I was surfing the internet the other day and I found this interesting video of famous people trying to speak portuguese in interviews. The funniest one is Britney Spears trying to say “Altas horas”, a TV Show presented by Serginho groysman. Check out the video:

No wonder that Ferrari’s Felipe Massa loves Istanbul Park. On Sunday afternoon he owned the place, and nobody seriously looked like challenging him as he sped to his hat-trick of victories here to move into joint second in the driver standings.

Sure, Lewis Hamilton pulled what seemed a brilliant passing move on him for the lead on the 24th lap, but it transpired that the Englishman was on a three-stop strategy for McLaren, and soon the way was clear again for Massa as Hamilton stopped to refuel and retain hard tyres on the 32nd lap.

Hamilton had sufficient in hand over Kimi Raikkonen, however, to keep the Finn in third place and to reduce his championship points lead to seven as they sped to the line 3.7s adrift of Massa, and separated by only four-tenths of second. The MP4-23 had been sweet on the harder Bridgestones, but still clearly didn’t like the softer rubber that Hamilton had to don for his final 13-lap stint.

Into fourth and fifth places came the BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, which lacked the sheer pace to play anything other than leading supporting roles this time out.

Guest post by Raquel Prado.

There are many people who want to learn a new language to improve their life but many of them don’t achieve this goal. I have many friends who want to learn English, but they never have the compromise to reserve time for that matter.

It’s good to keep in mind that time flies, no matter what. My conception is the quicker you get it over with, the quicker you’re free to do whatever you please. For example, when moving to a foreign country, the very first thing to do is to learn the language spoke in the country, without which you’re life can become rather difficult.

I’ve been a U.S. resident for the past 4 years. And that was my first goal to accomplish in here. And so I did. One week after my arrival in the states, I signed up for English classes. It is certainly far from perfect, but allows me to communicate very well. I still have an accent, but that’s just something I need to work on.
I know it’s a lot easier said than done and many people choose not to follow it. Many come to U.S. looking for better lives and often forget the need to adapt into the countries culture in order to be successful. And of course there are people who built an empire without even knowing how to speak a little English. There’s an exception to every rule.

Anything is possible if you’re dedicated and hard-worker, as well as organized, which is very important for someone learning a new language. Only 30 minutes a day in a year can lead one to great improvement. Maybe a little less TV and a little more reading.

Next article on how to learn a new language, we’ll talk about some very interesting audio lessons for those who lack the time to go to school.

The Portuguese alphabet consists of 23 letters (18 consonants and 5 vowels).

The letters K, W and Y do not belong to the Portuguese alphabet, but they can be used in names (Wagner/Wilson/Yara/Amaury) or with international terms (kg/km/watt, etc.).

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Remark: It is important to know how to pronounce the alphabet as sometimes you have to spell your name or ask people to spell something for you.

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2. Pronunciation Guide

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The comparison with English words should help you pronounce the words correctly in Portuguese. Please note that not every sound can be reproduced in written form.

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Remark: The letter x has several different pronunciations.

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3. Regional Pronunciations

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For the letters r/s/x/z there are two big regional differences in pronunciation between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Both pronunciations are correct.

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Tip: Be aware that there is this difference. Learn to distinguish between them and choose one of the easiest for you.

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