Portuguese as She is Not (and is) Spoken

This summer for a few weeks in late July/early August I went to Portugal on holidays. We spent 2 weeks near Sintra, north of Lisbon and a week in the Algarve, glamping. It was an interesting experience as a language learner.

Sintra is full of tourists and these are mostly southern European and Latin American, with a smaller proportion of English speakers than elsewhere in Portugal. Drawn by the attractive monuments, castles and temperate climate the city was teeming with tourists. Notwithstanding any of the nearby seaside towns were mostly filled with locals or Portuguese tourists. There was a sense that Sintra attracts people who stay for a day or two, see the sights and then move on. Therefore it caters for and is dependent on tourism but appears to know that what it offers is a chance to sample the cultural history of Portugal.

In addition, while you can get by without Portuguese, you also can speak in Portuguese at many opportunities. Some of which are the repetitive and basic requests for beverages and food, whilst others are more demanding. One memorable conversation involved an attempt to have olive oil on our bread rather than butter, the man in question refused, we tried to insist and he won. Another was a young man at a deli counter delighted in the fact that I could speak (some) Portuguese and lamented the fact that no one seemed to be interested in learning the language. The various attempts at conversation were varied in terms of success and understanding. Comprehension remains the big struggle - mine not the other half of the dialogue. The experience was largely positive with most in Sintra, its environs and in Lisbon proving patient with my attempts at (mis)using their language.

The experience in the Algarve was a dramatic contrast. As a destination for sun and sea package holidays, what was originally a coastline of fishing villages has become a sprawling skyline catering to a foreign (mostly northern European) tourist who appears to care little for local culture except by way of a veneer of the exotic to remind them of where they are. We stayed in a Tipi run by two very pleasant English people surrounded by other English people. Nothing wrong with that, other than as a language experience it wasn't immersive. To be more precise it was a little (friendly, eco) bubble of Englishness on the Algarve. We traveled up and down the Algarve sampling different towns, mostly focusing our energies on the Western end. For the most part we came across tourists from England, Germany, a few Irish, and many Spaniards. There was a mixture of independent travelers and package holidaymakers.

While in Sintra, I had read with some trepidation the chapter on the Algarve in José Saramago's Journey to Portugal: A Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture (London: The Harvill Press, 2002). Based on a journey he undertook in 1979, much of the book involves going into small villages, waiting around for the key holder of the local church and describing under-explored corners of Portugal. His brief sojourn in the Algarve at the end of this trip is treated in a perfunctory and bad humoured manner. To cite him, the traveller (as he refers to himself throughout),

"goes into a hotel to ask if there is a room free, and almost before he has opened his mouth they smile at him and reply in English or French. When he continues in his own native language of Portuguese, they respond to him sourly, even if it is to say that yes they do have one free. The traveller reflects how pleasant it would be on his journeys to see the Portuguese language displayed in restaurants and hotels, in petrol stations and airports, to hear it spoken fluently by air hostesses and policemen, by the maid bringing breakfast and the wine waiter. But this is a mirage produced by the baking sun: Portuguese is not spoken outside these parts, my friend, it's only spoken by a few people, and they are too poor to count" (434).

Implicit in this is a curious sort of envy of the way that both English and French has become ubiquitous. Not an unproblematic one, but one, in this situation, that appears to be born of his upset at the absence of Portuguese on the Algarve. He imagines that the tourists who frequent the Algarve would be happy "if there were short and direct underground passageways between the hotels, rooms and rented apartments, restaurants, beaches and boîtes, we would see the incredible dream of being everywhere and nowhere really come true" (436). The 'everywhere and nowhere' feeling can be achieved in some towns without the need for underground passageways, unfortunately.

His derision for the destruction that has taken effect on this coastline by package tourism is expressed in his disgust at how the Portuguese language is sidelined in favour of a "servile" deference to other languages, "Portuguese is held in such low esteem here that it could be said of the Algarve, where civilisation comes to enjoy its barbarism, that it is a place for Portuguese as she is not spoken" (434). Unfortunately, this was my experience too. Restaurant staff who ignore your desire to practice the language and reply in English or hand you over the English menu with rude disdain, shop assistants who look at you askance, and a general air of not wanting to interact beyond a purely commercial and very tired exchanges. There is some consolation to be sought in the fact that a Nobel prize winning author of that language experienced some of the disdain I a language learner did. In the Algarve, Portuguese is still being broken there.

