I’ve heard many Brazilians say that English is a simple language to learn. I agree that English grammar in many respects is less complicated than that of Portuguese. There are fewer verb conjugations, far fewer versions of pronouns (Já desisti de usar os pronomes corretos em português), and our sentence structures are often more compact. All of these factors, of course, make it easier to learn the basics.
But what about pronunciation? When I was a kid, spelling bees (competições de soletrar) left me in cold sweats. Because of the complex history of the English language there are 24-27 consonant sounds and 14-20 vowel sounds, yet there are only 26 letters in the alphabet. And, unfortunately, English speakers don’t have the benefit of accents as Portuguese speakers do. So you can imagine winning a spelling bee was no easy feat (não era nada mole, não)!
Take a look, for example, at the letter combination “ough” in this sentence:
“Although I have a rough cough, I can still climb through the boughs of the tree”, thought the man.
(“Embora eu tenha uma tosse seca, eu ainda consigo trepar nos galhos da árvore”, pensou o homem.)
Let me give you an idea of how to pronounce the various oughs in the above sentence:
- In “although” it’s similar to that of “oe” in “toe” (dedo do pé).
- In “rough” it’s similar to that of “uff” in “puff” (sopro).
- In “cough” it’s similar to that of “off” in “coffin” (caixão).
- In “through” it’s similar to that of “ue” in “true” (verdadeiro).
- In “bough” it’s similar to that of “ow” in “how” (como).
- In “thought” it’s similar to that of “o” in “hot” (quente).
Others will tell you there are even more pronunciations to this letter combination, but these are the most commonly used. And as far as I’m concerned they’re enough (“uff” as in “puff”)!
Tchau for now!
Comentários (20)
Estou muito contente de ter encontrado este site onde posso aprender a cada dia um pouco mais dessa magnífica língua inglesa. Sou professor de escola pública aqui no Paraná e estou participando do PDE, programa esse oferecido pelo Governo do Estado com o objetivo de melhorar a educação no Estado e no Brasil. Agora, disponho de mais essa ferramenta para minhas pesquisas.
Abraços a todos da equipe!
I really like the examples. The utilization words in english turn easy the comprehension..
Thanks.
adorei. é um prazer ler vc. Vc é muito talentosa.
Congratulations on the text, Ashley. Although the content, especially the second part, is somewhat difficult, it is very well put and I’m sure many of the readers of this blog will enjoy it. I think we can add that there is no cut and dried rule for the pronunciation of most words in English, so what the learner has to do (like any child does) is imitate others, that is, listen before you pronounce. Oh, and about the pronouns of the Portuguese language, you reminded me of the time when I used to teach it. The correct use of the pronouns is rather complicated even for us (e.g., many of us are unsure of when to use “eu” and “mim” or where to place the object pronouns).
It was fine to read this great tip! Thank you, Ashley. In fact it’s really easier studying grammar than english pronunciation. I’m trying to improve my pronunciation and listening through tv series, but it’s still hard.
It would be wonderful if you could give us more tips about this topic.
See you.
p.s. Forgive my stupid mistakes, please :)
Obrigada, Mary!
Excellent recapitulating.
Well done Ashley, I did appreciate your article!
Isso me faz pensar em cmo eu li essa frase com a pronuncia errada na primeira tentativa. rsrsrs
Muito bom o texto. :)
Ashley,
Thank you so much for help us!
Can you send an audio with the pronunciation? It’s very important!!!!
Pretty sweet, thank you Ashley !!!
Caro leitor,
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