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ArchivesRe: I beg to differ...
in reply to a message by SugarPlumFairy
I think you need to be very careful about claiming a given pronunciation to be "preferred," "educated," or "supposed to be that way" when comparing dialects across countries. What is preferred in England and Portugal may not be preferred in the U.S. and Brazil. To say, for instance, that pronouncing the suffix "-er" as a schwa, [ə], (standard British pronunciation) is educated and just supposed to be that way, while the rhotic [ɚ] (standard American pronunciation) is uneducated and shouldn't be imitated, would be quite offensive.
The Wikipedia page you referenced, in fact, draws a clear distinction between the standard pronunciation of R in Portugal and Brazil. To quote phonetic note #3 in part:
"In Europe, it is typically a uvular trill [ʀ]...In Brazil...it is usually pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative [x], a voiceless glottal fricative [h] or voiceless uvular fricative [χ]."
In Brazil, according to this article, the letter R is USUALLY pronounced as an [h], or as [x] or [χ], which are fricatives similar to [h] and perceived by English-speakers as variants of that phoneme. How can it be a "gross generalization" to say that the preferred or standard pronunciation of R in most parts of Brazil is H or an H-like sound?
The Wikipedia page you referenced, in fact, draws a clear distinction between the standard pronunciation of R in Portugal and Brazil. To quote phonetic note #3 in part:
"In Europe, it is typically a uvular trill [ʀ]...In Brazil...it is usually pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative [x], a voiceless glottal fricative [h] or voiceless uvular fricative [χ]."
In Brazil, according to this article, the letter R is USUALLY pronounced as an [h], or as [x] or [χ], which are fricatives similar to [h] and perceived by English-speakers as variants of that phoneme. How can it be a "gross generalization" to say that the preferred or standard pronunciation of R in most parts of Brazil is H or an H-like sound?
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Replies
I can't convince you how to pronounce my own language, that's okay.
I've watched Brazillian TV my whole life, I talk to Brazillians all the time, and I've never percieved their "R"s as the English "H" - so cannot be not the "standard pronunciation of R in most parts of Brazil".
The Wikipedia page clearly states that the /ʁ/ pronunciation is the most correct, whether you are in Europe, in Brazil, or in Africa. My grandparents roll their Rs much more than I do, in the end of the day it's an R.
Imagine and English teacher saying to her Portuguese students: the "th" sound doesn't exist in our language, but some English-speakers say it as "d" so let's take that pronounciation as our standard.
I've watched Brazillian TV my whole life, I talk to Brazillians all the time, and I've never percieved their "R"s as the English "H" - so cannot be not the "standard pronunciation of R in most parts of Brazil".
The Wikipedia page clearly states that the /ʁ/ pronunciation is the most correct, whether you are in Europe, in Brazil, or in Africa. My grandparents roll their Rs much more than I do, in the end of the day it's an R.
Imagine and English teacher saying to her Portuguese students: the "th" sound doesn't exist in our language, but some English-speakers say it as "d" so let's take that pronounciation as our standard.
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I don't know what you may or may not have heard, any more than you know what I may or may not have heard. Certainly, people's perceptions of sounds are colored by their native language(s) and their experiences. But I am still very curious where on the Wikipedia page it clearly states that "the /ʁ/ pronunciation is the most correct, whether you are in Europe, in Brazil, or in Africa." I have read the page carefully three times and don't see that anywhere. Please enlighten me.
Furthermore, I went to the Wikipedia page on Portuguese dialects, thinking that might give more detail. It says:
"The pronunciation of syllable-initial and syllable-final r varies considerably with dialect. See Guttural R in Portuguese, for details. In summary, syllable-initial ⟨r⟩ and doubled ⟨rr⟩ are pronounced as a guttural [ʁ] in most cities in Portugal, but as a traditional trill [r] in rural Portugal. In Brazil, this sound is normally pronounced as an unvoiced guttural ([x], [χ] or [h]), which is also used for ⟨r⟩ at the end of syllables (except in the caipira dialect, which uses an alveolar approximant [ɹ]). ⟨r⟩ at the ends of words in Brazil is normally silent or barely pronounced."
I don't see how anyone can read this and come away with the conclusions that: 1) The [ʁ] pronunciation is most correct in Brazil; 2) that using [x], [χ] and [h] in place of [ʁ] is substandard; or 3) that [x], [χ] and [h] are really just a kind of R.
At the "end of the day," the fact is that a native English speaker hearing a Brazilian say the name Renzo in normal speech, hears "Henzo." I'm a native English speaker. That is what I hear. I've asked other English-speakers and that is what they hear as well. Therefore, it is correct to tell an English-speaker that the Brazilian pronunciation of Renzo is approximately Henzo. I don't know what a Portuguese hears when a Brazilian speaks. That is beside the point.
Furthermore, I went to the Wikipedia page on Portuguese dialects, thinking that might give more detail. It says:
"The pronunciation of syllable-initial and syllable-final r varies considerably with dialect. See Guttural R in Portuguese, for details. In summary, syllable-initial ⟨r⟩ and doubled ⟨rr⟩ are pronounced as a guttural [ʁ] in most cities in Portugal, but as a traditional trill [r] in rural Portugal. In Brazil, this sound is normally pronounced as an unvoiced guttural ([x], [χ] or [h]), which is also used for ⟨r⟩ at the end of syllables (except in the caipira dialect, which uses an alveolar approximant [ɹ]). ⟨r⟩ at the ends of words in Brazil is normally silent or barely pronounced."
I don't see how anyone can read this and come away with the conclusions that: 1) The [ʁ] pronunciation is most correct in Brazil; 2) that using [x], [χ] and [h] in place of [ʁ] is substandard; or 3) that [x], [χ] and [h] are really just a kind of R.
At the "end of the day," the fact is that a native English speaker hearing a Brazilian say the name Renzo in normal speech, hears "Henzo." I'm a native English speaker. That is what I hear. I've asked other English-speakers and that is what they hear as well. Therefore, it is correct to tell an English-speaker that the Brazilian pronunciation of Renzo is approximately Henzo. I don't know what a Portuguese hears when a Brazilian speaks. That is beside the point.
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