul sound the most similar to the Portuguese taught by Rosetta Stone. Although the Rosetta Stone program is really great for learning Portuguese, and I have nothing against the accent from Rio Grande do Sul, I wish I could get an equally effective language learning program that teaches using the Carioca accent. I especially like how they palatalize "s" to "sh" at the end of syllables, and I like that "r" at the end of syllables becomes like an "h" sound, and that "d" and "t" get palatalized in front of the "i" sound. I guess this bias might be because I've already taken 7 years of Spanish and have worked in Spain for almost three months, and these distinguishing features of the Carioca accent make it sound more exotic and more different from Spanish (and I'll admit, harder for me to learn, but I like the challenge), and it makes me feel more like I'm learning a very different language.

Portuguese learner Written by Jon on 2010-06-24 18:21:12 IP: 189.105.59.208 Southern accents are so spanish-y and easy.     I prefer the cariocas and portuguese accents.

The northeastern accent. Written by TLG on 2010-09-28 07:13:10 IP: 200.165.55.218 As almost everyone here has already written, this site is too great! Congratulations for it! Well, I am from the northeast of Brazil (Natal - Rio Grande do Norte) and most of other Brazil states folks say we have a countryside folks accent, something cheesy. My ancestors were from Póvoa de Varzim (it\'s north of Portugal and makes border with Galícia, northwest of Spain) and I rather both accents. Those are really nice and diversified. Unless the administrator wish to, I can send you guys my recording for help you in it.  Até logo!

Muito, muito, muito!!! Written by bananaconda on 2010-10-04 23:09:53 IP: 193.63.197.246 I once thought some blokes were speaking Portuguese... the rhythm and stress was the same, I kept think I could hear the occasional name of places in Portugal, but none of the words made any sense... they were speaking Bulgarian!    I'd love to hear a complete exploration of all the Portuguese accents there are... it seems daft to just focus on Portugal itself. I'd be really interested to hear a massive range of examples of regional accents of both Portugal and Brazil, as well as all the other bits of the Portuguese diaspora.

European portuguese is the best Written by mark on 2010-10-12 15:42:52 IP: 87.196.149.29 I honestly love european portuguese!!!  i don't find brazilian portuguese melodic at all (maybe because I'm just too used to it). And I hate all the exagerated open vowels and how they read -l as -u and the -r sound at the end of words (when they pronounce it).  I think european portuguese can be much more versatile as it can be really soft and rough when needed (and as more variety of vowel sounds)!! It's not as annoying as french can be sometimes or as dull and boring as spanish (too much repetitive and only has 5 vowel sounds) or even brazilian portuguese for that matter.  The reason I think people say brazilian portuguese is "melodic" is because of the open vowels that make the words sound more "glued" to each other and even most importantly, because they speak soooo much slower. I find it quite boring and the worst has to be being near a group of brazilians shouting out loud. It goes right from "smooth" to simply annoying.  And when sung, the true beauty of european portuguese is revealed. So soothing and spiritual...

Southeastern accent. Written by Renan on 2010-11-18 09:53:43 IP: 189.55.246.172 Haha it's all a matter of taste, as someone said up there. Europeans tend to like the European Portuguese better whereas people from the Americans would tend to stick to the Brazilian Portuguese. I personally can't understand much the European Portuguese, once sometimes it seems there are no vowels:    ''Pr't'gueish d' pr't'gal''    To me it sounds incomplete but I got accustomed once I've already been there and I'm of portuguese descent as well as dutch :P And needless to say it sounds quite rough. But some people tend to like it as well as some people say american accents are annoying because of the repetitiveness of the 'r' sound.    But brazilian northeastern and northern accents are utterly rougher than portuguese accents as they have their own dialects and the pronunciation is different. Yet they speak way faster :B It's just different.    I am from São Paulo and basically there are some people who pronounce the 'r' as americans. 'PoRta', 'PeRgunta'. I particularly speak with the spanish 'r' sound, which is roughier. And 'paulistas' tend to speak more nasally     But who am I to say who's the most beautiful? I can only state that it depends on how each one sounds to your ears.

