Learn Portuguese Manchester

Why learn Portuguese?

Portugal is a beautiful country, much of which has yet to be properly discovered by the British. It is a popular holiday destination but it is also so much more.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Portugal was a superpower, with enormous wealth and colonies all over the world. In 1581, the Spanish invaded Portugal and occupied it for sixty years, during which time Portuguese fortunes declined dramatically. In 1755, bad luck struck Lisbon in the form of an earthquake. The twentieth century was another turbulent one for Portugal, with the overthrow of the monarchy in 1910 and a succession of repressive, more or less dictatorial governments ruling the country until the revolution in 1974. Portugal gave up its last colony, Macau, in 1999.

These days, Portugal is a modern, thriving economy with a great deal to offer the foreign visitor. If you are going to get the most out of your trip, however, you need to know at least some of the language.

Here at JMJ in Manchester, we have taught Portuguese to many people who have known Portugal for a while before learning to speak its language. They have all reported feeling both satisfied and exhilarated communicating with the Portuguese in their own tongue. It is the only way really to get below the surface of a country.

It is not a particularly difficult language to learn. If you have some experience of Spanish, Italian or even French, you will find Portuguese very accessible. (If you haven't, you will have the advantage of no preconceived ideas about pronunciation.)

When you first listen to Portuguese, it usually sounds impenetrable and much more foreign than, say, Spanish. It is true that the pronunciation and the accent are very different from those of the other Romance languages but when you see Portuguese written down, you may be surprised how much you can understand.

Have a look at the following words and see what you think.

o aeroporto (the airport)
o apartamento (the apartment, flat)
o problema (the problem)
a gasolina (the petrol)
o minuto (the minute)
importante (important)
excelente (excellent)

Not too bad so far, is it?

A degree more difficult now, for the more experienced linguists:

o livro (the book)
o bilhete (the ticket - lh is pronounced like gl in Italian or ll in Spanish)
o jornal (the newspaper)

For a brief overview of the history of the Portuguese language, please click here.

For a very detailed and informative assessment of how Brazilian Portuguese differs from European Portuguese, please click here.

Inspired to learn Portuguese?

If you live in or near Manchester, you could start a one-to-one Portuguese course with us tomorrow (or whenever it suits you).

There is a large Portuguese-speaking community in Manchester and you should have no trouble finding people to talk to in Portuguese, to practise what you've learnt in your lessons.