Lesson 24: Intonation

Lesson 24: Intonation

Author: College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin March 28, 2007 Duration: 15:05
asset title: Lesson 24: Intonation filename: tafalado_24.mp3 track number: 25/46 time: 15:05 size: 10.61 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Today's lesson is totally different. Instead of listening to a dialog and comparing the sounds to Spanish, our team discusses a number of audio clips that illustrate Brazilian Portuguese intonation patterns. Do not worry about understanding what they clips are saying. The objective of today's lesson is to listen to the music, rhythm, and pitch of Brazilian Portuguese. And yes, Brazilians do think of Halls Mentho-Lyptus as candy! Clip #1, from Lesson 13 dialog Valdo and Vivian Portuguese: Ah, é mesmo. Dentro de alguns cinemas aqui eles servem comida. Gostoso, né? Spanish: Ah, es cierto. Dentro de algunos cines aquí se sirve comida. Qué chévere, ¿no? English: That's right. In some of the theaters they serve food. That's cool, right? --- Clip #2, Lesson 13 dialog Michelle and Vivian Portuguese: Então tá. A gente come massa com espinafre e toma umas bebidas enquanto assiste o filme. Spanish: Está bien. Nosotros comemos pasta con espinacas y tomamos unas bebidas mientras miramos la película. English: OK then. We'll have pasta with spinach and we'll have a few drinks while watching the movie. --- Clip #3, 'Hot Dog' or 'Hoti Doggie' Michelle, Valdo, José Luis, and Orlando - Eu quero ver ele pronunciar 'hoti doggie.' - É porque foi uma controvérsia porque ela queria que eu falasse 'fasti foodi' mas eu não falo 'fasti foodi.' - Eu também não falo 'fasti foodi', mas eu vou forçar aqui porque todo mundo fala! - No cultural note vamos fazer ... - O que cê fala geralmente? - Cachorro quente. - Não, mas a gente fala 'hoti doggie.' - Mas se você dissesse ... - Se falasse no Brasil ... - Ele, como sabe ingles, ele vai falar 'hot dog' ... - Ninguém vai entender o que é, né? É lógico. - ... mas as pessoas falam 'hoti doggie.' É como falar 'fasti foodi.' - Eu queria salientar isso nos cultural note, que eu não falo 'hoti doggie' ... --- Clip #4 Michelle, Valdo, Jose Luis, and Orlando: - 'Fasti Foodi' - Eu também não falo assim Valdo, mas eu vou dar uma forçada porque as pessoas falam. - O que cê fala? - Não, a gente fala 'fast food' mas as pessoas falam 'fasti foodi' com 'i' no final. - Mas o objetivo é esse, né? da lição. - Exatamente, - Mas eu queria que ... - ... enfatize que nós não falamos assim. - Que nós dois, né? - Nós não falamos mas o resto é normal. --- Clip #5 Michelle, Valdo, Jose Luis, and Orlando: - Na verdade eu não escuto muito a gente falar 'hoti doggie'. O pessoal fala ... - Sim, fala mais cachorro quente, mas quando vai falar. - É que a gente precisava de usar essas palavras para ... - We'll play with it, we'll let people know that cachorro quente is also said a lot. - Mas, quando as pessoas vão falar, fala 'hoti doggie'. - If they ever say it. - Sim. - Porque Orlando lo dirá en inglés, hot dog. - Eu diria cachorro quente, para falar a verdade, eu falaria em português ... - Eu não falaria hot dog nunca - Sim, mas tem lugares também - We need to come up with some epenthetic vowel ... - I fully understand what we are doing. --- Clip #6 Michelle, Valdo, Jose Luis, and Orlando: - Outra coisa que você pode incluir, se cê quiser, que eu lembrei agora, Halles... - O que é Halles? - Halles. - Eu nunca ouvi as pessoas pronunciarem Halles. - É Halles. - Escuto pronunciar Halls - É, eu sempre falo Halls. Gente, eu sempre falo assim. - Una clase divina. - For us, Jose Luis, you will not believe this, but for us Halls is a medicine. You know, throat lozenges, when you have a sore throat you have Halls. - Oh yea. - In Brazil, they eat it like candy! - Candy. - They sell Halls like candy! - Yea, - Yea. It's like... - E eu pronuncio Halls sempre. Eu nunca ouvi Halles. - Is it candy, I mean the Halls? - No. A primeira vez que eles ofereceram para mim Halls como se fosse candy eu pensei, what is this? - Para mim foi estranho achar que o povo usa aqui como remédio. - Não, não, no Brazil não. Imagina! Uma balinha, que cê compra todo dia, toma todo dia. - Toma não, chupa todo dia, uma balinha... - Pra botar bom hálito na boca. - Sim. - Oh, I like that. - OK, we better get rolling here.