portuguese accent... Written by pama on 2010-10-31 14:02:38 IP: 94.67.101.28 «And when sung, the true beauty of european portuguese is revealed. So soothing and spiritual...»  I totally agree with mark, i first listened to Madredeus as a child and have been bewildered by the sound of the language sliding over the melody ever since.   I have been learning portuguese for about a couple of months and i prefer the Lisbon accent as well. I find extremely fascinating the complexity and diversity of the sounds, the silent endings, the slightly pronounced syllabs. But it's not so difficult, after all! My teacher is from Lisbon and we can completely understand her when she speaks, and she has also explained to us how they pronounce each sound. It all makes sense, after a week or two!  Anyway, any accent is great, as well as every language is beautiful, in the way they reveal people's culture and history. It's only a matter of personal taste which ones you prefer...    p.s. muito obrigada pela página, é simplesmente óptima!

Nice site; I Can't Decide Which Accent Written by Ronaldinho 2 on 2011-01-16 08:20:56 IP: 208.104.45.20 Kristy said: "...I wish I could get an equally effective language learning program that teaches using the Carioca accent. I especially like how they palatalize "s" to "sh" at the end of syllables, and I like that "r" at the end of syllables becomes like an "h" sound, and that "d" and "t" get palatalized in front of the "i" sound. I guess this bias might be because I've already taken 7 years of Spanish and have worked in Spain for almost three months, and these distinguishing features of the Carioca accent make it sound more exotic and more different from Spanish (and I'll admit, harder for me to learn, but I like the challenge), and it makes me feel more like I'm learning a very different language."    Wow...you completely took the words out of my mouth! That's my favorite Brazilian accent for the EXACT same reason you mention (except I took 5 years of Spanish instead of 7 and never spent time in Spain). I too like how it sounds more distinct from Spanish than any other accent in Brazil. Actually I think you'll find the Carioca accent quite easy. I find it to be way easier than any dialect of Spanish, but at the same time it sounds cooler.     "I'd like to hear what the accent in São Paolo sounds like."    I don't like it that much. It sounds more like Spanish than the Carioca accent in my opinion. But if you go to the interior of the state of São Paolo you'll hear the craziest accent ever. Brazilians call it the caipira accent and they do indeed pronounce their syllable final r's as an approximant sound, much like the sound Americans like me use in "air", "dark", "beer" etc. (as Renan mentions above) It's really unexpected and it's funny to hear at first. I think it's kind of cool though. Copy and paste the following URL then press the play button under "Audio" to hear an audio lesson that's wonderful at illustrating this accent (the woman has it in case you don't notice): http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/brazilpod/tafalado/lesson.php?p=14    I also like European Portuguese (EP), but it just seems like it would be so much more difficult than Brazilian Portuguese (BP) if you\'re trying to acquire an accent that's anywhere (ANYWHERE) near a native one. The "r" (at the beginning of a word or "rr") sound they use in many places in Portugal is quite difficult. It's like the "r" sound many French and German speakers use. Whereas many (most?) Brazilians pronounce this as an English "h" sound as you can hear in some of the recordings above. This is much easier for English speakers (way easier than in Spanish, Italian, etc. too). EP also has a vowel that doesn't exist in BP. It's the unstressed "e" they use at the end of "idade" and "este". But they don't always pronounce it anyway (as you might hear in some of the recordings), so maybe that isn't so bad. Also the way they pronounce "b", "d" and "g" between vowels in EP is more difficult than in BP (more like how they pronounce them in Spanish actually). I also find it difficult how they say "Portugal" and "Portuguese" in EP with no vowel in the first syllable, which Renan also points out. I find it pretty hard to imitate that.    I forgot to mention that I almost cracked up when I heard the Azorean guy speaking Portuguese. That sounds like the Portuguese version of a Scottish accent or something. It's hilarious and awesome.    Sorry for the long comment. I had a lot I wanted to write. Wonderful site though. Thank you so much! 'brigad!

influence Written by Antonio on 2011-01-21 15:51:17 IP: 189.51.97.138 Well, I do believe which accent you like the most is only a matter of taste and sometimes of where you live in. In my case, I'm Brazilian, from Minas Gerais, and I admire the Portuguese spoken in my country.     Not that it is a problem, but I always thought the European Portuguese very influenced by Spanish, being indeed more "rough", but as I said that wouldn't be a surprise coming out of my lips, anyway. However, it's undeniable it makes a lot of sense, since Spain and Portugal are so close, not to mention the historic binds between them.

