Customer Reviews

Pois não: Brazilian Portuguese Course for Spanish Speakers, with Basic Reference Grammar

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having already completed a good chunk of the textbook, I am very pleased with my progress; Simões usually cuts corners in all the right places, making frequent use of the numerous similarities between Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. It is therefore imperative that you have a strong familiarity with the Spanish language, as the author does not take time to drill vocabulary and verb conjugations, and instead identifies cognates before moving right ahead. The book itself is written in English, though Simões's grasp of the language does leave something to be desired; already I've encountered numerous typos and grammatical errors. The author's awkward locutions can be an obstacle for comprehension, which makes a solid understanding of grammar an absolutely essential prerequisite. This book is dense!

The included CD with audio and video helps immensely with pronunciation and aural comprehension, though I've been finding myself having to navigate countless file folders on my PC to access the myriad audio and video clips. This brings up the book's major issue: a general lack of polish. The fact that Simões presents Pois não as a textbook for classroom use is laughable, not least because copious notes to the instructor are inextricably woven into the lessons, making it extremely difficult to digest (if not entirely off-putting) for students. Sometimes you just want the damn book to get to the point! One thing I do like about the book is its focus on informal, colloquial Portuguese as a counterpoint to the more academic, textbook variety, but Simões offers lots of colorful slang without defining it for the reader. This is an obvious disadvantage to any readers like myself using this book for self-study.

Complaints aside, I'm giving Pois não four stars because it does deliver; Simões teaches you to use Spanish as a tool to learn to speak Portuguese quickly, and Brazilian friends have already complimented me on my accent, undoubtedly a result of Simões's early emphasis on Brazilian Portuguese phonology. This book will at times test your patience, but with determination you will come out on top with a very comprehensive understanding of Brazilian Portuguese. Unfortunately, Simões will need to release a subsequent edition of Pois não free of errors, complete with student workbook and improved audio and video (perhaps a DVD?) for the book to be at all viable for use in the classroom.

Pois Não was written for English speakers of Spanish. It certainly is that but assumes an intimate knowledge of Spanish. It explains things in detail and concentrates on Brazilian Portuguese. For those just learning Portuguese, it provides more information than the person, perhaps, wants to know. It is recommended that an easier grammar be used to gain an initial knowledge of both Portuguese vocabulary and grammar. It is a good source to know the pitfalls of using false Spanish cognates. I was intrigued that the author pointed out that Portuguese speakers had an easier understanding of Spanish than vice versa as I have always found that to be true as well. I will use it as an excellent reference.

I really like this book. Although it was designed mainly for Spanish speakers, it can be used by anyone who wants to learn Brazilian Portuguese.

Since it is written by a linguistic it is more academical than other books but it is very clear in its explanations . And more important, it gives grammar concepts and very useful pronunciation tips that are not given in other books.

I highly recomend this book as an essential guide to learn Brazilian Portuguese.

This textbook is really incredible. I speak English and Spanish and have been studying Portuguese on my own using the Transparent Language program, which is AMAZING, but I have been looking for a supplementary book that really teaches the linguistic technicalities behind the language. Sometimes I record my voice and play it along with the native speaker and really can't hear the difference. Or likewise, I play just one part of my recording (i.e. fricatives, vowels, pitch, etc) along with the native recording and no matter how many times I say the word, I can't figure out how to fix mine. This book has been enormously helpful in breaking down the Portuguese sounds and highlighting the differences among Portuguese, Spanish and English so that it's crystal clear. It provides sound examples in both Spanish and English so that is really helpful as well, especially if there is only an example in one of the languages.

The book is extremely technical so I don't recommend it if you aren't truly dedicated to learning Portuguese or if tedious writing overwhelms and discourages you. It does detail exactly what a Spanish or English speaker needs to overcome if they wish to perfect their Portuguese pronunciation. I'm confident that this book will improve my pronunciation.

I gave it 4 stars because so far I've made it through Unit 1 and, unfortunately, there is 1 set of activity recordings missing from the disc. Also, it assumes that this book is used in concordance with a college-level class. Since I'm self-study I don't have a teacher to pronounce the activities that aren't recorded on the disc. Really this book provides so much benefit already that this is not a huge deal but it would be nice to get the full experience.

What a bargain for the price! I would buy this book again 100x over.

Very complete book. It explains portuguese in great detail and it correlates it to Spanish very well. Grammar wise, it probably covers what you would need to know to study at the university level in Brasil.

As an Independent learner of Portuguese who's background is in Spanish. This book helps me avoid the pitfalls of "False Friends" between the two languages. The author gives a list of false friends in the beginning of the book. To fully absord the contents of this book. One must have a good amount knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and of course English. It is definitely not for beginners!!

Well done. Full of useful content, exercises and most of all a great command Brazilian Portuguese.