Portuguese for Dummies

by Karen Keller

The fast and easy way to learn to speak Brazilian Portuguese Quick! What's the most widely spoken language in South America? That's right, Portuguese! And what's the fastest, easiest, most enjoyable way to learn Portuguese? Portuguese for Dummies , of course! This fun, friendly guide helps you start speaking Brazilian Portuguese immediately! Whether you're a student, a traveler, or you work in business or government, you'll love its practical lessons, cultural facts, and handy references—including a Portuguese-English mini-dictionary, lists of vital verbs, and more! Portuguese For Dummies comes complete with a CD loaded with real-life dialogues that help you understand and pronounce this lovely, lyrical language with ease. CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Portuguese Literature

360 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Selenita · Rating 2 out of 5]

No lo recomiendo. Incluso si sólo quieres aprender oraciones básicas de portugués sería más útil que consultaras por Internet, este libro sólo te causará confusión. Razones:

- ¿Podría usar el AFI, por favor? (En realidad esto es un problema de todo los libros de idiomas para dummies). No sólo es muy útil para cualquiera que quiera aprender idiomas, sino que la pseudo transcripción que hace aquí de la pronunciación es más liosa que otra cosa. Igual que el AFI, al final te hace aprenderte ciertas claves de asociación de símbolos con sonidos, pero que sólo te sirven para este libro en concreto y más bien te dificultan aprender a pronunciar, porque da combinaciones de letras que no se presentan en español y les cambia la pronunciación a muchas (por ejemplo, usa la "j" para el sonido "i" de la "y").

- La organización del libro no es muy lógica, más bien parece aleatoria. Sólo te van dando una información detrás de otra: que si primero números (antes de haberte enseñado cómo se supone que van a transcribir la pronunciación), que si luego ya pasa al alfabeto y a explicar la transcripción, etcétera. Deberían haber organizado mejor el libro para que no fuera un batiburrillo confuso.

- ¿Seguro que la autora sabe portugués? No tengo nada en contra de que enseñe un acento de Brasil, hay miles de acentos y todos son respetables, no obstante, ¿cómo que la variante que enseña es casi ininteligible con la de Portugal? Y encima pone el ejemplo de que igual de entre el español de España y el de América. ¡Qué! Debo ser una genia, porque soy de España y entiendo a la perfección el español latino, simplemente cambian algunas palabras y es otro acento.

[Josue Urbina Mejia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta bueno

Estudie portugués en la universidad y buscaba un libro fácil como referencia a lo aprendido. Este libro es el ideal para repasar lo aprendido, no creo que te enseñe a hablar muy portugués pero si marca un un n inicio.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for the dummies series, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that I do not consider myself particularly a dummy of any kind [1].  This book is an honorable member of the series that demonstrates the author's personality and her interest in helping the reader feel and talk like a local.  This goal of the author's definitely makes this a far more enjoyable book than it would otherwise be on its own, and certainly is an appealing aspect of this particular volume.  For those who want to learn Portuguese this is certainly a worthwhile book to help one out in that task, so long as one thinks of it as one resource among many and not the only source one would use.  Still, I am reasonably confident that the author of this book views this book as only one resource among many, and the good-natured way that the author deals with the material of this book certainly makes it an enjoyable read as well as something that can easily be recommended to someone who is not offended by it being titled what it is.

This book is almost 350 pages long and is divided into five parts and twenty chapters and four appendices.  The book begins with a short introduction.  After that the author talks about getting started (I), with chapters on cognates (1), basic grammar (2), basic greetings and introductions (3), numbers, times, and measurements (4), and speaking Portuguese at home (5).  After that the author discusses Portuguese in action (II), with chapters on small talk (6), dining out (7) and shopping (8), going out on the town (9), chatting about business and the economy (10), and recreation and the outdoors (11).  This leads to a discussion about Portuguese on the go (III), which includes chapters on planning a trip (12), money (13), transportation such as planes, buses, taxis, and more, (14), sporting events (15), Carnaval (16), and handling emergencies (17).  A section on the part of tens follows (IV), which includes discussions of ten ways to pick up Portuguese quickly (18), ten common Portuguese slang words and expressions (19), and eleven terms that make one sound fluent even when one is not (20).  After that comes four appendices (V), including a mini-dictionary (i), verb conjugation tables (ii), a discussion of material that is on an accompanying cd (which I did not use) (iii), and an answer key (iv).  The book then ends with an index.

