Riverense Portuñol
| Riverense Portuñol | |
|---|---|
| Portuñol | |
| Pronunciation | [portuˈɲol] |
| Native to | Northern Uruguay, near Brazilian border |
Native speakers | approximately 100,000 people (date missing) |
|
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| Linguasphere |
51-AAA-am |
Riverense Portuñol/Portunhol, also known as Fronterizo/Fronteiriço or just Portuñol/Portunhol, is a variety of Portuguese (linguasphere language code 51-AAA-am[1]) with influences from Spanish. It is spoken on the border between Uruguay and Brazil, and more specifically in the region of the twin cities of Rivera (Uruguay) and Santana do Livramento (Brazil). This section of the frontier is called Frontera de la Paz (Border of Peace), because there is no legal obstacle to crossing the border between the two countries.
Characteristics
As any other language, the Uruguayan-Brazilian Portuñol is very dynamic and heterogeneous, and there is a continuum of dialects which range from Rioplatense Spanish (castiiano, in Portuñol) to the standard Brazilian Portuguese (brazilero, in Portuñol). Nevertheless, it has one variant which is the most used, and could be taken as a case study: this variant is geographically located on the area having the cities of Rivera and Sant'Ana do Livramento as its center, and expanding over a strip of several kilometers parallel to the border, including territory of both nations. This article refers to this variant, but from now on it will be simply called Portuñol or Riverense, names by which it is identified by the people who speak the language.
The majority of linguists classify portuñol as a variety of Portuguese (Adolfo Elizaincín , uses the term "DPU" - Dialectos Portugueses del Uruguay to refer not to just one, but to between two and six different variations of Portuguese spoken in northern Uruguay, Riverense Portuñol being one of these varieties), but there is no consensus. On the other hand, it can be safely said that Portuñol is a very rich language, in the sense that it has a great amount of synonyms and more precise words to express specific meanings, besides having a larger phonetic richness. However, it's wrong to say that Riverense is merely a mix between two languages which doesn't follow strict grammatical rules.
Origins
The origins of Portuñol can be traced back to the time of the dominion of the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. In those times, the ownerships of those lands were not very well defined, passing back and forth from the hands of one crown to the other. Portuñol was not only influenced by Portuguese and Spanish, but also, in a few cases, the native languages as well; e.g.: gurí (boy), mamboretá (praying mantis), caracú (bovine bone).
Phonology and orthography
The Riverense language doesn't possess a formally defined orthography, but in this article an orthography of Portuñol will be presented in order to enable its phonemes to be represented in the most accurate and consistent possible way, highlighting the phonologic features of this language variety. It should be noted that not all Portuñol-speaking persons use the same pronunciation for the same words (as is the case with most languages). Nevertheless, the script that is chosen is very representative of the most frequent and distinctive features.
The chosen representation is the closest to the one that would be used if we tried to transcribe the phonemes to the Spanish language (because this is the language taught to Uruguayans, which is the nationality of the majority of speakers of this dialect), except for the phonemes that can't be represented through the Spanish alphabet, like, for example the nasal vowels.
Spanish vowels
The Spanish vowels are the ones which are pronounced like the five vowels of the Spanish language (they also exist in Portuguese):
| letter | IPA | Portuñol | Pronunciation (IPA) | Spanish (Rioplatense dialect) | Portuguese | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | papa | [ˈpapa] | papa | batata | potato |
| catarata | [kataˈɾata] | catarata | catarata / queda d'água | waterfall | ||
| e | e | peshe | [ˈpeʃe] | pez | peixe | fish |
| detergente | [deterˈχente] | detergente | detergente | detergent | ||
| i | i, j | cisco | [ˈsisko] | basura | lixo | garbage |
| niño | [ˈniɲo] | nido | ninho | nest | ||
| ciá | [sja] | cenar | jantar/cear | to have dinner | ||
| o | o | ontonte | [onˈtonte] | anteayer | anteontem | day before yesterday |
| oio | [ˈojo] | ojo | olho | eye | ||
| poso | [ˈposo] | pozo | poço | well | ||
| u | u, w | yururú | [ʒuɾuˈɾu] | triste, melancólico | triste, melancólico/jururu | sad, melancholic |
| nu | [nu] | en el | no / em | in the (m.) | ||
| acuá | [aˈkwa] | ladrar | latir/ladrar | to bark |
Portuguese vowels
These vowels are found in Portuguese, but not in Spanish.
