Language Rant #1: Portuguese, but Which One?

It’s been a while since I wrote anything.  

A long while.  

As in I didn’t even have a bookmark to this site on my new computer, but I really need to write now.

Since last summer, I started a new job, still on the JET Programme in Fukui, but now as an advisor to other English teachers, and with what seems like 3 times the amount of work.  Plus, I’m in a very formal Japanese office all the time, and must be available for any emergency or counseling calls that come up, regardless of time of day or how busy I am.  I did apply for this position, and most days I really like it, but I am also constantly thinking about the next step in my life (hopefully as a Foreign Service Officer), so I need to make sure that whatever free time I do have to myself, however limited, I need to try to use it to help me get to the next step.  In practice, that means I use all of my free time during the week to study foreign languages.  My German has unfortunately gotten embarrassingly rusty, due to lack of practice (more on that later), but I do have the opportunity to take regular classes in Japanese and Portuguese. 

Portuguese is largely going pretty well for me.  It was technically my first language, though I largely refused to speak it starting around the time I learned the words “Speak English”, but I have always been surrounded by the language, no matter how much I used to try to block it out (wow, I was a stubborn kid).  I’ve been studying and taking classes now for over 6 months, and on the most part, they’ve gone pretty well.  My listening and reading comprehension are at a surprisingly high level (at least a B1 level, using the EU language standards), but unfortunately my spoken and written Portuguese is still a bit pathetic.  It’s gotten to the point that every time I freeze when speaking in class or when writing my homework, I look up or ask what the forgotten word is, I’m always frustrated because I knew the answer.  There’s still a huge mental block.  For example: “I met my new coworkers today.  They are very friendly” comes out “Eu conheci os meus novos colegas hoje. Eles são muito… friendly.”  How do I keep forgetting basic words that I do know?

I know I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself with Portuguese, but I really do need to work on it so I can pass the foreign language test once I pass the Foreign Service interview.  Plus, I have latent fluency in Portuguese, so I -- at least theoretically -- have the potential to master it to a native level.  I just need to work on producing all the vocabulary that is stuck somewhere in my brain.


I also recently decided to try for a Portuguese language proficiency exam, which leads me to a huge frustration when attempting to learn Portuguese: Which Portuguese? 

I grew up with European Portuguese, which will always be the basis for my accent and is pretty deeply ingrained in my cultural identity, but Brazilian Portuguese is much more internationally accepted now as standard Portuguese, especially due to its economic and cultural importance within Latin America.  As much as I love to tell anyone who will listen that the Portuguese are the ones who brought tempura, bread, and various popular pastries to Japan, in the modern world Portugal barely registers when compared to the global importance of Brazil as an emerging economic and cultural powerhouse. 

So I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I should try as much as possible to learn standard Brazilian Portuguese (Brazilian slang is another issue altogether).  However, the Brazilian Portuguese exam is only available at the intermediate level, which my speaking and writing is still no where near.  There is, however, a European Portuguese test (the CAPLE) at my upper-beginner level (A2), but of course, most books and language resources that are available are Brazilian Portuguese, plus my teacher and any other Portuguese speakers I regularly find in Japan are also Brazilian.  This wouldn’t be an issue if the accents, vocabulary, and even grammar weren’t so different between the two dialects.  From what I've noticed, Portugal Portuguese tends to be somewhat excessively academic and complicated, while Brazilian Portuguese relies heavily on slang and loan words.  I really wish there was some middle ground, but for now I’m stuck attempting European Portuguese at this level, then switching mainly to Brazilian Portuguese at the intermediate level. 

All my Brazilian friends and the exam administrators will just have to deal with my Portuguese-American accent.  That’s never going to change.  And, to be honest, I’ll probably always lean a little bit toward the needlessly academic and complicated.  

It is my culture, after all.