I think EP sounds more different from Sp Written by Richie on 2011-01-26 02:59:45 IP: 208.104.45.20 "...but I always thought the European Portuguese very influenced by Spanish..."  Interesting. I always thought European Portuguese sounded more different from Spanish than Brazilian Portuguese. It sounds like Russian to me at times and French at other times. Maybe it's easier to hear this if you're not a native speaker of Portuguese.

The Portuguese that I preferred and lear Written by P. Mc Coy on 2011-02-15 14:30:30 IP: 75.41.126.85 I haven't studied Portuguese since the mid 1970s. I remember even back then to this day preferring the Continental accent to the Brazilian accent. I found the latter to be too nasally to speak and the sound of my voice trying to imitate that grated on my ears as well as made my nose hurt. I want to take up learning to speak and write again but it will be difficult to get an instructor willing to teach one the Continental way of speaking.    Thank you for the voice clips- My ears gravitated and felt most at ease with the male from Porto (the 1st one!). That was the Portuguese I realize that I had learned in the University and it was melodious to my ears- the Angolan was also nice. The Santa Catarina Brazilian speaker (Male) sounded pretty continental to me, but other Brazilian speakers that I heard had those sounds that annoyed me. I guess that means that I may watch Brazilian TV by satellite, but I'll probably pack my traveling shoes towards Europe and Porto in particular... Muito Obrigada....

São Paulo accent is not true (Guarujá is Written by Guilherme Brum on 2011-03-08 19:28:51 IP: 201.74.68.9 Guarujá has an accent similar to the Carioca one on the Paulista point of view.  The "r" and "s" are totally different from ours. Their r sounds like their are cleaning their throats and ours sounds like we are rolling our tongues.  Their "s" sounds like closing the mouth with the teeth and forcing air through it, our sounds like the american "s" (more or less)

Disagree with the presumption that Europ Written by Barry O'Callaghan on 2011-03-13 19:32:54 IP: 89.214.67.255 I've read this a few times in this thread and I think it's a bit of an easy and glib presumption. I can't speak for people from the Americas but I know many ex-pats here in Portugal quite like the sound of Brazilian Portuguese and some who would definitely prefer it. They are both quite different. I have to say many Brazilian accents lighten the heart and I do find them melodic. I like the Portuguese of Portugal it's also got a lot of flavour. Neither is better - it really is just a matter of personal taste in my opinion.

Presumption? Written by Administrator on 2011-04-19 09:39:54 IP: 213.107.108.12 I don't think it was really a 'glib presumption' that Europeans tend to prefer European accents and Americans prefer American accents - more an observation of a probable tendency, which is not unexpected. Of course it is always a matter of personal taste and does not apply across the board. For example, my wife prefers Brazilian, I prefer Portuguese, but we are both English.

Accent of Brasília (Sotaque de Brasília) Written by Gabriel on 2011-04-18 20:36:57 IP: 189.31.129.96 The portuguese from Brasília, in fact, is a mix of accents from Brazilian accents, because, Brasília was built to be the  capital, in the end of 50's till 1960. Many people from the northeastern parts of Brazil came, to work to build the city, and stayed there... Also, many people from Rio de Janeiro came, to work at the public services, with some brazilians from other parts... It is considerable to say that the Federal District territory is inside the state of Goiás, near Minas Gerais. So, as you can see, is an accent that was born later... The Brasilienses think that they don't have any accent, just because of that mix, but considering the other ones, is a bit different, don't you think? What can you say of that accent?