Semiopen vowels
They are like the vowels e and o, but pronounced in a more open way, closer to an a.
| letter | IPA | Portuñol | Pronunciation (IPA) | Spanish | Portuguese | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| é | ɛ | té | [tɛ] | té | chá | tea |
| pél | [pɛl] | piel | pele | skin | ||
| véia | [ˈvɛja] | vieja | velha | old (f.) | ||
| ó | ɔ | fófóca | [fɔˈfɔka] | chisme | fofoca | gossip |
| póso | [ˈpɔso] | puedo | posso | (I) can |
Distinguishing the open-mid vowels (é, ó) is very important because they can completely change the meaning of a word, like in the following examples:
- avó [aˈvɔ] (grandmother) and avô [aˈvo] (grandfather)
- véio [ˈvɛjo] (old (m.)) and veio [ˈvejo] (he came - from the verb ví [to come])
- véia [ˈvɛja] (old (f.)) and veia [ˈveja] (vein)
- póso [ˈpɔso] ((I) can) and poso [ˈposo] (well)
Nasal vowels
The nasal vowels are the vowels which are produced by expiring the air partly through the nose and partly through the mouth. They don't exist in Spanish and therefore are generally derived from Portuguese words.
| IPA | letters | Portuñol | Pronunciation (IPA) | Spanish | Portuguese | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ã | ã | masã | [maˈsã] | manzana | maçã | apple |
| lã | [lã] | lana | lã | wool | ||
| sã | [sã] | sana (adj.) | sã | healthy (f.) | ||
| an (*) | cansha | [ˈkãʃa] | cancha | campo desportivo | sports ground | |
| ẽ | en (*) | pênsaũ | [ˈpẽsaw̃] | piensan | pensam | (they) think |
| ĩ | in (**) | intonce | [ĩˈtõse] | entonces | então | then |
| õ | õ | garsõ | [ɡarˈsõ] | mozo (de bar o restaurante) | garçom/empregado de mesa | waiter (bar, restaurant) |
| tõ | [tõ] | tono | tom | tone | ||
| on (*) | intonce | [ĩˈtõse] | entonces | então | then | |
| ũ, w̃ | ũ | ũ | [ũ] | uno | um | one (m.) |
| cũtigo | [kũˈtiɣo] | contigo | contigo | with you | ||
| niñũa | [niˈɲũa] | ninguna | nenhuma | no one (f.) | ||
| maũ | [maw̃] | mano | mão | hand |
(*) before s, sh, y, z, ce, ci.
(**) before s, sh, y, z, ce, ci, or when it is the first syllable and is not followed by ga, gue, gui, go, gu, ca, que, qui, co, cu or k.
Distinguishing nasal vowels is very important, because they can completely change the meaning of the word, like in the following examples:
- paũ [ˈpaw̃] (bread) and pau [ˈpaw] (stick)
- nũ [nũ] (in a (m.)) and nu [nu] (in the (m.))
- nũa [ˈnũ.a] (in a (f.)) and núa [ˈnu.a] (naked (f.))
- ũ [ũ] (one, a (m.)) and u [u] (the (m.))
- cũ [kũ] (with) and cu [ˈku] (anus - vulgar term)
- ũs [ũs] (some (m.)) and us [us] (the (m.pl.))
