Portuguese Words and Phrases

[Bubba Boy]

Can anybody recommend a decent portuguese study school at a fair price? I have looked at a heap of schools on the net and they seem to be more expensive than studying the same thing in a western country or hiring a private 1 on 1 tutor in Rio. Most average US$350 per week for 20 hours of study in a group. I know I can get the same thing in Spain for $150 per week. A private tutor who will come to your hotel or apartment in Rio is about USD$12 per hour. Hence even this is cheaper. The big schools in Rio seem to be rips.

Anybody know of a school for $150 ish a week? A fair price, I hate getting ripped in Latin America.

[El Austriaco]

I am wondering how to pronounce the name "Angela" in (Brazilian) Portuguese. Any ideas, in the form of phonetic spelling, would be appreciated.

Rex

Angela (alternatively written as Ângela),comes with the variations Angélica/Angelica/Angelika or Angelina. The only part that is somewhat tricky to pronounce is the "g", which is pronounced like "s" in "treasure" (almost like in English, but without the preceding "d"). It is stressed on the first syllable like in English, i.e. "AN-ge-la". Also, please note that all the vowels here (A and E) are pronounced very clearly in Portuguese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language

[RexG]

I am wondering how to pronounce the name "Angela" in (Brazilian) Portuguese. Any ideas, in the form of phonetic spelling, would be appreciated.

Rex

[Bubba Boy]

One thing Rossetta has Pimsleur beat with hands down is the reading part. Portuguese sounds very different from the way it's written out and with Pimsleur you get audio only. In that regard it's more of a complete course. That's why i think getting a portuguese to english translation book won't do jack for anybody.

Thats exactly why I posted the notes to Pimsleur below. Don't know why Pimsleur don't do this........

[The Corn Hole]

Well, I will admit I didn't put the same amount of time into Rossetta as I did with Pimsleur so maybe you have something there. I played, replayed and overplayed the shit out of it so maybe that's why it worked out so well for me. But I found Pimsleur to be less complex but still HIGHLY effective. I got the exact pronuciation down from Pimsleur. Don't ask me why it works so well it just does. I've heard the same from others. I would suggest any novice speaker to start with the first 30 lessons of Pimsleur course as your base and then maybe go on to Rossetta #1. Pimsleur is cheaper also.

One thing Rossetta has Pimsleur beat with hands down is the reading part. Portuguese sounds very different from the way it's written out and with Pimsleur you get audio only. In that regard it's more of a complete course. That's why i think getting a portuguese to english translation book won't do jack for anybody.

[Giggity]

Thought I'd chime in a little on these portuguese audio/visual courses. I have both Pimsleur level 1 and 2 (60 cds) and bought Rossetta stone level 1. I must confess that for a novice speaker I would recommend the Pimsleur course before Rossetta. Why? Because the pimsleur way is much easier to memorize than the Rossetta method. At least it was for me. Pimsleur is constantly repeating stuff you heard from previous lessons to make sure you don't forget it. I found it easy to commit the content to memory. The Rossetta stuff I kept forgetting. The key is memorization and that is why I vote for pimsleur. They have an A+ method they use. I'm about half way through the second course now (finally! ) and got most of it down cold. It took me a while though. It's not something you can learn in only a few months time IMO.

I've been doing pretty well remembering the Rosetta Stone material. I think the trick is to continue a particular lesson until you get 95+ percent on all of its tests. That means *all* the "Listening & Reading" tests, "Listening", "Reading", and "Writing". Also, make sure you can do the "Speaking" section well enough to get it into the green (good/best accent score) several times in a row. Then go on to the next lesson. All those sections are there for a reason!

But, I'll probably pick up Pimsleur for good measure =].

