Brazilian Portugese Pronunciation

This section has been copied from a set of instructions put together by the Princeton Capoeira Group and is meant to aid in appropriate singing and appreciation of the hymns.

They in turn took information from:
http://www.beribazu.co.uk/forum/index.php? showtopic=608.
www.sonia-portuguese.com

Dipthongs (a double vowel sound) ãe
This sounds like the an in lang: mãe ('mother').
ão
This sounds like the ow in frown but nasalized: não ('no').
õe
This is pronounced like the on in song but nasalized: limões ('lemons').
ou
This is pronounced like the ow in crow: mandou ('he sent').
ei
This is pronounced like the ay in day: dei ('I bought').
eu
This is pronounced like ayooh (the first part rhymes with hay): eu ('I').
ai
This is pronounced like the ie in pie: pai ('father').

ACCENT INDICATES ́ acute
the pronunciation is open as in café (coffee), avó (grandmother).
^circumflex
the pronunciation is closed as in você (you),
avô (grandfather). ` grave
a contraction of the preposition a (to) and the definite article à (to).
~ tilde
a nasal sound as in mão (hand).
.. two dots
the letter u is pronounced as in tranqüilo
(quiet).
Disappearing words in Brazilian Portugese.........
One key feature of Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation is that the nonaccented
syllables are subjected to something called 'vocalic reduction' . Here the post-tonic syllable (post means after and tonic means where the main stress lies), is almost dropped completely – they are shorter and muted. So this means the vowel in those syllables are not pronounced as they are written. There is an exception to this phenomenon and that is when the word ends in 's' – otherwise people wouldn‘t know if a word was plural or not!!!

Vowels a
If this is stressed, it is pronounced like the a in father but shorter: fado (pronounced fahdoo). If it is unstressed, it is pronounced like the e in rather: mesa (pronounced meza) ('table').
ã
This is pronounced like the un in lung but nasalized: macã ('apple').
e
1 If this is stressed, it sounds either like the e in sell: perto (pronounced
perhtoo) ('near') or like the ey in prey: saber (pronounced sabeyr) ('to
know'). If it is unstressed, it sounds like the ey in prey: bebida
(pronounced beybeeda) ('drink').
2 At the end of a word e is pronounced like ee in peep: cidade
(pronounced seedahjee ('city'). In penisular Portugese, however, the final
e is not pronounced: tarde (pronounced tard) ('late/afternoon').
3 The word for 'and', e, is pronounced as ee in sweep.
e like in 'end'
é like the 'a' in 'share'
ê like the 'a' in 'make'

i
This is pronounced like the e in evil: decidir ('to decide'). When it is unstressed, it sounds like the i in pin: idade (pronounced idahjee) ('age').
o
If this is stressed or has an acute accent (ó), it is pronounced like the o in opera, but closed before a nasal consonant: fome ('hunger'). When it is unstressed, it is pronounced like the oo in book: gato('cat'). The commonest sound is similar to oh, like o in police: motorista ('driver').
u
This is usually pronounced like the oo in roof: rua ('street'). In the following four groups however, it is not pronounced: gue, gui, que and
qui.

Consonants b
As in bank: obrigado (pronounced obreegahdoo) ('thank you').
c
1 This can be soft, like the s in slow before an e or an i: cidade (pronounced seedahjee) ('city'). If the c has a cedilla (ç), it is always soft.
2 Hard, as in card before an o, a or u: cabeçada ('headbutt') CH cheque check sounds like [sh] she
d
As in sad: tenda ('tent'). It is palatised before i or a final unstressed e to sound like the ji in jinx: dificuldade (pronounced djeefeeculdahdjee ('difficulty').
dj
like the 'j' in 'jeans'
f
As in fair: fado (pronounced fahdoo).
g
1 This is soft before an e or an i, as in the English s in pleasure: gente
(pronounced zhentjee) ('people').
2 Hard before an o, u or a, as in get: gato (pronounced gahto) ('cat').

h
This is never pronounced: homem (pronounced omaing) ('man').
1 When it appears as ch it is pronounced like sh in shore: chuva (pronounced shoova) ('rain').
2 When it appears as nh it is pronounced like ni in onion: banho (pronounced banyoo) ('bath').
3 When it appears as lh it is pronounced like lli in billion: mulher (pronounced moolyair) (woman).
j
Soft, as in the English s in pleasure: jovem (pronounced zhovaing) ('young').
l
As in look: mala ('suitcase'). At the end of a word it sounds fainter, like ow in cow: Brasil (pronounced brazeeow).
m
Except at the end of the word, this is pronounced as in may: maio (pronounced myyoo) ('May'). At the end of a word it causes the preceding vowel to be nasalised: bem (pronounced beyng) ('well').
n
As in no: não ('no').
p
As in put: pessoa ('person').

q
This always appears as qu and is pronounced as in quick: quatro (pronounced kwahtroo) ('four').
s
1 At the beginning of a word this is pronounced like the s in sun: socorro! (pronounced sockohroo) ('help!').
2 Between two vowels it is pronounced like the s in present: casa (pronounced caahzah) ('house').
3 At the end of the word it is pronouced like s in books: livros (pronounced leevroos) ('books').
4 In certain parts of Brazil s at the end of the word is pronouced like sh in push: livros (pronounced leevroosh) ('books').
t
This is pronounced as in teacher: tudo (pronounced toodooh) ('everything'). It is palatised before i or a final unstressed e to sound like the ch in cheers: vestido (pronounced vestcheedoo) ('dress').
v
As in video: videocassete (pronounced veedjeeocassetjee) ('VCR').

x
1 At the beginning of a word this is pronounced like sh in push: xale (pronounced shal) ('shawl').
2 In the prefix ex when followed by a vowel, it is pronounced like z in zoo:
executivo (pronounced ezekootcheevoo) ('executive').
3 Within a word and between two vowels, it can be pronoucned either like
like sh in push: roxo (pronounced hohshoo) ('purple'); or like the cks in racks: tóxico (pronounced tokseekoo) ('toxic').
4 Followed by ce or ci, it is not pronounced: excelente (pronounced
eselentchee) ('excellent').
z
1 At the beginning and in the middle of a word, this is pronounced like z in zoo: zanga ('anger'); dizer (pronounced djeezeyr) ('to say')
2 At the end of the word it is pronounced like the final English s: faz ('he does'). In some parts of Brazil it is pronounced like the s in pleasure: faz (pronounced fazh) ('he does').