MIND YOUR LANGUAGE!

If learning Portuguese has always been on your 'to do' list, you're probably at the same stage of actually doing something about it as I am. This month we introduce Amanda who will be writing a series of lessons for beginners... which will hopefully encourage us to learn more.

Here we are once again in a new year full of ambition and expectation!

Did you make a new year’s resolution? Going to the gym? Going on that diet or even starting that new business?

Whatever it was, you have to agree that there is nothing like the new year to give us the boost we need!

If you are living in Portugal maybe you have decided that this is the year you are going to learn Portuguese!

Learning some basics may not be as hard as you think!

I learned the basics of the language very quickly and in just 6 months I was fluent! Back then there was no internet or apps. I just had a “Teach Yourself” book, TV, Radio and most importantly - people to speak to!

I have now been living in Portugal for thirty three years and have been teaching foreigners for over fifteen.

Now I want to teach you!

The upside is that I have been where you are now. I didn’t know how to speak Portuguese when I moved here. I wasn’t even sure what verbs and adjectives were!

But I managed to learn!

So, to start with we will be publishing a lesson a month to help you get by in everyday situations, just enough to inspire you and make you want to learn more!

If you are living here it is only fair that you at least make an effort to learn, the Portuguese appreciate it and are very flattered when people show an interest in their culture. Maybe you've been living in Portugal for a while, but found learning the language difficult? Maybe you have just moved here. Whatever your circumstance, now is the right time to start learning!

So… what if I told you that I could teach you 20 words that you won’t forget, right now?

You possibly wouldn’t believe me right? So here is a good hack!

LESSON 1

Portuguese is a latin based language, that means that there are hundreds of words you already know.

These words are called cognates. Cognates are words that look and sound similar across languages, and also have a similar or even the same meaning. Take a look! action - ação administration - administração attention - atenção creation - criação competition - competição

Do you see what is happening there? All the words in English ending in 'tion' are very similar in Portuguese and they mean the same!

Let’s take a look at a few more activity - atividade authority - autoridade capacity - capacidade city - cidade community - comunidade electricity - eletricidade conclusion - conclusão decision - decisão discussion - discussão division - divisão explosion - explosão expression - expressão television - televisão version - versão vision - visão

All the words above ending in 'ity' are very similar to words in Portuguese, and have the same meaning, this time they end in 'dade' There are more!

The words ending in -sion are similar too. I will tell you a little secret. Grasping the basics is not as hard as it might seem at first. It all depends on how you are taught.

I have ways of making you speak! To get the pronunciation guide for the above or for more information on courses and workshops please contact: portugueseinsixweeks@gmail.com