Consonants
In the next table, when there is a reference to Spanish, it refers to the Rioplatense Spanish dialect, and where there is a reference to Portuguese, it refers to Brazilian Portuguese and more specifically the Gaúcho dialect (from the Brazilian Southern state of Rio Grande do Sul).
| letter | IPA | name | description | examples and counter-examples (eng=English, esp=Spanish, port=Portuguese) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | b, β | be | It represents the same phoneme as in Spanish and Portuguese. It is always a bilabial. | brabo [ˈbɾaβo] (eng. angry, esp. enojado/bravo, port. zangado/bravo). |
| c | k, s | ce | It is used the same as in Spanish and Portuguese when before a vowel or a consonant different from h,. That is, it represents the phoneme [k] when it is followed by the vowels a, o, u, ã, õ, ũ, ó, another consonant than h; and it represents the phoneme [s] when it is located before the vowels e, i, é. | cacimba [kaˈsimba] (eng. hole with drinkable water, esp. cachimba, port. cacimba). |
| ch | tʃ | ce hache, che | It is always used as in Spanish and is equivalent to tch in Portuguese. | che [tʃe] (esp. che, port. tchê), bombacha [bomˈbatʃa] (underpants), bombasha [bomˈbaʃa] (gaucho's trousers). |
| d | d, ð | de | Used the same as in Spanish. It never represents, as in some regions of Brazil, the affricate [dʒ]. | diploide [diˈplojðe] (eng. diploid, esp. diploide, port. diplóide [dʒiˈplɔjdʒi]). |
| f | f | efe | The same phoneme as in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. | |
| g | ɡ, ɣ, χ | ge | It represents the same sound as in Spanish and Portuguese when located before a consonant or the vowels a, o, u, ã, õ, ũ, ó. It represents the same sound as the Spanish j (similar to English h) when located before the vowels e, i, é. | gagueyá [ɡaɣeˈʒa] (eng. to stammer, esp. tartamudear, port. gaguejar), geología [χeoloˈχia] (eng, geology, esp. geología, port. geologia). |
| h | hache | Silent, except when it follows a c or an s. In Portuñol, it is preferred not to use h when it is not present in the original word in Spanish or Portuguese. | hoye [ˈoʒe] (eng. today, esp. hoy, port. hoje), oso [ˈoso] (eng. bone, esp. hueso, port. osso) | |
| j | χ | jota | It represents the same phoneme as in Spanish (similar to English h). | jirafa [χiˈɾɑfɑ] sounds like Spanish and yirafa [ʒiˈɾafa] sounds like Portuguese (eng. giraffe, esp. jirafa, port. girafa) |
| k | k | ka | Represents the same phoneme as in Spanish and Portuguese (and English). | |
| l | l | ele | Represents the same phoneme as in Spanish or European Portuguese. In Brazilian Portuguese, an l at the end of a word sounds like an [u] or [w]; in Fronterizo this never happens. | Brazil [bɾaˈzil] (eng. Brazil, esp. and port. Brasil) |
| m | m | eme | It represents the same phoneme as in Spanish (voiced bilabial nasal). In Portuguese, an m denotes many different sounds, depending on the preceding vowels. | |
| n | n, ŋ | ene | It represents the same phoneme as in Spanish, except the cases exposed in the nasal vowels section. | amên [aˈmen] (eng. amen, esp. amén), amêñ [aˈmeɲ] (eng. amen, port. amém), inté [ĩˈtɛ] (eng. see you later, esp. hasta luego, port. até mais), sanga [ˈsaŋɡa] (eng. ditch, esp. zanja, port. valeta) |
| ñ | ɲ | eñe | Is the same phoneme as in Spanish (in Portuguese a similar sound is represented by the digraph nh). | niño [ˈniɲo] (eng. nest, esp. nido, port. ninho), carpiñ [kaɾˈpiɲ] (eng. sock, esp. calcetín, port. meia), muñto [ˈmuɲto] (eng. a lot of, esp. mucho, port. muito), ruñ [ruɲ] (eng. wicked, bad or rotten, esp. malo, port. ruim) |
| p | p | pe | Represents the same phoneme as in Spanish and Portuguese (and English). | |
| q | k | cu | Represents the same phoneme as in Spanish and Portuguese (and English). It is always followed by a u. | |
| r | r, ɾ | erre, ere | It represents the same pair of phonemes as in Spanish. | |
