Portuguese Connected Speech for Enhanced Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension

It is often challenging to keep up with Portuguese native speakers, even for advanced learners.

This is probably not because you don’t know the words they’re saying, but because they speak them so articulately that it becomes difficult to parse what you hear. As a result, you may miss some parts here and there.

This is why it is important to be aware of connected speech: fluid speech that dissolves words into a seamless string of sound – and that’s how native speakers talk in general.

In this post, I will walk you through a few common features of connected speech in European Portuguese. The goal is for you to become familiar with it and upgrade your listening and pronunciation skills. Let’s dive in.

This post presupposes a basic understanding of the Portuguese sound system. If you are a beginner, read this first: Portuguese Pronunciation: An In-depth Guide to European Portuguese Sounds and Spelling Patterns.

1. Neighboring vowels

When two or more vowels belonging to different words come into direct proximity, one of the following things can happen: (1) the vowel sounds merge into a diphthong; (2) one of the vowel sounds disappears; or, (3) a new vowel sound forms.

Vowel sounds merging into diphthongs

Ele é o Ricardo → /eléu/ He’s Ricardo Ela é a Mónica → /éléa/ She’s Mónica

One vowel sound disappears

When a close vowel precedes an open vowel, the latter takes over. This is often the case for phrases articulated with the preposition de:

Garrafa de água → /dágua/ Water bottle Sala de aula → /dáula/ Classroom Barco à vela → /bárcávéla/ Sailing boat

A new vowel sound pops up