How is one going to use a language?  The purposes that one has for a language will influence what sort of sources are the most useful for one's learning.  This book is aimed at those who are tourists, and who have a certain desire to blend in and be cooler than the average tourist.  Admittedly that is something that appeals to me even if I know that I have purposes in learning a language, including writing my fairly cerebral essays of one genre or another, that are not widely shared and thus are not generally included when one is looking at references.  Since I do not expect books to cater to my own very specific and rare tastes, though, I find a book like this one to be very easy to appreciate and something that I can highly recommend to those who appreciate slang and a book by someone who has lived in Brazil and has a good way about languages and how important it is to know how locals talk.  As someone who has traveled and lived in diverse places, this is a skill I have always greatly appreciated and sought to master myself.  It may be the same for you.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2019...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2019...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dadas las circunstancias no he aprendido Portugués con este libro ya que en épocas de facultad —hace 6 años atrás— tenía como materia obligatoria este idioma. Pero me ha dado curiosidad de lo que contenía dentro, sirve para repaso general ya que se ve lo básico de “a lingua português” como, también, aclara que se trata por distintas regiones de Brasil —no incluye Portugal —. Me gustó que tuviera esos ítem que te señalan como es la pronunciación de cada palabra pero no fueron todas bien explicadas más que, al menos los profesores te exigen tener la tonada, mientras un libro no va a enseñarte eso.

[Imari · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book which will get you up and running on the essentials of the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. This book’s primary audience will be Tourists & those traveling to Brazil, for short durations. I would have like to have seen more of an emphasis on the grammar that could aide Students, studying the language.
Although this book is geared towards people, who want to learn Brazilian Portuguese, for completeness, containing the second form of Verb conjugations (Tu) would be helpful for those that will speak Portuguese in Portugal.
Finally, when learning new nouns, it is beneficial to include Definite or Indefinite Articles; because this will help you memorize the gender of these nouns.
Also, missing was how/when to use the imperative verb, Haver.
Excellent book for those, beginning the language or in need of a refresher.

[Jackie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived in Brazil and learned Portuguese, I have to say this is a fairly accurate representation of life in the country and the language. Not everything was exactly true of my experience, but I also learned a lot of things. Highly recommend this for anyone who is learning either the language or simply learning about the culture of Brazil for a trip!

[Christian Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with lots of helpful cultural tips. It's mostly in English, though the author weaves Portuguese words into the English text, which is a fun way to introduce new words. It's a very gentle introduction to the language, best used with some more rigorous study tools like Pimsleur, classes, etc.

[Astrid Morgan - de Haan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic Portuguese (Brazillian) only. However, if you're looking for a bit of insight into the country and some local lingo, this is a gód place to start.

[Ramsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si l'on a déjà étudié un peu le portugais, ce livre peut être un bon rappel et introduction de nouveaux vocabulaires. Il ne suffit certainement pas comme une première exposition à la langue, à moins que l'on a l"intention de porter le livre et montrer aux gens les mots. Parfois il y a des erreurs dans le guide de prononciation. En outre, il convient de noter que le livre utilise la prononciation portugaise européenne, qui était exactement ce que je voulais, mais pourrait ne pas convenir à ceux qui étudient le portugais brésilien. En plus de l'orientation linguistique, le livre contient également des suggestions de voyage et des informations utiles sur les différents aspects de les cultures portugaise et brésilienne. Je le recommande à tous ceux qui ont une connaissance de base du portugais et a l'intention de continuer à l'étudier en utilisant plusieurs sources.

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

me encanto este libro, realmente te muestra el portugues nativo de los brasileros de una forma muy practica y elocuente, te da atisbos de lo que es la vida en brasil y te introduce un poco a su cultura. recomendado!