Don’t forget your accents :)

Accents are very important in the Portuguese language. Coco (coconut) and cocô (poop), for instance, are words with very different meanings, although the only difference between the two in writing is the circumflex accent.


Set up your
 keyboard to use the correct characters as you type

WINDOWS
1-Set up international keyboard: select English – United States – International
2-Press the codes in the bracket at the same time, followed by the letter you want to be accented.
[Shift ~] = tilde (til) -> pão

[`] = grave accent (crase) -> Sairei às duas horas.

[‘ ](apostrophe) = acute (acento agudo) -> está

[Shift ^] = circumflex (acento circunflexo) ->experiência

[RightAlt c] = cedilla (cê cedilha) -> balanço

 

MAC
Go to Apple -> System preferences -> Keyboard ->Input sources -> U.S. International – PC

Then, press the two characters at the same time, release them, then type the letter you want to be accented.

[Option n] + letter = tilde (til) -> não , caminhões

[Option `] + letter = grave accent (crase) -> Fui à escola.

[Option e] + letter = acute (acento agudo) -> Kátia, café, índio, pó, cúpula

[Option i] + letter = circumflex (acento circunflexo) -> você, pôr, âmbito

[Option c] + c= cedilla (cê cedilha) -> força, soluço

 

You may also try the shortcuts listed below:
(list based on information provided by  Symbol Codes )

Accents in Portuguese

 

It’s in the news!

One of the best ways to learn a language is by reading in it.  The following are great sources of news in Portuguese:

https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/ 

https://www.redebrasilatual.com.br 

https://www.folha.uol.com.br

https://brasil.elpais.com/tag/portugues/a 

http://catarinas.info/noticias/ 

http://tvbrasil.ebc.com.br 

https://super.abril.com.br 

https://veja.abril.com.br 

http://br.rfi.fr 

https://globoesporte.globo.com 

https://g1.globo.com/profissao-reporter/

http://www.dn.pt 

https://www.estadao.com.br 

https://www.pressenza.com/pt-pt/-/regiao/america-do-sul/

Movies, documentaries and videos in Portuguese

For tips on how to take advantage of subtitles when watching movies and videos to learn a foreign language, check out this post.
  1. Tamanho da língua (The size of the tongue): An informative documentary about the Portuguese language and its cultures around the world. Worth every minute of it! In Portuguese.
    https://arte.folha.uol.com.br/especiais/2018/o-tamanho-da-lingua/#/ 
  2. Sotaques: O paraíso são os outros – Based on the book by the Portuguese writer Valter Hugo Mãe, with captions.

    O paraíso são os outros
    O paraíso são os outros, de Valter Hugo Mãe
  3. Short movies and documentaries by Afrobrazilians: afroflix.com.br 
  4. Films about Angola: https://filmow.com/listas/filmes-angolanos-l151182/
  5. A great movie from Angola: “Nijinga, Rainha de Angola”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SQP-Goooqs
  6. Filmes de Moçambique 
    Moeda, memória e massacre
    O gotejar da luz
    O grande bazar
    Terra sonâmbula
    O último voo do flamingo
    Virgem margarida
    Xikwembo
    Os pestinhas e o ladrão de brinquedos
    Yvone kane
    Comboio sal e açúcar
    Resgate
    A guerra da água 
  7. Filmes de Cabo Verde . Tchindas is an excelent option.
  8. Café Brasil: http://www.portalcafebrasil.com.br 
  9. Porta Curtas: http://portacurtas.org.br
  10. A popular Brazilian series: 3% (available on Netflix, with captions)
  11. Filmes de Portugal:
    http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/20-essential-films-for-an-introduction-to-portuguese-cinema/ 
  12. The following full-lenght Brazilian movies are well-know titles which may have won national and/or international awards — and may be available on Netflix, Amazon Video or Comcast, with or without captions:
    Orfeu Negro
    Cidade de Deus
    Cidade dos homens
    Democracia em vertigem
    Aquarius
    O menino e o mundo
    Casa de Areia
    Tropa de Elite
    Central do Brasil
    Capitães de areia
    Capitães de abril
    Deus é brasileiro
    O que é isso, companheiro?
    Se eu fosse você
    Juventude em marcha
    Aquele querido mês de agosto
    O ano em que meus pais saíram de férias
    A casa de Alice
    O caminho das nuvens
    A esperança vem do lixo
    Lixo extraordinário
    Terra estrangeira
    Bacurau

Luso what? Lusophones/Lusófonos: a brief explanation

If you are studying Portuguese, know that you are learning about the Lusophone world and its cultures as well.  The Lusophone world are countries that speak Portuguese as their official language and were colonized by the Portuguese. With 270 million speakers, Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language on the planet.

The Lusophone world is comprised of ten countries/regions:

Brazil Brazil

Angola Angola

Mozambique Mozambique

Portugal Portugal

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau

East Timor East Timor

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea

Macau Macau

Cape Verde Cape Verde

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe


Lusophones
(Portuguese: lusófonos) are people who speak the Portuguese language, either as native speakers or as learners. Similarly, the Lusosphere or Lusophony (Portuguese : Lusofonia) is a community of people who are culturally and linguistically linked to Portugal, either historically or by choice. The idea of a Lusosphere is free of ethnic connotations, in that a Lusophone may not have any Portuguese ancestry at all.

The Lusophone world is mainly a legacy of the Portuguese Empire, although Portuguese diaspora and Brazilian diaspora  communities have also played a role in spreading the Portuguese language. Even after the collapse of the empire, the corresponding countries continue to exhibit both cultural and political affinities, expressed in the existence of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), created in 1996.

The term Lusophone is a combination of the form “Luso-” (from the Latin term for an area roughly corresponding to modern Portugal, called Lusitania). and the suffix “-phone” ( from the Ancient Greek  word φωνή (phōnē), meaning “voice”).

The use of the term Lusophone mirrors similar terms, such as Anglophone for English-speakers, Francophone for French-speakers, Hispanophone for Spanish-speakers, and Sinophone for Chinese-speakers. The term is sometimes used in reference to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, similar to the Francophonie.

Map Portugal's colonies
“And if there is more world, we will get there”. Map – Portugal dos Pequenitos – Coimbra, Portugal – Photo by Daderot (licensed under CC0 1.0.)

 

Source:
Lusophone.
Retrieved September 15, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusophone