Portuguese is written the way it is pronounced! Is it true? Not quite

Words of this video below

When we Brazilians learn English we spend a lot of time wondering why the language of Shakespear is not written as it is pronounced or pronounced as it is written. In the process of these speculations, we offer Portuguese (mainly Brazilian Portuguese) as a perfect example of an orderly language that when being read whats is written is pronounced. But is it true? Let's take a look!     

"M" at the end of words ending with "am" and "em" are not pronounced as they are written

 

Belém (Belẽi) - A city, capital of Pará, at the mouth of the Amazon River 

Santarém (Santarẽi) - A city in the banks of the Amazon River 

Além (Alẽi) - Besides

Salém (Salẽi) - Salem cities abroad and a good name for cats 

Também (Tambẽi) - Also, too

Dirigem (dirigẽi) - they drive

Tudo bem? (Tudo bẽi) Are you OK? Well (Everything well?, All well?) 

Tudo bem! (Tudo bẽi) That's how it is answered. 

This ẽ letter or sound does not exist in Portuguese so if you are seing it you must be dreaming!

Eles amam (ãmãu) - they love (Masculine) 

Elas andam (ãdãu) - they walk (feminine)

Comem (cõmẽi) - they eat

Trabalham (trabálhãu)- they work

Voltam (vóltãu) - they come back

Descansam (descãsãu) - they rest 

Terminam (termínãu (- they finish

Falam inglês (fálãu) - they speak English

Falam espanhol (fálãu)- They speak Spanish

Entendem inglês (entẽdẽi) - they understand English 

Portuguese Pronunciation - Lesson I Quick lessons by Jackson Lima

 

First of a series of videos about the 

pronunciation of certain Brazilian Portuguese sounds

What are Diacritic Marks?

Are signs or marks used to change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added. 

This mark (~) is called "til" in Portuguese or "tilde" in Spanish and  is put on top of two vowels "A" and "O"

Lke this: Ã and Õ. 

I recorded in the video above the sound of à for the following words:

Rã - Frog

Anã - Female Dwarf

Sutiã - Bra

Teerã - Teheran

Maracanã - a Parakeet, Brazil's # 1 stadium 

Amsterdã - Amsterdam

Alemã - German (Feminine noun)

Canaã - Canaan (Bible land)

Brazilian Portuguese sounds made easy: how to properly say São Paulo?

The list of words below covers the sounds of: ã, ão, õ, ões 

São Paulo (city and a state)

Maracanã ( a parakeet, a stadium)

Cubatão - (City near the Port of Santos)

Aclimação - (Area of São Paulo)

Vitória de Santo Antão (City in Pernambuco)

Assunção (Asunción, Paraguay) 

Paulão (Big Paul, friendly way to call your friend Paul)

Salvação ( Salvation)

Vietnã (Vietnam)

Não (No)

Plurais / Plurals

Maçã (Apple)

Maçãs (Apples)

Mamão (Papaya)

Mamões (Papayas)

Brazilian Birds by Biomes: Great Posters welcome you to the Brazilian Bird Fauna

Birds of the Caatinga Poster 

Hello bird lovers! The Things Brazilian Blog is happy to share here these beautiful bird posters depicting birds of all Brazilian Biomes - that is different  biogeographical units consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to a shared regional climate among other factors. The Loja do Passarinho's (Bird Shop) general catalogues can be seen H E R E. Prices are shown in Brazilian Reais.  

Birds of Amazonia Poster

vvv

Birds of the Pantanal Poster

vvv

Bird of the Atlantic Range Forest Poster

Pampa Birds Poster

vv

Birds of the Cerrado (Savanna) 

vv

Quick Bird's eye view of Brazil's Geography or Selling Brazil made easy for Travel Agents

Before there ever existed the country of Brazil or any other country, there was the land. Map I

This article was originally thought to assist travel agents 

Brazil, the largest country in South America has a population of around 211 million people, is the fifth largest country in the world right after the US, Canada, China and Russia and  is divided into 26 states plus the Federal District around Brasília. The country boasts 5.700 municipalities (cities) of which 2.694 are considered to have something of interest to tourists(National,Internationalor regional ). They are subdivided into 333 tourism regions according to the Tourism Map of Brazil issued in 2019 by the Ministry of Tourism.  