What does Audible have?: audio learning

Audible, a review for learning Portuguese

http://www.audible.co.uk/

Having exhausted my local library's audio books, I thought I'd see what's available to purchase online. Here's what Audible.co.uk has to offer. This page is linked to Amazon, I'm not sure if that means that it's a sister company or just a seller on Amazon. I haven't investigated.

Stats first

When you type in 'Portuguese', 33 hits come up. Of these 3 are unrelated to audio courses for language learning: one is the first of a three part novel about an eccentric linguistics professor by Alexander McCall Smith entitled Portuguese irregular verbs; another is Psalms for Leaders in Portuguese; and the final one is Rattapallaz 9, an American (US) poetry magazine. So that leaves 30. For the English speaker there are 9 which bear no relevance as they are published by Dr L’nov and are called variously simply Portuguese or I Speak Portuguese (in the other languages) for Italian/German/French/Japanese speakers. Unless of course you want an extra challenge.

Now that we’ve eliminated these, what of the other 21? They have a problem that many (not all of course, more of that in the future) audio books/podcasts/apps have is that they are specifically for learning for holidays or basic introductory language. What do you do when you are at that tricky false beginner who can read lots but hasn't grasped the aural, but wants to get beyond 'hello' and 'what is the local speciality' level? Portuguese definitely is poorly served as a language. It needs more of everything. Enough of my ranting. So, what does this page offer? Audible lets you listen to a sample of all of their offerings, which is great, and means that you can listen before you buy, and, in the case of some of them get a little giggle. You can decide for yourself which courses tickle your fancy, appeal to your learning style, or suit your needs. I have listened to all and divided these into holiday, introductory, and beginners to intermediate from what I have heard. There are courses which could do with having better clips. The difference as to what they aim to teach you is subtle in some and, there is an overlap in many as none are highly specialist language learning (eg no Portuguese for wave engineers). Therefore, you can take it that all of the audio courses will help you on holiday and most will give you a sense of the basics in Portuguese.

Holiday language (HL)

These are specifically those that are designed for you to learn for or on the way to your holiday. Often these involve a limited cast of characters and situations. Keep it simple seems to be the motto all the way through. A key problem of these can be that they presuppose that every situation is going to predictable and that the person will respond in ways that the tape will suggest.

Introductory courses (IC)

These are sometimes part one of several or simply don’t over identify themselves with a given scenario (eg holidays) but give you a start in the language.

Beginners to Intermediate (BI)

Ones that get you started and then beyond the basics.

Collins 40 minutes Portuguese – they make a grand claim that by listening to this, repeating the words and phrases, you should have no problem getting by. Are all situations that predictable? Music is deeply irritating both grandiose and tinkly, if you can imagine. (IC)

Collins Easy Learning Audio Course – this is like it came from a different company than the previous course. It is much longer, and quite a comprehensive introductory course to Portuguese. There are a variety of speakers and exercises, clear instructions and helpful tips. Would have liked a sample class on Audible. (BI)

BBC Get By in Portuguese and also by the BBC Quickstart Portuguese are clear, straightforward and well articulated with those easy to understand BBC accents and vowel sounds. (IC)

InFlight Portuguese – It may well require a longer flight than it takes to get to Portugal from this end of the world, but maybe you want to go to Mozambique, Madeira or Brazil. This one is very dull and encourages you to listen rather than actively use your language. I’m not sure that those sharing your flight will appreciate you repeating so, it is just a lot of ‘this it how you say this word and what it means’, not useful unless you want to brush up or have a brilliant memory. Maybe use in the hire car on your way around your Portuguese speaking destination. (HL)

Here’s another that suggests that you have to do little to learn Portuguese, and the airplane image on the front (as well as the name) suggest that you will learn on the way. eTicket Portuguese takes it slowly, explains things clearly and repeats, which is very useful. It does claim that you won’t need to take notes, I suppose you can’t if it’s only audio and it doesn’t give you any clues as to Portuguese spelling. I seems to be for those going on the ferry or renting a car and learning while there or just learning at home stuck in traffic vocabulary. Words and phrases are repeated rather slowly. Q&A format. (HL)

Michel Thomas Sample and Introductory Course – there are those who swear by the MT system. He is a psychologist who has devised a method which claims that you don’t have to learn anything off, no memorising or drills or homeworks, just listen to the cds regularly, chill out and follow the instructions. It works for some. I find it hard not to worry and to relax, not for me. (HL)

