Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Expression of the week

There’s a number of ways to say “hopefully” in Portuguese. Let’s take a look at the various expressions and learn how!


Hopefully

1.    Oxalá
2.    Tomara
3.    Se Deus quiser

1. Oxalá

If you know Spanish or Arabic, this word will look familiar to you, and with good reason. It comes from the same meaning (in sa alla in Arabic, ojalá in Spanish), which means hopefully. In Portuguese, it’s commonly associated with a God of Candomble but the use of the word as “hopefully” has its roots in medieval Europe. It’s not used very widely in Brazil, but is used in Portugal, and is a good one to know.

Oxalá  tudo corra bem!
Hopefully everything will go well!
Oxalá amanhã chova!
Hopefully tomorrow it will rain!

2. Tomara

This also means hopefully, and is more commonly used throughout Brazil.

Tomara que não chova amanhã.
Hopefully it won’t rain tomorrow.
Tomara que a casa fique pronta  brevemente.
Hopefully the house will be finished soon.



3. Se Deus quiser

This also means hopefully, and literally it means “if God wishes.”

Se Deus quiser,irei comprar um carro.
Hopefully, I’m going to buy a car someday.
Se Deus quiser, vou ficar mellhor rapidamente.
Hopefully, I’m going to get well soon.



.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Business Letters

Business Letters

 


<><><>  <>

Pedido de referências


De um parceiro de negócios



Request for references


From a business partner


Prezados Senhores,



Agradecemos o pedido apresentado à nossa empresa.

Como ainda não mantivemos negócios com sua empresa, solicitamos respeitosamente que nos indiquem suas referências.


Contamos com sua compreensão de nosso pedido.


Atenciosamente


  Dear Sir or Madam,



Thank you for the order you have placed with us.


As we have had no business dealings with you to date we would respectfully request you to supply us with references.



We trust you will appreciate that we must make this request.


   Yours faithfully







Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Expression of the week

Job Search

Here’s the list of important vocabulary and sentences regarding the busca por emprego (job search)!


Estou me candidatando para uma vaga de emprego.
I’m applying for a job.
Vou fazer uma entrevista.
I’m going to do an interview.
Carta de apresentação
Cover letters
Currículo Resume
Cargo
Position


Here, there is a video in Brazilian about some guidelines to do a better job interview.


Dicas para entrevista de emprego

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Expression of the week…

Ficar...


Está ficando escuro.
It’s getting dark.
Ficamos cansados ontem.
We got tired yesterday.
Estou ficando confuso, estou fazendo confusão.
I’m getting confused.
Estou ficando acostumado a trabalhar muito.
I’m getting accustomed /used to working hard.


Saturday, September 3, 2011

Music

Fado (Portuguese: destiny, fate) is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. However, in reality fado is simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain structure. The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade which symbolizes the feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent life lasting damage).


This is the video with sub titles in English of Mariza (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾizɐ]) is the stage name of a popular fado singer. She was born on 16 December 1973 in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. At the time, Mozambique was known as the Portuguese Colony Overseas Province of Mozambique.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Brazil


Understanding the diversity of Brazilian society and the unique values and attitudes of
their citizens will help you develop better relationships and do business more successfully with your Brazilian colleagues.

Family Brazil is a collectivist society which places family at the centre of its social structure. Families in Brazil tend to be large and close-knit, providing members security and connections. The importance of family is also evident in Brazilian business culture where often family members will often be found working for the same company, either family owned or otherwise.

Relationships Similar to the importance placed on family, Brazilians depend heavily on relationships with others. It is essential therefore to spend the time getting to know your Brazilian counterparts, both personally and professionally. Knowing the right people will also help minimize any frustrations you might experience doing business in Brazil.

Time – Time in Brazil is approached in a very relaxed and flexible manner. Punctuality and precise plans are not common. Brazilians tend to live life at a slower pace, and this carries over into business which can result in negotiations taking much longer than you are used to. Meetings are also often delayed or cancelled without any prior warning.


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Portuguese

Portuguese is orthographically similar in many ways to Spanish

Portuguese
and Spanish
are among the most widely spoken languages in the world today.It's not uncommon to find a Portuguese speaker talking to a Spanish speaker at an airport. Each one speaks their own language, both understand each other with just occasional need to stop
now and then to understand the meaning of a word. The speakers communicate very well most of the time,
as long as they avoid using slang words or talking too fast.