But suppose you are a travel agent or an independent traveler from anywhere in the world, how do you sort these confusing numbers and make your way through all these seemingly conflicting information when all you want is to find a perfect beach, a waterfall, see wildlife, meet nice people when you finally make it to the country?

Brazil's religious synchretism: Our Lady of Seafearers and Yemanja

Offerings at the juction of the Iguassu (Iguazú) and Paraná Rivers

On February 2, every year, millions in Brazil go to rivers, seashores and beaches along the Brazilian coast to participate in ceremonies to honor Yemanja, the Mother of the Sea. Most of Yemanja devotees identify themselves with Candomble and Umbanda, both known as Afrobrazilian religions. But there are more forms and schools of Afrobrazilian religions some of them with a lot more Native Indian elements than African but somehow keeping allegiance to the Orishas

Candomble is as faithfull to the African traditon as possible. All hymns and songs are in the Yoruba language. Deities are called Orishas. Yemanja, is an Orisha that takes care of the seas, rivers waters and its creatures.

 

Two Yemanja statues: African Candomblé and Umbanda Brazilian versions. Two models represent the two Yemonjas - the African version with covered face   

Umbanda is as Brazilian as it can be. Besides the Orishas shared with Candomble, Umbanda spirituality has hundreds of entities who are associated on Earth with different human ethnicities, countries, walks of life, professions, experiences and groups. Easteners, Amerindians, Brazilian Indians, Gypsies, cowboys and cowherders, old slaves both men and women and people who during their Earth lifetime were not so nice people like prostitutes, killers, con artists  and gangleaders.

On Mother Yemanja Day millions of Candomble, Umbanda and friendly Catholics take to the beach of places like Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and even to Foz do Iguaçu over 700 kilometers from the next seashore sitting comfortably on the place where where the Iguassu River meets the Paraná on ther way to the sea, way far to the South.

The Candomble African Yemonja, left. The Brazilian Umbanda version right

But the number of people going to beaches, rivers and river deltas is multiplied hundreds of time if you add to the list millions of Roman Catholics who organize river processions this time to honor, thank and worship Our Lady of Seafarers or Our Lady of Navigators.

Thanks to synchretism, the name given to the merging of two or more systems of belief, Our Lady of Seafarers has been kind of translated as Yemanja by catholic priests. That has also happened throughout the Christan world in relation to festivities like Christmas or Carnival which have roots in pagan festivities and were adpated to fit Chrstian concepts.

In Foz do Iguaçu, the city that houses Iguassu Falls, the Iguassu River saw both celebrations. Local Umbanda and Candomblé organizations with the support of the City's Human Rights and Community Relations Department organized the Yemanja Day Celebration. The festivity includes meeting up at the Praça da Paz (Peace Square) around 7h am, car procession to the river bank at 8 a.m. and boarding the Kattamaram II riverboat around 9 a.m. for a one-hour navegation with plenty of singing, drumming and  dancing as far as the place where devotees deliver their offerings and presents to Yemanja.

Since February 2 is also the Day of Our Lady of Navigators which also include the use of the Katamaram II, the Afrobrazilian movements decided to anticipate celebrations for Feberury 1, so that Catholics could use the boat on February 2 when a far bigger processons followed by mass and lunch occurs. The boat worked on a careful schedule since it also serves the tourist community with navigation up and down the river in the afternoon.   

The Roman Catholic Apostolic Procession in honour to Our Lady of Navigators was organized and led by the Parish of Our Lady Aparecida and the Holy Spirit.

Included in the program of the African Brazilan celebration was a mass to be officiated by priests of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic, a church not recognized by the Vatican that happens to have a Parrish called Our Lady of Navigators in the Iguassu Falls Area. The mass took place on Peace Square after the procession and later in the afternoon the official mass of the Brazilian Catholic Church had the participation of umbanda and candomblé believers.   

Anos 90s JL Fotos com discipulas Sri Chinmoy

Julia Butterfly Hill na fábrica em STI

Curso de Biodanza no Oeste Paraná Clube

Discípulas de Sri Chinmoy em visita à Gazeta do Iguaçu