{"id":8819,"date":"2020-04-29T10:10:50","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T17:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https://cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/translator/blog\/?p=8819"},"modified":"2020-04-29T11:23:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T18:23:23","slug":"portuguese-a-tale-of-two-dialects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https://cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/translator/blog\/2020\/04\/29\/portuguese-a-tale-of-two-dialects\/","title":{"rendered":"Portuguese: A Tale of Two Dialects"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Que giro!<\/p>\n

Recently, we released European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese as separate language entries within Microsoft Translator. Although we have supported Portuguese for many years, the split between these dialects represents a recent change.<\/p>\n

Why did we do this?<\/p>\n

This is a good question. Although the two Portuguese dialects are very similar to one another and in many cases mutually understandable, there are differences in vocabulary, grammar, writing and pronunciation that are quite distinct. Previously, we trained one composite model for Portuguese using data that was composed of both dialects. The output for any particular translation would either be of one dialect or another, depending on the probabilities learned from the underlying data. Now, as a user, you can explicitly choose one dialect over the other.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s suppose that you want to offer some candy to someone in Portuguese. In European Portuguese you would say “Tu gostarias de um rebu\u00e7ado?<\/em>\u201d literally meaning \u201cWould you like some candy?\u201d On the other hand, in Brazilian Portuguese you would say “Voc\u00ea gostaria de uma bala?<\/em>” Likewise, “I\u2019d like to offer you guys a cup of tea” would be spoken as “Gostaria de oferecer-vos uma ch\u00e1vena de ch\u00e1<\/em>” in European Portuguese and “Gostaria de oferecer a voc\u00eas uma x\u00edcara de ch\u00e1<\/em>” in Brazilian Portuguese. A Portuguese speaker would immediately notice the difference in these expressions in the use of “you<\/em>,” and that is one of the biggest differences between the dialects. In European Portuguese, “tu<\/em>” is most often used for “you<\/em>” with the plural form being “v\u00f3s<\/em>.” In Brazilian Portuguese, “you<\/em>” is most often expressed as “voc\u00ea<\/em>” in the singular form and “voc\u00eas<\/em>” in the plural.<\/p>\n

In addition to vocabulary differences, there are writing differences as well. There are many words that appear the same when written in both dialects, but upon closer examination, the small differences in spelling and diacritics can be seen.\u00a0 Here are a few examples.<\/p>\n

Ir\u00e3 – Ir\u00e3o (Iran)
\ncaminh\u00f5es – cami\u00f5es (trucks)
\ncontrole – controlo (control)
\nequipe – equipa (team)
\nquil\u00f4metros – quil\u00f3metros (kilometers)
\ng\u00eanero – g\u00e9nero (gender)
\nregistro – registo (register)
\nreparamos – repar\u00e1mos (we noticed)<\/p>\n

One of the most noticeable differences between the dialects are the way words and phrases are pronounced. The table below shows several idiomatic expressions. Tap the icons to hear them spoken aloud and listen to the differences between them. Note that they\u2019re written exactly the same in the two dialects, but sound quite different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Portuguese<\/th>\nEnglish Translation<\/th>\nLiteral Translation<\/th>\nListen: Brazilian<\/th>\nListen: European<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Pode tirar o cavalinho da chuva!<\/td>\nForget about it!<\/td>\nYou can take your horse out of the rain.<\/td>\n
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