Vocabulearn: Levels 1 & 2 the samples given just had the repetition of words by a Portuguese woman

followed by a deep male US voice giving the English version. They seem displaced from anything; just random new words. I need contexts to build associations. (BI)

Survival Phrases.com Learn Brazilian Survival Phrases 1-30 and 31-60 breaks the words down and gives the specific cultural context. There is a narrative surrounding your learning. Words are broken down by syllable, as well as said quickly. It builds on association eg with obrigado it suggests that you may feel obligated when you say thank you. It may help some. Too many of these are lists. (HL)

Teach Yourself this is a tried and tested method which comes with or without a book. I have been using the book. The music is a little irritating, but it does plunge you into realistic situations where you don’t know all the vocabulary and prompt you to seek out key information, which is also quite realistic. I’ve used their material in the past and have mixed feeling about the books but the audio seems good and with better supporting material could be much improved. Their music is a little irritating. (BI)

RX: Freedom to Travel Language Series This is a new one on me, language for people with special needs whether they are nutritional, mobility or health related. I have never come across one which came with a health warning before. The sample tells you how to tell your host/ restaurant that ‘I have a food allergy/special diet’ with chill out hippy sounds playing in the background. If this is your language need, I guess this is your course. (HL)

Another with music at its centre is Earworms Rapid Portuguese. I’m drawn to this one as it made me giggle. It is presented in the style of a conversation, with the dialogue and repetitions in rhythm with the music, which is a kind of chill out trance (not an expert on electronic, but strikes me as such). The voices are very friendly and warm which is very appealing. Personally, I think I’d get tired of the music and the loungey style very soon. (IC)

This may change, more may be added. My search was carried out on the 9th of April 2010.

Feel the Fear

It has been a long time since I tried to learn a new language. All of us have had to learn a language at some stage. First language acquisition is different to second, third, fourth... I learnt Irish from a very young age, my parents would have taught me a few words and then, from when I started at school I learnt it as another subject at a school which taught many other subjects through the medium of Irish (the degree to which this happened depended on the teacher, it seemed).

Later, in secondary school I took up French and Spanish. These were both learnt in a very staged and gradual approach with much repetition and support from text books. Also, in school I took a few classes in German, of which I remember little. These experiences were varied and I have had different opportunities to use these languages in the real world.

Irish is the first and most complex in terms of cultural baggage. When I was growing up it was burdened by history and cultural nationalism. It has since evolved to a large extent. It is also a language riven by divisions and protectionist debates about correct usage. The teaching was caught up in the many obscure complexities of the language over communicative usage. Too afraid to speak in case I would misuse a tense or stumble upon an English word, I was put off and unlearnt most of my Irish at secondary school. I don't think I'm unique in that. I feel it as a loss which I must remedy someday.

My experience of French was different. The summer before I went to college I travelled to Brittany for a job that fell through, and ended up traveling around for a month. I found that my school French served me well. I was confident that I could understand most of what was being said and could respond, if not with ease, at least to keep communication flowing. Until the French lecturer warned us off on the first day of university, my plan had been to continue with French for my degree. Instead, I opted for Spanish and Italian. My Italian never flourished, due to a lack of effort, but I found what I did learn easy to pick up. Many years later, it was sufficient to get by on holidays there. Despite some bumps on the way and a weak initial foundation from school, I have become fluent in Spanish. This was assisted by a 3 year sojourn in Spain and a long standing love of all things Mexican.

All of these had been accompanied by some nervous moments, occasional hesitations and blocks, but little fear. Portuguese was different. My time in Rio was extremely positive: people were friendly, usually willing to repeat and slow down for me. But, there were moments that I had blanks. I could not understand what people were saying to me, and I was flummoxed. What's worse my interactions were in easy and apparently predictable situations. I'd ask for food at a cafe and would be asked something back. With no idea what was said I would go blank, forget the phrase 'fale o senhor mais devagar' [could you speak more slowly], and be dumbstruck. There is an incredible feeling of impotency in that situation. I would look blankly and my interlocutor would usually shrug their shoulders and repeat themselves or shake their head and take my money.

It's a very difficult feeling and one that was useful to experience. I now know what it's like and can sympathise better with my students when they too look at me with the same panicked face that, no doubt, I had. However, I braced myself knowing that if I persisted in putting myself in these unnerving situations I would gain in understanding, eventually tune in my ear to what was being said and come out with the appropriate response. This did come about and made my achievement all the sweeter. I can see that these mini-bumps can be very scary. But, (as that self-help phrase goes) it's worth feeling the fear and doing it anyway.