Differences Between Brazilian and European Portuguese

Portuguese is one of the most beautiful, romantic, Latin languages. As the sixth most spoken mother tongue in the world, Portuguese is an excellent choice for your toddler or preschooler.Speaking Portuguese, even if you have no ties to the language and culture, is a marketable skill that will serve your child well in the future.

As with English, the country where the language is learned and spoken makes a lot of difference in words, pronunciation, and grammar. The Portuguese spoken in Brazil is so different from European Portuguese that it is often referred to as Brasileiro, according to the website Lexiophiles.

There are many reasons for these differences and here are two of the most obvious ones.

Cultural Influence

In Brazilian Portuguese American Indian tribal languages donated many of the words for local foods, plants, and animals, as well as other objects. These words are unknown to speakers of European Portuguese.

Italian, French, and African languages such as Yoruba, have also found their way into Brasileiro. These add a significant contribution to the vocabulary of Brazilian Portuguese that does not exist in European Portuguese.

Intonation and Cadence

Brasileiro is more musical or lyrical than European Portuguese. Vowels are more open than those in European Portuguese and to English speakers, European Portuguese can sound somewhat muffled.  Brasileiro is syllable-timed like Spanish with equal stress on all syllables. And European Portuguese is stress-timed, with stressed and unstressed syllables in words, which is more familiar to native English speakers.

Little Pim’s language courses for young children make learning Portuguese an exciting, playful, and educational experience for your child. She will learn 180 Portuguese words and phrases to start her on a lifelong path of bilingualism. Browse our website for more information on Portuguese language learning for your child.

Free Brazilian Samba Beats for Little Feet

Little Pim is celebrating the rhythms of the  FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil with a FREE kid-friendly compilation of Samba-influenced tunes. So get ready for a dance party Brazilian style!

Brazilian music has a get-up-and-dance beat that kids love, with rhythms that make it hard to sit still. The most famous Brazil sound is the Samba, a mix of Afro-Jazz influences. Kids are drawn to it for the multiple percussion instruments --- such as drums, whistles, and bells (very fun to play along with--DO try this at home!) -- featured in the songs.

Your children may recognize some of the Portuguese lyrics and Brazilian beats from their Little Pim language lessons and the fun animated movies Rio and Rio2. We’ve delved a little deeper into the music of the “Samba Nation” and created a get-up-and-dance music compilation. Just click on the link below and then turn-it-up for family-friendly Samba and Brazilian beats -- plus a special FIFA World Cup 2014 song by Shakira. We dare you stay in your seats!

Kick Off World Cup 2014 With Fun Portuguese for Kids

The biggest sporting event in the world, The World Cup of soccer (or football as it’s referred to in most countries) is about to kick off in the South American country of Brazil! To help you get ready for this month-long international sports tournament, we’ve rounded up a helpful list of Portuguese futebol (soccer) terms and a fun word search so you can say Let’s play soccer! Vamos jogar futebol!

Portuguese For World Cup 2014

soccer = futebol
the ball = a bola
to kick = chute
to run = corre
to catch = pege
to throw = joge
head = cabeça
hand = mão
foot = pé
He is kicking = Ele está chutando
He is kicking the ball = Ele está chutando a bola
He is running = Ele está correndo
He is throwing the ball = Ele está jogando a bola
He is catching the ball = Ele está pegando a bola

Click image to download our free World Cup 2014 word search!

The Portuguese Complete Set is Finally Here!

Almost... ...but you won't have to wait for it that much longer! Portuguese DVDs and flashcards are set to hit the warehouse any day now, and we're as excited as you are. So, starting this week, Little Pim will be accepting pre-orders on the Portuguese Complete Set:

Orders will start shipping on October 15th, but if you've been waiting for this day, why wait any longer? Before you know it, your kids could be asking, "Outra Vez!" Each Portuguese Complete Set includes the first volume of Little Pim DVDs ("eating and drinking," "wake up smiling," and "playtime"), the brand new Portuguese flashcards, a colorful multi-lingual poster, and the classic, soft Little Pim plush. To start a little smaller with your child's learning, the Discovery Set is also available for pre-order in Portuguese.

This is a magical time for new products, so stay tuned for more exciting announcements!