Brazilian Portuguese is so BEAUTIFUL!! Written by Eldar Neves on 2011-04-18 20:41:57 IP: 82.145.208.7 Hi there to everyone. Firstly I would like to thank the creator of this site, what a wonderfull idea to compare different Portuguese accents! I love everything about the Brasileiro accent, how they pronounce their 'R's as an 'H'-so beautiful. I have decided to learn Brazilian Portuguese and have started to listen to Brazilian music.... ps. I'm a first generation Portuguese living in South Africa. Viva Portugal e Brasil!

Minas Gerais Accent Written by Beatriz on 2011-06-15 19:12:56 IP: 189.66.1.57 I was looking for differents accents and I´ve just found this nice site!!  Where´s the Minas Gerais accent?? Well, just reading a small text will not be enough to know the real Mineiro accent, but it is a beginning.  In fact Minas Gerais has got its own "dialect". It´s really nice and fun.

portuguese accent Written by mike on 2011-08-13 01:06:50 IP: 79.168.175.196 ' and worst, sometimes verbs are often not conjugated or abbreviated. Often "I have" is said "Eu Tem" '    I can see that is very hard to understand those words in portuguese, the actual word is "Eu tenho" but we (i'm from Lisbon) eat the final word and we say "eu tenh". Althought it's totally different it sounds pretty much the same so we do conjugate, it just seems like we don't.

Written by Yuka on 2011-09-01 15:24:55 IP: 189.38.23.227 I'm a Brazilian native and my first language is Japanese (I still speak Portuguese with a slight accent in my day-to-day conversation, and a heavy accent when I'm mad. :P) and I would like to congratulate on this great site and I found out that, for me, it's great to learn English!   Keep up the good work!

Nice Site Written by NewYorker on 2011-09-05 01:03:52 IP: 69.114.142.205 I live in New York City, and found the Angolan and Rio accents much easier to process. The accent of Northern Brazil was just impossible for me!!

Northeastern Brazil Written by Ottär on 2011-11-02 16:38:18 IP: 189.122.45.55 About the Northeastern accent: With the exception of southern Bahia, they speak REALLY fast, their vowels are pronounced differently and they use a lot of obscure slang. It's like their own cockney thing.    Even I find them hard to understand sometimes!

The Angolan male speaker Written by Ariane on 2011-12-10 15:37:41 IP: 74.173.132.203 I love his voice.

Cool website Written by Ariane on 2011-12-10 15:40:35 IP: 74.173.132.203 I forgot to add that this is a wonderful resource for those interested in Portuguese. Thanks for putting it up.

Teacher Written by Marc on 2012-02-06 10:08:05 IP: 108.14.100.200 This was a wonderful listening experience. I enjoyed comparing the português accents. I look forward to more being added this year.    At first, I could not tell the difference between the accents since my ears have no prior experience listening so closely to different português accents.     It all sounded the same.     I listened several times trying to hear this difference, the unpleasant, the not as sophisticated, the ugly that people so often refer to when speaking of certain português accents or dialects.     What was the ugly ?     I listened for accent with impartiality and criticism. But, I just didn't hear an ugliness in accent.     Brasil português, beautiful.    Portugal português, beautiful.    May be several more listenings ? Soon I began to hear the difference in how the female from Carioca / Rio Janeiro uses the " O " that is the capital O compared to the female from Lisbon. There was a clear difference in pronunciation and both the accents became apparent to me.     Yet there was no ugliness, no lack of sophistication; in my opinion just a difference in use by both females.     Most often it's preference of the speaker. I noticed that the male from Lisbon uses the upper case " O " to sound like the (o) in the word "coat." This also happens with the reading of the female from Do Sul do Brasil, Porto Alegre. She pronounces the upper case " O " the same way as the male from Lisbon however choses to alternate when reading:  "...ou O Adormecido," pronouning ( ou ) like the upper case " O " and the  ( O ) more like the (o) in the word " cool. "   The male from Proto Alegre read as if to combine the O and A sounds.     On the other hand voice and diction is more subjective. We often can not help the accents we grow up having. But speaking is an art. A person may prefer the speaking voice of a politican because of the confidence, pace, and   clear pronunciation of words. Whereas another politican may speak as if to whine and stumbles on the pronunciation of every other word.     Voice and diction are not accent. Voice and diction can be worked on and improved or altered, it is much more challenging to reduce or change an accent or dialect having grown up with.    A person may have a favorite accent or dialect but is it because of the speaker or the dialect ?    I followed the reading of the text and found that I prefered the more paced readers compared to the faster readers. I am a more paced speaker and reader in English. I believe a paced reading of any foreign text used as a tool is better for a beginning language learner.     Last point: I don't see that there is a bitterness between American and British English speakers. Both do poke fun at each others accents but it isn't done with anger or to be hurtful. It may have been that way some years ago, but today it's done more out of an endearment.     Great job by all the speakers who read text for this exercise it is very much appreciated by me.

