3 ms·
> I still don't understand how Portuguese and Spanish speakers can understand each other. I bet that without a relatively large amount of exposure they can’t a
by barry-cotter 6y ago
> I still don't understand how Portuguese and Spanish speakers can understand each other.
I bet that without a relatively large amount of exposure they can’t and then suddenly it’s really obvious what the other person is saying. That’s my experience listening to Nigerian English. Didn’t realise the guy working next to me was speaking English with his compatriot for two weeks and then suddenly I understood. Written Portuguese and Spanish are very similar, like Norwegian and Danish levels of similar, or Scots and English.
- szopa 6y agoOne interesting thing about Portuguese and Spanish is that the comprehension isn't symmetrical: Portuguese speakers understand Spanish ones all right, but vice versa is a bit of a struggle.
- lucian1900 6y agoThat effect is far less strong with Brazilian Portuguese, which is much more easily understood by other Latin language speakers.
- tincholio 6y agoIn fairness, Brazilians often also struggle to understand Portuguese as spoken in Portugal. I (native Spanish speaker from South America) can understand Brazilian Portuguese pretty well, even if I've never studied it. Portuguese from Portugal, I cannot really understand when spoken. It sounds very similar to Galician, which I also can't really understand.