Re: Brazilian Portuguese (was: Primary Interjections - Universals?)

Em Thu, 11 Apr 2002 19:03:46 -0700, Talpas Tim <tim@...> escreveu:

> In the dialect of brazilian (northeastern, fortaleza) i learneed <r> is
> pronounced /h/ word-initially, /x/ syllable finally. <rr> is always /h/.
> <r> in any other position is the tap.
> [...]
> I hear tell that some people in the rural part of Sao Paulo state pronounce
> <r> as the american <r>. My teacher insisted that there was no overt
> pronunciation of final <r>, rather just lengthening of the final vowel, But
> i heard otherwise. If you listen to any music of Daniela Mercury, she really
> *really* pronounces her final <r>'s as [x].
        As I speak it, word-final <r>s are not usually pronounced. It's
common to hear some people pronouce them although, like some singers
(Danielay Mercury, Caetano Veloso. among others).
        The rest of the explanation is fine, although I seldom heard
anyone spaek that /x/ but some singers and TV speakers.
        Also, <r> preceded by an <n> is /h/: Conrado /konhadu/

> Depending on how you learned to transcribe diphtongs, <ei> is either
> [eI] or [ej] or [ei]. But it is clearly not [e]. There is a very distinct
> movement from mid-front-ish to high-front.
        <ei> is supposed to be /ej/, unless if it's accented with an
accute. But we never pronouce that semivowel, so it becomes:
        - capoeira -> /kapuera/
        - carangueijo -> /kar~ageZo/
        - Andréia -> /~adrEja/ or /~adrEa/ if we speak quickly
        - geléia -> /gElEja/ or /gElEa/ if we speak quickly
        <oi> follows the same pattern: /oj/ unless accented (<ói> = /Oj/).
However, we will pronouce it /o/ if it's followed by an <u>.
        - coisa -> /kojza/
        - vassoura -> /vasora/

        Also, when <e> is not stressed (specially when word-final) it's
often (but not alwasys) pronouced /i/.
        The same goes to <o>, which becomes /u/.

> <t> and <d> before phonetic (not just phonemic) [i] are pronounced [tS] and
> [dZ], respectively.
>
> thus:
> dia = [dZi&] "day"
> de = [dZi] "of"
> da = [da] "of the"
> Tim = [tSi~]  My name.
        This depends on the area. Where I live, you can pronouce them /t/
and /d/. Thus:
- dia = /dia/
- de = /di/
- Tim = /t~i/
        If your teacher forces to say /tS/ and /dZ/, just tell him
'dane-se' and it´s ok.

--
Gustavo Eulalio <guga@...>
Departamento de Sistemas e Computação - DSC
Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB