Just how much do you understand your target audience?
It’s an important question to ask when you’re thinking about recording voice overs in Portuguese, given the location of your audience will dictate which versions of the language you will use.
The written Portuguese language is mostly the same in Portugal and Brazil, albeit with some notable phonic spelling variations and word usage.
However, readers in either country can typically understand both with ease.
Nevertheless, spoken Portuguese brings an important divergence between Portugal and Brazil, including variations in accents and pronunciation, and even the different vocabulary that’s often used in either country.
But don’t worry, at Voice Crafters we’re dedicated to helping you find and hire the best voice artists for your projects, so whether you need European Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese, we have an excellent selection of experienced professionals to choose from.
To help you strike the right chords with your target audiences, whether they’re located in Portugal or Brazil, we’ve produced this handy guide to help you understand the key vocal differences.
Pronunciation
When listening to spoken Portuguese, one of the most immediately notable differences between Portugal and Brazil is the sounds of pronunciation.
Brazilians will typically stretch and open the vowel sounds, with more of an increased emphasis.
By comparison, European Portuguese speakers tend to shorten the vowel sounds with less emphasis.
Likewise, certain consonant sounds are also pronounced differently, particularly when ‘S’ appears at the end of a word.
So, for example, ‘ess’ would be the pronounced sound in Brazilian Portuguese, whereas it would be a more clipped ‘shh’ sound in European Portuguese.
Another good example would be the ‘T’ sound in words. Interestingly, this would be pronounced ‘tee’ or ‘tuh’ and similar to English pronunciation, whereas in Brazilian Portuguese, more of a ‘ch’ or ‘cheh’ sound is used instead.
Knowing the differences between the two versions is important, as voiceover artist Sílvia B. explains:
Portuguese Voice Over Talent Silvia B.
It’s quite common for me to get scripts in Portuguese from Brazil, so I always need to confirm if what they really want is European or Brazilian Portuguese.
There’s a big difference between the two, and it’s rare to find a voice over artist who can do both convincingly.
It’s hard to minimize the accents and pronunciation styles
from either Portugal or Brazil, although we can still understand each other well enough.
But it’s insane to think of how many differences in pronunciation there are, between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese.
I always say it’s like comparing US English and UK English, as both are very different.
Sílvia B. – European Portuguese Voice Actor at Voice Crafters
Intonation
One of the most striking differences comes with intonation, which is the rising and falling sound when speaking.
European Portuguese generally has a fairly consistent pitch and monotone sound, only rising slightly for certain accented letters or stressed syllables or questions, with a falling intonation towards the end of a spoken sentence.
By contrast, it’s often said that Brazilian Portuguese has more of a musical sound, almost like the rhythm of samba beats with the fluid rising and falling pitches used for intonation.
Interestingly, when foreigners and non-native speakers are listening to either, while the intonations of Brazilian Portuguese are considered similar to the sound of other Romance languages, such as Italian or Spanish, the sound of European Portuguese is often compared to Russian or other Eastern European and Slavic languages.
Understanding these different spoken sounds is important for voiced recordings, as Brazilian Portuguese voiceover artist Marcello T. explains in more detail:
Brazilian Portuguese voice actor -Marcello T.
When I hear people say that our intonation in Brazilian Portuguese has a musical rhythm due to our sway and samba, I believe this notion has more to do with how the world sees us from the outside.
Our rhythm when speaking depends on the vowels we use most audibly, while European Portuguese can sometimes suppress the vowel sounds.
For example, the word ‘Responsabilidade’ meaning ‘Responsibility’ in English. In Brazil, we say each vowel present in the word, while in Europe they will say something that sounds more like ‘Rspnsabilad’ instead.
This “vowel loss” will alter their spoken rhythm to our ears, seeming much more accelerated and anxious.
But regarding intonation, which is the accent music, here in Brazil we create many jokes involving Portuguese people, and I believe the same jokes exist when reversing the nations.
The characters in these stories need to speak in a Portugal accent, and that’s why the sound of European Portuguese ends up creating, in our hearts, the feeling that there will be a punchline somewhere.
The sound of our friends in Portugal has the feeling of a different era from ours, harking back to a more organized and formal time, and perhaps more of a Cartesian way of thinking.
Marcello T. – Brazilian Portuguese Voice Actor at Voice Crafters
Vocabulary
Although it’s true that European and Brazilian Portuguese are mutually intelligible, and comfortably able to understand each other when speaking, there are many subtle and not-so-subtle differences in vocabulary.
These variations in vocabulary and word usage are mainly due to regional and cultural influences, having shaped how the Portuguese language has evolved and slightly diverged in Brazil and Portugal.
One great example is that in European Portuguese, for ‘mobile phone’ the word ‘telemóvel’ or simply ‘móvel’ is used. In Brazil, the word ‘celular’ is used, influenced by US English.
Indeed, both forms of Portuguese have been influenced by words from other languages.
European Portuguese has many similar words to the other romance languages, such as Italian and Spanish. Amerindian languages and US English have influenced many Brazilian Portuguese words.