[The Corn Hole]

Thought I'd chime in a little on these portuguese audio/visual courses. I have both Pimsleur level 1 and 2 (60 cds) and bought Rossetta stone level 1. I must confess that for a novice speaker I would recommend the Pimsleur course before Rossetta. Why? Because the pimsleur way is much easier to memorize than the Rossetta method. At least it was for me. Pimsleur is constantly repeating stuff you heard from previous lessons to make sure you don't forget it. I found it easy to commit the content to memory. The Rossetta stuff I kept forgetting. The key is memorization and that is why I vote for pimsleur. They have an A+ method they use. I'm about half way through the second course now (finally!) and got most of it down cold. It took me a while though. It's not something you can learn in only a few months time IMO.

[Bubba Boy]

at that price he is well and truly taking the [CodeWord140]. Costs him $3 to duplicate the whole set.

[Truant]

There is a gringo outside Meia Pataca most days selling the complete Pimsler and Rosetta Stone courses along with extra shit like translation software and games and curiosities and alphabet differences-all for US$100. Its about 10 CD's. He recruits some garotas to help him who get R$10 for each sale! His website is: http://www.geocities.com/learnportuguese2003/

Truant

[Turf Builder]

Good point.

Yes, thanks for posting the Pimsleur notes. I have the CDs.

Does anybody really care?

[Rio Bob]

I don't think you'll find anyone that did both completely. Because they are parallel. So whom every takes one isn't likely to take the other in the same depth as the first.

Think about it this way. If you think about a particular language's knowledge as going from 0-100. Both programs are designed to bring you from 0-10. So whomever did the Pimsleur first would know enough Portuguese by then to NOT enjoy a full coarse starting at 0 again. It'd be overkill right?

Same thing for those that did the Roesatta first.
Le P

I have both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur and they are not the same, different approach to teaching and different words, you most certainly can do both and benefit from it. Like I said I prefer Pimsleur because it is not PC based and you don't need a book either, you just repeat after the speaker, very easy and very effective, you can play it over and over again which is how I learn by hearing it over and over and repeating it.

Actually I’m glad this subject came up because I am going to do other lessons now that I haven't looked at in years to fill in the gaps and get a different perspective. Years ago the first lessons I bought were put out by Barron’s which has a lesson set designed for the US government Foreign service institute Diplomatic personnel, 12 tapes 90 min each plus a book, it is what got me started and it was inexpensive retail $79 but I think Amazon.com might have it cheaper, I learned words from this I never heard on Pimsleur.

Next a high school in my area started a class by a Brazilian woman, I also bought a little book and some tapes by Lonely Planet. I tried to get some private lessons with her at her house as she was a nice blond from Porto Allegre but I think she thought I was more interested in the private part than the lessons, I never got there unfortunately but I got to speak and practice in class, words I never heard on Pimsleur.

Then I went to Berlitz and got hooked up in a group class, again bought their book and tapes also, completely different perspective than the other lessons and learnt new and different words, the group was fun but didn't last long, more people go for Spanish than Portuguese at least then they did, a couple of years ago. The group broke up then I took private lessons there, you get personal attention and you speak and practice more, you can learn faster but pay more. The teacher was great but unfortunately he was a man and I was looking to mix some fun and learning so I moved on.

I went to another language school called Inlingua, this time there was a lovely Carioca who was the teacher but unfortunately married but she teased me enough and was great fun. She told me she usually teaches Portuguese to business men who need to learn the language for business in Sao Paulo but she has never taught someone who wanted to learn Portuguese for my purposes. I didn't tell her what my purposes were but she figured it out I guess after she got to know me. Again I bought their book and tapes, different words I learned and different stories than everything else. Every time you do a different lesson set it fills in the gaps that others lack. I eventually left the school and a friend introduced me to both Pimsleur and The Rosetta Stone, I really only concentrate on Pimsleur and it is good because the repetition is a good way to play it over and over, I have probably listened to all 90 lessons at least 5 times, I listen to at least 1 or 2 lessons a day.

The other thing I do is make friends with all the Brazilians I can here in the North East US and there are some here. At least once a day I have a brief conversation with a Brazilian and it is good to listen to them using words you may know but it is good to listen how they use them.