Communication works because Spanish and Portuguese share around 80% of their vocabulary, most of the same grammatical structures, and things like the endings on nouns and verbs. Where communication breaks down, it's often because of differences in pronunciation. Listen to these two sentences, first in Spanish, then in Portuguese:


"Meus irmãos alemães cantam bem"
"Mis hermanos alemanes cantan bien"


When pronunciation isn't a factor, the Spanish speaker feels almost like he's reading his own language when he picks up a Portuguese newspaper. A recent study found that educated native Spanish speakers with no previous exposure to Portuguese could understand as much as 95% of an academic text written in Portuguese.

Portuguese speakers are generally able to read Spanish, and Spanish speakers are generally able to read Portuguese even if they cannot understand the spoken language.

Interestingly, French is more closely related to Portuguese than it is to Spanish even though Spain has a common boundary with France while Portugal does not. This was probably due to the Portuguese-French Atlantic sea trade, while any exchange between France and Spain was hindered by the Pyrenees Mountains and the totally unrelated Basque language. There are many example of Portuguese words being closer to French than Spanish, such as Portuguese "bom" ("good", masculine), and French "bon," but the somewhat different "buen" in Spanish. Overall, Portuguese and Spanish are more similar to each other than to French.

You may be surprised to hear that Portuguese is the fifth most widely-spoken language in the world. In addition to Portugal, it's the language of Brazil, and one of the few countries in South America where Spanish is not spoken. In Africa, you'll find Portuguese in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde. You can also hear it in Asia in places like the islands of East Timor,
Macao in southern China, and Goa at the tip of India.

So, there are a lot of reasons why you might want to learn Portuguese. Above all, if you speak English and Spanish and you add Portuguese to your repertoire, you'll be able to talk to half the people in the world!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Brazil

                                             Brazil

Brazilian Culture Overview    

Official name Federative Republic of Brazil
Population – 198,739,269*
Official Language – Portuguese
Currency – Brazilian real (BRL)
Capital city Brasilia


GDP – purchasing power parity $1.99 trillion*
GDP Per Capita – purchasing power parity $10,100*

 
Overview

Brazil is a country greatly shaped by its diverse culture and geography. The largest country in South America in both population and area, Brazil has long been the source of important natural resources such as timber, sugar and coffee. The culture is a thriving fusion of Portuguese, African and indigenous Indian influences, all of which have left their mark on Brazilian society resulting in a rich, distinct culture. Brazilian culture is known for its hospitality, openness and colorful and rhythmic events such as Carnival. As Catholicism is the predominant religion in Brazil, many of these events have a strong Catholic influence. The diversity of Brazilian society is further emphasized by the prevalent class differences which permeate almost every aspect of society. Understanding the diversity of Brazilian society and the unique values and attitudes of its citizens will help you develop better relationships and do business more successfully with your Brazilian colleagues.

Key concepts

Family Brazil is a collectivist society which places family at the centre of its social structure. Families in Brazil tend to be large and close-knit, providing members security and connections. The importance of family is also evident in Brazilian business culture where often family members will often be found working for the same company, either family owned or otherwise.

Relationships Similar to the importance placed on family, Brazilians depend heavily on relationships with others. It is essential therefore to spend the time getting to know your Brazilian counterparts, both personally and professionally. Knowing the right people will also help minimize any frustrations you might experience doing business in Brazil.

Time – Time in Brazil is approached in a very relaxed and flexible manner. Punctuality and precise plans are not common. Brazilians tend to live life at a slower pace, and this carries over into business which can result in negotiations taking much longer than you are used to. Meetings are also often delayed or cancelled without any prior warning.


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Invoicing

Faturamento
Invoicing

Prezados Senhoes,
Dear Sir or Madam,

As mercadorias encomendadas pelos senhores foram despachadas hoje.
The goods ordered were despatched to you today.

Tomamos a liberdade de lhes enviar anexa  a nossa fatura sobre o fornecimento total.
Enclosed you will find our invoice for the entire consignment.

Esperamos poder contar com mais pedidos de sua parte.
We look forward to receive further orders from you.