Spelling, Grammar, and Syntax
While the written forms of European and Brazilian Portuguese are mostly similar, there are particular spelling, grammar, and syntax differences that also shape and influence speech.
Although these may be quite subtle in some cases, they can also impact how your spoken words are received and understood by listeners.
Despite the introduction of new Portuguese spelling reforms introduced in 2015, aimed at providing a common standard in all Portuguese-speaking countries, spoken differences are still commonplace.
For example, ‘reception’ is ‘receção’ in European Portuguese, but the word ‘recepção’ is used in Brazilian Portuguese with an audibly pronounced ‘p’ sound.
Another variation is based on grammar usage for the present tense.
Brazilian speakers will typically use gerunds, equivalent to the English verb form ‘-ing’ at the end of words, whereas European Portuguese speakers rarely do so.
If we were to say ‘I’m working’ in conversation, this would be ‘Eu estou jogando’ in Brazilian, and ‘Eu estou a jogar’ in European.
Syntax or sentence structure can also vary, given that in Brazilian Portuguese, the object pronoun is more likely to be placed before the verb, with the object pronoun usually coming after the verb in European Portuguese.
So when saying ‘He bought me a beer’ in English, ‘Ele me pagou uma cerveja’ would be said in Brazil, while ‘Ele pagou-me uma cerveja’ would be said in Portugal.
Formal and Informal Speech
Having reached this point in our guide, we believe it’s important to highlight the differences between formal and informal speech, as this can often be overlooked in voiced work.
Generally speaking, the Portuguese language features different ways to address other people, based on how formal the situation might be.
The best way to explain this would be to think about how ‘you’ is quite universal in English, used in both formal and informal situations.
In Brazil, this tends to be somewhat less complicated, as ‘você’ is the preferred way to say ‘you’ when speaking directly with most people.
However, using ‘tu’ instead is the norm for informal conversation in Portugal, where ‘você’ is regarded as being an impolite or crude way of addressing another person.
In both cases, it’s certainly an element of speech that native speakers will instantly notice.
There’s a Huge Variety of Dialects and Accents in Brazil
Although it is possible to highlight general differences, when comparing European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese, we should also acknowledge that Brazil is a huge country filled with many distinct regions.
Mindful of this diversity throughout this immense nation, we asked Brazilian voice artist and language researcher Nadya S. to share some insightful thoughts, based on her knowledge of the spoken language, dialects, and accents of her homeland:
I think that Brazilian Portuguese is more difficult to learn and understand, mostly because we live in such a large country that has so many regional accents and dialects.
Portuguese Brazilian Voice Actor Nadya S.
There’s also a lot of slang and informal language used in everyday speech.
That’s perhaps why European Portuguese is never accepted in Brazil, given that Brazilians can be really picky about each regional accent here.
For example, Portuguese spoken in the state of São Paulo is considered to be the ‘Caipira’ accent of Southern Brazil, almost like a cowboy language.
So, just like ‘Door’ might be pronounced as ‘Doorrrr’ in English of the American West, ‘Porta’ would be pronounced ‘Porrrrta’ in this part of Brazil.
Then you have the accent from São Paulo city itself, regarded as the VIP language and with a strong Italian influence in the sounds of speech.
This accent is often used in the media industries, corporate society, and especially big tech, where the rural ‘Caipira’ sound is considered unacceptable.
By contrast, while the lengthy ‘R’ is present in Rio, there are audible Portuguese and French influences, producing a more cosmopolitan sound.
The letter ‘S’ in this region has more of an ‘X’ and ‘Shh’ sound. So, for example, the word ‘Mesmo’ (Same) would be pronounced ‘Meixshmo’ instead. ‘Biscoito’ (Cookie) sounds more like ‘Bixcoito’ when spoken.
Considering I have only mentioned examples of two states, and given the enormity of Brazil itself, there are lots of contrasting ways of speaking in each region throughout the country.
Personally, I love the diversity and variety of accents that are heard around Brazil, as they speak volumes about our cultural diversity and regional identities.
However, for voiced projects, it’s worth knowing the differences. Some are fine for when a particular sound would suit a character being portrayed, while others will sound more professional for educational or corporate recordings.
Nadya S. – Brazilian Portuguese Voice Actor at Voice Crafters
Why Does Knowing These Differences in Portuguese Matter?
Some language experts have suggested that today, European and Brazilian Portuguese have become two uniquely different dialects.
We could say there’s a semantic truth to that view, yet both are considered to be standard versions of the same overall Portuguese language, albeit having diverged considerably over time.
Nevertheless, knowing the key differences we’ve highlighted does have an impact on voice over projects, especially when you have a specific target audience in mind or characterization for a voiced role.
So, if you’re looking to hire a Portuguese-speaking voice artist, seek out the most suitable and naturally sounding voice for your audience, mindful of their geographic location and whether it’s Europe or Brazil.
For these reasons, we distinguish clearly between the variants.
Simply type “Portuguese” in our search tool at the top of the page.
You will be prompted with “Portuguese” for European, and “Portuguese (Brazilian)” for the South American country, easing your search for either.
What’s more, if you’re struggling to find the right voice over talent, contact us with your specific needs and we’ll be delighted to help.
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