Do you know what an accent is?
Accent, as you may already know, is related to our speech, that is, the way we speak and pronounce words. Brazil is a country with continental dimensions, we are a culturally rich people, which is due to the contribution of the different peoples who came here through the currents of immigration during our History. As we are different, even though we are all Brazilians, it is natural that our way of speaking words changes depending on the region of the country. But did you know that different Brazilian accents can be explained through history?
In the South region, for example, which received a large number of Italian, German and Eastern European immigrants, the Brazilian Portuguese was influenced by the languages spoken in these countries not only in the accent, but also in the use of some particular expressions of this region. In São Paulo, whose Italian immigration was intense, the accent is very reminiscent of the prosody (study of the correct emission of words) of the Italian language. In Rio de Janeiro, we find the accent that most resembles the Portuguese accent from Portugal, as the city was the seat of the Portuguese court between 1808 and 1821. In the North region, which received fewer immigrants due to geographic issues, the accent is closer of indigenous languages, with which Portuguese established its first linguistic contact on land Brazilian companies.
When we travel around the country, our sensitivity to accents is even more acute, as the differences in speech are more evident when we are displaced from our regional culture. The difference can be so significant that you may even find it difficult to understand some terms and expressions that are only found in certain language communities. Despite the differences, it is important to note that there is no better or worse accent, not even a way of speaking that is prettier or ugliest: accents are part of our identity and are one of the factors that make the Brazilian people so expressive and culturally rich.
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