Portuguese accents Written by Luis on 2012-02-20 09:27:12 IP: 76.90.63.29 The accents I found the easiest and most clear were that of the Angolan male and the guy from Curitiba, Brazil. Of the Portuguese sample, I liked the Coimbra guy's pronunciation the most.

Choosing an accent. Written by Andrew on 2012-02-22 12:51:42 IP: 109.255.245.68 Thanks for this, great resource.    I'd been happily learning Brazilian Portuguese (which apparently was the Paulistano variety) for the last two months, completely oblivious to the differences in accents and pronunciations across Brazil. So when I clicked on a youtube video last night and heard a Carioca accent I nearly fell out of my chair!    Now I'm in the strange position of feeling like I have to choose an accent... I do like the more Mediterranean sound of the Southern accents, but (and this is just my own opinion) the carioca accent sounds more authentic? Maybe because it's more exotic, or maybe because the sound more closely mirrors European Portuguese, I don't know. Tough choices ahead!

Different speeds Written by Joao Sequeira on 2012-03-01 10:15:43 IP: 195.28.224.59 Nice analysis Marc. You really got a point there.    I remember the free software that I've used had a limited record time, so as the seconds were counting down I had to speed up the reading. I also believe that a few other submitters had the same problem, the girl from Lisbon also sounds fast in general and even faster in the end.  When I compare it to the Porto Male (which is really slow and paced) I understand that this is the way I should have done it so that foreign people can really listen to the differences.  Maybe one of this days I'll do a second try and send it to Russell.    PS: I was the one who did the Lisbon male record back in 2007.

I prefer North Portuguese Accent Written by Mattus on 2012-03-26 16:39:07 IP: 24.226.49.138 As a Northern Portuguese from Minho, I am biased in favor of the Northern Portuguese Minho Accent. It's a harsh, masculine accent that is not to everyone's taste. It is similar to the Galician accent in North Western Spain, but even harsher lol. Galician Portuguese being the birthplace of the Portuguese language, and therefore an example of the evolution, or de-evolution, depending on opinion.    Regarding Brazilian, it is my opinion that it does sound musical, initially, but it gets tiring and tedious very quickly. It is an accent that breeds impatience in me, as I prefer a much more to the point accent of Northern Portugal, but that's just me, we Northern Portuguese are quite a stubborn lot.    One thing I have noticed is that Brazilian Portuguese is influenced heavily by its African roots, the similarities to Angolan Portuguese should not be understated.