Atenciosamente,
Yours faithfully,

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Learning Portuguese

The option to learn Portuguese for business opportunities is one of the best ways to get ahead in the job market. In the 21st century you will need every advantage you can get to keep yourself competitive in the marketplace. Here are just some of the reasons to learn Portuguese for business:

Improved overall communication skills. Portuguese learners improve their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in English as well as their new language- Portuguese. Overall communication skills improve, and that is a boon to any potential employer. For the business owner or entrepreneur, it is even more important for you to maximize your ability to communicate with employees, clients or potential business contacts.

Improved problem solving abilities. Learning Portuguese  also develops analytical skills, improves problem solving ability and increases flexible thinking and creativity. Businesses need employees with a wide range of abilities.

Broadens job skills and career options. Learning Portuguese improves your overall job skills, and makes you more valuable as an employee. It also broadens your potential career options, should you decide on a different career path.

Opportunities in many industries. There are many industries in which adding Portuguese as a foreign language would immediately be useful. Being able to communicate with customers, clients and contacts in their own language, even just to put them at ease and make them more comfortable with you is clearly a great asset.

Career advancement. Knowledge of Portuguese can make you more valuable to your company, giving you a better chance of a promotion or a raise. You may also improve your potential for reassignment or relocation, and therefore also an increase in pay.

Overseas business opportunities. Obviously, learning Portuguese could get you a possible assignment in another country. The potential experience you could gain could lead to a whole new plateau in your career, or a new career opportunity altogether.

Competetive advantage in international business. The current climate of globalization is most likely here to stay. More and more businesses are growing internationalized by mergers and acquisitions. Multinational businesses, global corporations, conglomerates and joint ventures are increasingly common. This means that learning Portuguese is essential if you are going to be involved in any international business. It's the only way to maintain a competitive advantage.

Cost effective method of improving your marketplace value. Many businesses will contribute to or pay for an employees training or education. Portuguese is one of the few skills that can be learned a variety of ways including formal classroom study, tutors, language schools and even self-study. It's one of the few skills you can gain on your own and affordably.

Increased business contacts. The opportunities here are tremendous. From your employers or clients point of view, you may have just doubled your potential list of business contacts when you add t Portuguese to your arsenal. It's a way to gain a powerful advantage over your competitors.

We could probably add many more examples to this short list, but the point is made. When you learn Portuguese for business, you add important skills to your repertoire and increase your value as an employee or businessperson. You increase your opportunities for your business and for yourself. You improve your communication skills, your ability to interact with more people and your overall business skills. Best of all, you make an investment in yourself. When you leverage that investment in your business life, you can profit from the rewards for the rest of your life.



Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Letter of thanks

Carta de agradecimento

Prezados Senhores,

Os entendimentos com o (a) sr.(a)...., de sua empresa, foram concluídos ontem, e temos a certeza de que foram alcançados os resultados favoráveis para ambas as partes.

 Apreveitamos esta oportunidade para agradecer-lhes a visita do (a) sr.(a)...., especialmente pela franqueza com que ele (a) conduziu as negociações com nossa gerência.


Atenciosamente,


Monday, May 23, 2011

Letters

SALUTATION
SAUDAÇÃO

Dear Mr./Ms. Smith,


Prezado Sr./Sra Smith,
STATING PURPOSE
ESCREVENDO O PROPÓSITO

To answer your questions,…

As we discussed,…

As you requested.…

We have received…

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of…

I am writing in response to…

I am writing to express my (gratitude for/ disappointment in/ congratulations on…)

Em resposta às suas perguntas,…

Como havíamos falado...

Como solicitou...

Recebemos...

Estou escrevendo para avisar que recebemos...

Estou escrevendo em resposta...

Estou escrevendo para expressar/dar (meus agradecimentos, minha deceção, meus parabéns...)

CUMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
CUMPRIMENTOS FINAIS

Sincerely yours, or Yours faithfully,

Kind regards,

Atenciosamente


Melhores cumprimentos,

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Networking

Surnames in Brazil, Angola or Portugal are almost irrelevant. It’s normal in these countries to introduce a colleague- even in a formal context- without ever citing a family name. It’s not unusual for one to carry on a business relationship with a Portuguese, Brazilian or Angolan for many years without knowing that person’s last name.

Monday, May 16, 2011

About

Whether you are a business person or other professional, frequent traveler, or simply Atlantica Language’s student, this blog will be be a resource for expressing what you need to write in Portuguese (emails, commercial letters, and more).

Learning Portuguese is more than words - it is culture, custom and attitude. So  wherever it’s appropriate, Atlantica Languages Blog wants to offer you some cultural-linguistic advice.