Learn how to ask if someone can speak a certain language
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Hello and welcome to Portuguese Survival Phrases brought to you by PortuguesePod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Brazil. You will be surprised at how far a little Portuguese will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by PortuguesePod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| In today's lesson, we'll cover another extremely important phrase: "Can you speak English?" Using this phrase as opposed to just speaking English at someone is important for many reasons. For one, if the party you're speaking to doesn't understand English, at least they'll be able to understand what you're asking. Furthermore, it shows a lot of respect that you took the effort to learn even a little bit of their language, and for these reasons and many more, we're going to cover this phrase. |
| In Portuguese, "Do you speak English?" is Você fala inglês? |
| Você fala inglês? |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Você fala inglês? |
| And one time fast: Você fala inglês? |
| The first word, você, means "you." |
| So let's break down this word and hear it one more time: você |
| você |
| Notice that the strong part of the word (or stress) is on the last syllable cê. This is followed by fala, which in English is "speak." The next word, Inglês, means "English." Notice again, the stress is on the last syllable. |
| So all together, we have Você fala inglês? Literally, this means "You speak English." But since it is a question, you raise your voice at the end, and it becomes "Do you speak English?" |
| Now let's try a different language. How about Italian? "Do you speak Italian?" Você fala italiano? |
| Você fala italiano? |
| Você fala italiano? |
| The word for "Italian" is italiano. |
| So let's break down: italiano |
| And one time fast: italiano |
| As you can see, only the word for the language changes. The rest stays the same: Você fala italiano? So you can put in any language you want; just look it up in the dictionary and plug it into the phrase. |
| Cultural Insights |
| In Brazil, English is studied in every school, but because there is such a large population and so few qualified English teachers, the English that many people speak isn't usually that good. But Brazilians are extremely caring, and I have never met a person that will try so hard to understand foreigners. So, even if their English isn't that good, if you're patient, sooner or later you'll understand one another. |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so boa sorte! |
| "Do you speak English?" - Você fala inglês? |
| Você fala inglês? |
| Você fala inglês? |
| "Do you speak Italian?" - Você fala italiano? |
| Você fala italiano? |
| Você fala italiano? |
| Alright, that's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by PortuguesePod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
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