Love Brazilian Portuguese! Written by María on 2012-03-04 20:34:36 IP: 85.136.13.226 I'm from Spain and I've taken lessons with Brazilian teachers. I love the accent and it's easier to understand for me than the European Portuguese accent. I especially like the Rio 'sotaque'

everything very funny! Written by margarete on 2012-05-21 21:29:36 IP: 189.46.110.76 i´m a brazilian portuguese-english teacher, and I LOVE the accent subject! I love all portugueses! Mom is from northern Portugal (MOgadouro) and my grandma had a strong accent. The accent in Lisbon was terribly difficult for me at first! I could only hear "SSSS"!!! My other grandma was from Ilha da Madeira. It was russian for me! But beautiful!!! in general Portugal accent is full of consonants, don´t you agree? In Brazil we open our mouth too much. But I will tell you something, dears... I´m paulistana, and I know Guaruja - that accent you heard is NOT the only one there! And if you can hear someone from the country side of Sao Paulo talking... my goodd!!! another very funny accent! I myself can´t understand 100% what a brazilian from the northern part says!!! About cariocas... well, their accent doesn´t seem beautiful for most of other people in Brasil (although I LOVE them and everything). You should hear a boy from the beaches speaking that accent!!! again... may goooddd!!!! But I disagree that educated people have a nicest accent. They are very the same! Finally, I think in Sao Paulo you would notice that we speak in a hurry!!! tchauzinho!!!

Not just 'northern' or 'southern' ac Written by Carlos on 2012-06-06 21:24:30 IP: 89.153.150.71 I'm from Portugal and can say there is no such thing as a 'northern' or 'southern' accent - the same thing can be said about Brasil, Angola and probably Moçambique.    Here's a few reference sites with examples:  http://cvc.instituto-camoes.pt/hlp/geografia/mapa06.html (the scientific reference)  http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialetos_da_l%C3%ADngua_portuguesa (examples from above site, also from Brasil and elsewhere)  http://charroquedaprrofundurra.blogspot.pt (site about Setúbal accent, written according to local pronunciation but with no sounds)    Anyway, these are probably the most widely recognized/able ones:  Braga (a few dozen km north of Porto - often confused with that one);  Porto, my hometown, has at least two - a more popular one (the most "famous", used and abused by media) and a more upscale(?) one, with a more "rolling"/smooth pronunciation;  Trás-os-Montes;  Viseu;  Coimbra (historically considered the language reference);  Lisbon;  Setúbal;  Alentejo;  Algarve;  São Miguel and Terceira, in the Açores (these are said to be distinct - at least for the locals who can understand it...);  Madeira;    Cheers!

fascinating Written by Bob on 2012-06-20 11:04:29 IP: 94.123.195.4 I found the site because of a general interest in language and lately increased curiosity about Portuguese which, despite its links to other Iberian languages, has always been kind of a mystery to me with all its "zh" and "sh" sounds. I could never quite hear through them!     The issue of accents and people's perceptions of them is one of my favorite parts of linguistics. Adjectives like, "dull," "sophisticated," "masculine" and "tedious" to describe them tell a lot about culture and conditioning as well. I grew up in the US; mom's from the south, so go figure... These issues seem to be universal; just as much in Turkey where I live now, where accents are variously thought of as "heavy," "funny," "sweet," etc. So it's interesting to read how Portuguese speakers hear variants in their own language.    As an outsider and American the Brazilian ones do sound more melodic to me, except for the north Brazilian one, which sound extremely clipped. The differences in pronunciation of initial "r" are really interesting to me - sometimes like Spanish "j," sometimes "h" and sometimes as Spanish "rr". Interesting that in the mountains of Puerto Rico the initial "r" also becomes "j," which makes sense; I believe the Caribbean dialects have their roots in Gallego.

Written by evandro camara on 2013-05-22 11:09:10 IP: 198.248.8.139 Hello! I may be very late to comment on this site, but I only ran into it recently. I have not read all the comments, but I concur with the ones I read to the effect that it is a very good idea. I would like to make a couple of points: Some reviewers have stressed this, I will do it also: one may find accent X, Y, or Z more pleasant to the ear - this is fine, it is a matter of personal taste. However, accents are not "wrong," or "better," or "right," or "natural," etc. The peculiarities of each accent are entirely relative to the historical background of the region where it is used. Another thing: the person from Belem sounds very much like someone from Portugal. This is not how people generally speak in that region. Also: since the Brazilian Northeast accent - particularly Recife's - is so distinctive, there should be a recording of it as well.

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