A Helpful Website and Other Favorite Resources

Early on in my study of Portuguese, I found a wonderful website called "Hacking Portuguese," by a woman in California who has spent the last several years learning Brazilian Portuguese. 

I left a comment with some questions, among them how to deal with Portuguese nasals, and she very helpfully suggested that I could use my knowledge of French nasal sounds with Portuguese. That was a real eye-opener and proved to be excellent advice.

She also listed some resources, including some excellent books. That list was exactly what I needed. 

I had already found a small phrasebook at Barnes and Noble, mostly designed for European Portuguese, but including references to Brazilian as well. It is called Conversational Portuguese in 7 Days, and while the promise of acquiring conversational skills in any language in seven days is a bit of a stretch, it does include a surprising amount of information for such a small book. It seems to be primarily designed for British travelers to Portugal, but covers a great deal and is fairly well organized, with lots of dialogues, basic grammar, and illustrations.

I also found a book on Amazon called Say It Right in Brazilian Portuguese: The Fastest Way to Correct Pronunciation. This book includes pronunciation of common phrases using a special modified alphabet that was actually pretty helpful, especially with words or phrases that were giving me trouble in Pimsleur. When I bought it, it only cost about $6 and it was worth it.

My next purchase was Pois Não, a comprehensive course for Spanish speakers who are learning Brazilian Portuguese. I will write a longer review of this book, but for now, I have to say that for the $26 cost, it is a real bargain. It covers all the main elements of grammar, and even includes a separate grammar reference. It is definitely aimed at students who have some level of knowledge of Spanish, and includes lists of vocabulary as well as sentences which only appear in Portuguese and Spanish. However, all of the explanations are in English, so it’s good for a native English speaker who has knowledge of Spanish but isn’t fluent.  The book also includes a CD which contains audio tracks to help with pronunciation, and even has video clips which show native speakers articulating various sounds, to help assist the learner.

I also bought a small DK Portuguese-English picture dictionary, for about $10, and perhaps the single best resource so far, Whitlam’s Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: A Practical Guide, which had been highly recommended by the author of "Hacking Portuguese." This book also needs a review of its own, but for now, suffice to say that it is indispensable.

Also indispensable is the Larousse Concise English-Portuguese/Portuguese-English Dictionary, which cost about $12. Well-bound for a paperback, large enough to be easy to read, and so far, it's had the words I have needed. Even the pronunciation guide is pretty good, and it has helped me pronounce words that I wasn't sure about.

A Frequency Dictionary of Portuguese (Routledge Frequency Dictionaries) cost a little over $30, but it's a good way to see what words are most often used in the language, and each includes not only a definition but a sample sentence.

Another great, small, inexpensive book that I took a gamble on was 50 Ways to Improve Your Portuguese: A Teach Yourself Guide (Teach Yourself Language). This one cost a grand total of $5.66, and was written by two women who have taught Portuguese to English-speaking students. It comes with a free 20 minute audio download for pronunciation, and includes lots of very good information. It’s an excellent supplement to the grammar book, because it really focuses on the areas that are likely to give English-speakers trouble. They also do a very good job of explaining things and giving enough examples to illustrate the points they cover.

Please note that as of May, 2012, which is when this post was written, all of the above books are still available on Amazon.com, but both the availability and the prices are subject to change.