For anyone who speaks Spanish and wants to learn the distinct sounds of Brazilian Portuguese, Tá Falado is a focused and practical resource. This podcast comes from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, and it’s built on a simple, effective idea: your existing knowledge of Spanish is a powerful starting point. Each episode deliberately contrasts the two languages, breaking down specific pronunciation challenges like vowel sounds, nasal consonants, and intonation patterns that often trip up Spanish speakers. You’ll hear clear comparisons and practice examples that highlight these differences directly. Beyond the mechanics of speech, the podcast naturally weaves in cultural notes and real-life scenarios, offering glimpses into daily life and social interactions in Brazil compared to common experiences in the United States. It’s this combination of linguistic precision and cultural context that makes the lessons stick. As part of the broader Brazilpod project, Tá Falado is academically informed but entirely approachable, turning a potentially difficult learning curve into a series of manageable, insightful steps. The goal isn’t just to be understood, but to sound more authentic and confident when speaking.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 46

Tá Falado: Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation for Speakers of Spanish
Podcast Episodes
Grammar Lesson 10: Word Order of Negative Phrases, Paying for Parties [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:25
asset title: Grammar Lesson 10: Word Order of Negative Phrases, Paying for Parties filename: tafalado_gra_10.mp3 track number: 36/46 time: 11:25 size: 8.02 MB bitrate: 96 kbps 'Não, não sei não.' This is the pattern for…
Grammar Lesson 9: Possessive Pronouns, How to Dress Like an American [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:29
asset title: Grammar Lesson 9: Possessive Pronouns, How to Dress Like an American filename: tafalado_gra_09.mp3 track number: 35/46 time: 12:29 size: 8.78 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Who would have ever guessed that Valdo and Mi…
Grammar Lesson 8: Plural of words that end in 'ão', Car Insurance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:22
asset title: Grammar Lesson 8: Plural of words that end in 'ão', Car Insurance filename: tafalado_gra_08.mp3 track number: 34/46 time: 13:22 size: 9.40 MB bitrate: 96 kbps So why is the plural of alemão alemães, but he p…
Grammar Lesson 6: The Verb 'Ficar', Studying in Cafés [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:11
asset title: Grammar Lesson 6: The Verb 'Ficar', Studying in Cafés filename: tafalado_gra_06.mp3 track number: 32/46 time: 11:11 size: 7.87 MB bitrate: 96 kbps In this lesson Orlando dreams about being able to use the ve…
Grammar Lesson 5: Disappearing Reflexive Verbs, Use of Coupons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:39
asset title: Grammar Lesson 5: Disappearing Reflexive Verbs, Use of Coupons filename: tafalado_gra_05.mp3 track number: 31/46 time: 9:39 size: 6.79 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Here's a trick question for Spanish speakers: Would…
Grammar Lesson 4: Future Subjunctive, Soda Refills at Restaurants [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:55
asset title: Grammar Lesson 4: Future Subjunctive, Soda Refills at Restaurants filename: tafalado_gra_04.mp3 track number: 30/46 time: 13:55 size: 9.78 MB bitrate: 96 kbps When you go, you will buy a soda. If you buy a s…
Grammar Lesson 3: Plurals with 'l', Gas Stations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:15
asset title: Grammar Lesson 3: Plurals with 'l', Gas Stations filename: tafalado_gra_03.mp3 track number: 29/46 time: 13:15 size: 9.31 MB bitrate: 96 kbps The plural of Brazil, if there were two of them, would be 'Brasis…
Grammar Lesson 2: Contractions, Getting Change From A Machine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:20
asset title: Grammar Lesson 2: Contractions, Getting Change From A Machine filename: tafalado_gra_02.mp3 track number: 28/46 time: 12:20 size: 8.67 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Can you believe how many contractions Portuguese has…
Grammar Lesson 1: Gostar vs. Gustar,  Sitting on the Grass [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:49
asset title: Grammar Lesson 1: Gostar vs. Gustar, Sitting on the Grass filename: tafalado_gra_01.mp3 track number: 27/46 time: 10:49 size: 7.61 MB bitrate: 96 kbps We've made a switch. Welcome back to all who have previo…