Brazilian Portuguese vs European Portuguese in the EU Thread poster: kobaomg
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Hi,
This is my first post here, I wasn't sure in which subforum I could ask this, so please transfer it to another section if necessary.
Here is the issue: I'm a dual citizen living in Austria. I have both the Brazilian and the Portuguese citizenship and I have decided to study Intercultural Communication here. The thing is, I have lived my entire life in Brazil and I definitely can't speak like a Portuguese native. I am wondering if this might be a problem if I decide... See more Hi,
This is my first post here, I wasn't sure in which subforum I could ask this, so please transfer it to another section if necessary.
Here is the issue: I'm a dual citizen living in Austria. I have both the Brazilian and the Portuguese citizenship and I have decided to study Intercultural Communication here. The thing is, I have lived my entire life in Brazil and I definitely can't speak like a Portuguese native. I am wondering if this might be a problem if I decide to take Portuguese (which will most likely be European Portuguese) at the University and if after I graduate I can actually engage myself in the market translating and interpreting into European Portuguese.
I would like to get some insights about this. I have also been wondering if I could perhaps use a second language as my base language, perhaps English? Is this a good strategy? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Cécile A.-C.
United States
Local time: 23:38
Member (2010)
Portuguese to French
+ ...
| Not a real problem - differences are minor. | Aug 21, 2012 |
It would be just like saying if British English or American English were so drastically different , or European French and Canadian French. One needs to adapt to one market or the other, but the language itself remains the same and is largely understable, even the dialects and criolos that derive from each main language can easliy be learnt once the mother tongue is known. Nowadays one needs to be adaptable and versatile and pragmatic to get enough jobs to make it in any business.
| | | | Maria Amorim (X) 
Sweden
Local time: 05:38
Swedish to Portuguese
+ ...
| Some insights | Aug 21, 2012 |
If you were a Portuguese, grown up in Brazil, I would say go ahead, this is a great opportunity to “recuperate” your own language knowledge (European Portuguese). I mean “recuperate” assuming you have grown up in a Portuguese family while living in Brazil, listening to European and Brazilian Portuguese every day, moving between two cultures and two linguistic variants. These inner cultural and linguistic ties play a strong role in one´s formation and are not to be ignored.
... See more If you were a Portuguese, grown up in Brazil, I would say go ahead, this is a great opportunity to “recuperate” your own language knowledge (European Portuguese). I mean “recuperate” assuming you have grown up in a Portuguese family while living in Brazil, listening to European and Brazilian Portuguese every day, moving between two cultures and two linguistic variants. These inner cultural and linguistic ties play a strong role in one´s formation and are not to be ignored.
But after reading your post twice I understand that you are Brazilian whose parents or one of them are Portuguese. So your question is a bit more complex and deals with identity. Language is identity. As a Brazilian living in Europe would you feel glad and comfortable to become a translator into European Portuguese? How much Brazilian or Portuguese you are? These are some of the delicate questions that in the end are fundamental in the life of an immigrant. If you are going back to Brazil in some years I don´t see any reason to be a European Portuguese translator there.
You can take this course as an opportunity to enlarge, deepen, update your Portuguese language knowledge but you can work as a translator into the Brazilian variant, and in Europe you will find many possibilities and clients that are expanding their business in the growing Brazilian market.
The course may pose some difficulties in the beginning but as most things in life this is a question of effort, determination and time. The main issue is how you will feel about “learning” European Portuguese.
If you have to decide for a second language, maybe you should choose other language than English - there are already many English-Portuguese translators. But this can be a future option if you feel that English is a good start.
Look at your life from a long time perspective. Good luck!
[Edited at 2012-08-21 13:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Adapting to both markets | Aug 23, 2012 |
Thanks to both of you for the insights, I think you mentioned some interesting points.
I have actually lived my entire life in Brazil without any contact to European Portuguese. My great-grandfather was a Portuguese citizen and he moved to Brazil, got married and settled down here. So that's how I became Portuguese, and except some small things like pronunciation rules and some grammar differences, I really don't know much. I have been to Lisbon for a few days and it was no problem... See more Thanks to both of you for the insights, I think you mentioned some interesting points.
I have actually lived my entire life in Brazil without any contact to European Portuguese. My great-grandfather was a Portuguese citizen and he moved to Brazil, got married and settled down here. So that's how I became Portuguese, and except some small things like pronunciation rules and some grammar differences, I really don't know much. I have been to Lisbon for a few days and it was no problem to understand and to communicate there, but still, when it deals with identity, I don't feel like being Portuguese that much.
I know the differences aren't that big, there are usually no communication problems, but in the translation market, don't they set great value upon these nuances? I suppose you, being Portuguese translators, have already worked with both. Could you perhaps talk a little more about it, how it is for you to adapt to the two markets? ▲ Collapse
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