Going from the north to the south of the biggest nation in South America, you really can’t quite believe you’re in the same country. Spanning over 4655 miles of coastline, Brazil is the fifth largest country by population and geographical area. Its landscape, architecture and population are so radically different, ranging from European in the south to the exotic, tropical Amazonian north. It is little wonder that you can feel like you’re on the other side of the world in just one tiny trip. And while well known for its coffee exports, Brazil also has a remarkably varied array of Portuguese accents that are just as notable as its changing landscapes.
Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. And aside from Brazilian Portuguese sounding so different to European Portuguese, around Brazil itself, the accents and dialects in Portuguese also vary tremendously. The European settlers from Portugal, Italy and Germany, brought with them their linguistic influences that fused with the indigenous Indian accents in Brazil, along with the large influx of African languages introduced with the slave trade in the late 17th and the 18th centuries. This slave trade stemmed from Mozambique, Angola and Congo, among other African countries.
Overall, Brazilian Portuguese has a much more nasal resonance and also a more musical, lilting intonation and rhythm than its European counterpart.
Well with so many accent options available, as an actor who’s offered a role or opportunity to do an audition in a Brazilian accent of English, where should you start? See syllabus
The Brazilian accent in English is much more strongly influenced by American English than by British English, due both to its relatively closer cultural relationship with the USA as well as to having more inherent linguistic similarities with it, such as the »rhotic use of /r/
The recordings on the Voice Cafe are of the Brazilian pronunciation of the sounds of American English, and are made with Brazilians from Sao Paulo state near Campinas. The speakers have never lived outside Brazil, so retain much of the native interpretations of the erratic spelling patterns of English. A learner of the Brazilian accent of English can choose how far they want to incorporate the strength of the native accent for the role they are playing.