| s | s, z | ese | It represents the same phoneme as in Spanish; except when at the end of a word and the following word begins with a vowel, or when located before a voiced consonant. In these cases it is phonetically equivalent to the Portuguese z [z]. | asesino [aseˈsino] (eng. murderer, esp. asesino, port. assassino), read like in Portuguese it would be azezino [azeˈzino], a non-existent word in Portuñol; más flaco [masˈflako] (eng. skinnier, esp. más flaco, port. mais magro), más gordo [mazˈɣordo] (eng. fatter, esp. más gordo, port. mais gordo) |
| sh | ʃ | ese hache, she | It represents the same phoneme that is represented by the digraph ch in Portuguese (that is, the English sh) | shuva [ˈʃuva] (eng. rain, esp. lluvia, port. chuva); aflósha [aˈflɔʃa] (eng. don't disturb, esp. no molestes, port. não perturbe) |
| t | t | te | It represents the same phoneme as in Spanish and is never affricate. | tímidamente [ˈtimiðaˈmente] (eng. shyly, esp, tímidamente, port. timidamente [ˈtʃimidaˈmentʃi]). |
| v | v | ve | It represents the same phoneme as in Portuguese and English, that is, a voiced labiodental fricative or more rarely a voiced bilabial fricative. | vaso [ˈvaso] (eng. glass, esp. vaso, port. copo). When used as in Spanish, it becomes baso [ˈbaso] (eng. spleen, esp. bazo) |
| w | w | doblevê | It is used in the words derived from English, but it is convenient to follow the orthographic rules of Portuñol, for the words that are already part of this language. | whisky or uísqui [ˈwiski], show or shou [ʃow] |
| x | ks | equis, shis | It represents the consonant cluster [ks]. | exelente [ekseˈlente] (eng. excellent, esp. and port. excelente) |
| y | ʒ, j | ye, í griega | As in Rioplatense Spanish, it is postalveolar (as the s in measure); except when at the end of a world which finishes with a diphthong or a triphthong, in which case the sound is the same of Spanish or Portuguese i. | yurá [ʒuˈɾa] (eng. to swear, esp. jurar; port. jurar); Uruguay [uɾuˈɣwaj] (port. Uruguai); yacaré [ʒakaˈɾɛ] (eng. South American alligator, esp. yacaré, port. jacaré) |
| z | z | ceta | It represents the same phoneme as in Portuguese and English. | caza [ˈkaza] (eng. house, esp. casa, port. casa); casa [ˈkasa] (eng. hunting, esp. caza, port. caça) |
| zy | z, zʒ, ʒ | ceta ye | It is used in some words that have a phoneme which varies continuously between z and y (depending on the speaker). | cuazye [ˈkwazʒe] (eng. almost, esp. casi, port. quase); ezyemplo [ezˈʒemplo] (eng. example, esp. ejemplo, port. exemplo). |
Footnotes
Bibliography
- CARVALHO, Ana Maria. Variation and diffusion of Uruguayan Portuguese in a bilingual border town, by Ana Maria Carvalho, University of California at Berkeley USA. (PDF)
- Lipski, John M. (2006). "Too close for comfort? The genesis of "portuñol/portunhol"" (PDF). Selected Proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. ed. Timothy L. Face and Carol A. Klee, 1-22. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. (PDF)
- Nicolás Brian, Claudia Brovetto, Javier Geymonat, Portugués del Uruguay y educación bilingüe
- Penny, Ralph (2001). "Variation and Change in Spanish". Cambridge University Press. [Contains a section on Portuñol].
- Carvalho, Ana Maria (2004). "I speak like the guys on TV: Palatalization and the urbanization of Uruguayan Portuguese". Language Variation and Change 16 (2): 127–151. doi:10.1017/S0954394504162030.
See also
- Portuñol/Portunhol
- Differences between Spanish and Portuguese
External links
- Page about Uruguayan Portunhol (in Portuguese) at Unicamp - University of Campinas, São Paulo (in Portuguese)
- Adolfo Elizaincín website
- (Interlingua) (English) (Portuguese) (Spanish) Portuñol, a new language that is gaining popularity among people who live close to the borders of Brazil and its neighboring Spanish-speaking countries
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