Last night I went to a happy hour and there were employees from IBM there from Brazil, I spoke to them about 2 hours, great practice.

[Bubba Boy]

You used to see the complete set of Level I-III for sale in MP3 (genuine) format on Ebay for about $200 (total for the set), I don't see it anymore, hence it may have been discontinued or it may have been a little dodgy. They still show up on google.

You can pick up the whole set of CD's on ebay now for about $480. Make sure you shop around, nobody pays the full Recommended Retail of $300 per course. I think this makes it cheaper than the Rosetta stone course. For the record I have never heard anyone say Pimsleur was a bad option, heard 2 people that did not like Rosetta. I personally would go with Pimsleur.

You can of course buy dodgy copies in Rio for next to nothing. Or download dodgy copies from P2P sites like bittorent, not that one would condone such things, but these are all options one may consider.

[Wild Cherokee]

Thank you very much for the advice gentlemen. As of now, I am leaning towards Rosetta Stone as it seems to be less expensive. I most likely will make my purchasing decision sometime next week after a little more research.

I'll be back in Rio during September. I'd like to advance beyond the Sporglish that I used during my 1st trip.

SP=Limited Spanish
OR=Limited Portuguese
GLISH=Fluent English

Somehow my buddies and I were able to communicate with everyone about everything using Sporglish. However, I feel that speaking better Portuguese (which I define as basic/elementary) will make subsequent trips even better.

-WC

[Leparticular]

I'd like to purchase one of these programs (for Portuguese) but I'm not sure which one is most effective/easiest. Any recommendations? Has anyone tried both? Any idea where the least expensive place to purchase them is?

-WC

I'm sure both do a good job since they're both well talked about. I've tried Pimsleur and really love it. Haven't tried Rosetta though.

I don't think you'll find anyone that did both completely. Because they are parallel. So whom every takes one isn't likely to take the other in the same depth as the first.

Think about it this way. If you think about a particular language's knowledge as going from 0-100. Both programs are designed to bring you from 0-10. So whomever did the Pimsleur first would know enough Portuguese by then to NOT enjoy a full coarse starting at 0 again. It'd be overkill right?

Same thing for those that did the Roesatta first.

I think you just have to read about them and chose one for yourself.

As far as where to get them. Well, the internet is vast! Can't say more. PM me if you need more.

Le P

[Leparticular]

hey bubba boy,

thanks for sharing those notes! those notes are extremely valuable!!

i was constantly doing the online translation thing whenever a new word was introduced, just to see what it looks like. and sometimes, the word given was totally different! i didn't know what to say or think. i'm quite lucky to have a brasilero colleague that i bring all my q's to every day. for instance, i though the "what a shame" was "que tena". that's how it sounded like on the tapes. of coarse he clarified that it was really que pena. small things like that, that one can't hear clearly on audio. also, i didn't know the difference between ha and a before you posted that!!! they sound identical! and i'm done the first two pimsleurs, i and ii. just iii to go.

i actually am kind of glad, i didn't see the written notes till now. i could just imagine myself in the first course glancing over once in a while, it would've been totally confusing. all the "wrong ideas" might have crept in the pronounciation of words and for that alone, i'm glad i didn't stumble upon this list then. i think i woulda downloaded it and peeked at it everyonce in a while which is the opposite of the pimsleur "philosophy" to me anyway. i think they teach you by sound 1st, then drop in a few visuals here and there. though, like i said before those notes were amazing to glance over and see all these phrases we've been saying all along. it was like a eureka for me!


i do recommend pims to anyone who wants to get the jist of the language before going. i'm very comforatable, dropping a few lines here and there to shock my brasilero friend. i ain't writing portuguese books anytime soon though!

i didn't do rosetta, but i heard that it's all visual connections, etc. i'd rather hear than see (language wise). but i'd love to do her coarse as well afterwards and judge for myself. as for right now, i'm really enjoying pims.

le p