# Portuguese



## albondiga

Hi all,

What word would you use in Hebrew for:

(a) the name of *the Portuguese language*? (as in "Do you speak Portuguese?")

(b) *Portuguese as an adjective* describing something/someone from Portugal? (as in "He likes Portuguese food" or "She is Portuguese")

Dictionaries have given me _four _different translations for this word!  So I'd like to know what word you all would use in everyday speech...

Thanks!


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## cfu507

1. We say *Portuguesit *פורטוגזית
Language is a female, that's why we say *Portuguesit*


2.
*Portuguesi *פורטוגזי for a male. It can be for a boy/man and for example for a hat, food.
*Portuguesit* פורטוגזיתfor a female. It can be for a girl/woman and for example for a glass (אבן).
In Hebrew inanimate things have gender too. In English you would say black glass as well as black screen. In Hebrew you would say kos shchora (black glass) and masach shachor (black screen).


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## wordperson

the English word "Portuguese" has two declinations that are correct. the declination in the above response is the most common but there is another one that can be found useually in older texts though it is NOT less correct . 
the other declination is :
portugalit פורטוגלית( the name of the language and feminine singular adjective)
portugali פורטוגלי(masculine singular adjective or noun )
portugliym פרטוגליים (masculine plural adjective or noun)
portogaliyut פוטוגליות (feminine plural adjective or noun)

in any case the only name of the country is portugal פורטוגל


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## Flaminius

cfu507 said:


> 1. We say *Portuguesit *פורטוגזית
> Language is a female, that's why we say *Portuguesit*


I am just wondering how the zajen is pronounced.  Is it actually /z/ or devoiced to /s/?  That is, is the whole word /portugezit/ or /portugesit/ (in a no-nonsense notation with one pronunciation for one letter)?


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## wordperson

the Z is pronounced like in zebra


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## Flaminius

Thank you, ben mila!


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## albondiga

Thanks, cfu and wordperson!


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## Gadyc

Flaminius said:


> I am just wondering how the zajen is pronounced. Is it actually /z/ or devoiced to /s/? That is, is the whole word /portugezit/ or /portugesit/ (in a no-nonsense notation with one pronunciation for one letter)?


 
As Wordperson wrote Z-zebra.
Hebrew has adopted here the rule (like in French) that single "s" between two vowels is pronounced "z".
I am not sure about other latin languages like Italian, Spannish etc.
The older fashion was to keep the "s" like "ss".That's why: מוסיקה rather than מוזיקה and פיסיקה rather  פיזיקה despite both are right.


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## Outsider

Is the second "u" in _portug*u*ezi, portug*u*ezit_, etc., pronounced, or is that actually _portugezi, portugezit_?


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## Gadyc

Outsider said:


> Is the second "u" in _portug*u*ezi, portug*u*ezit_, etc., pronounced, or is that actually _portugezi, portugezit_?


 
It is for pronouncing the g as G (Golf) and not as a J (Jazz)


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## albondiga

Outsider said:


> Is the second "u" in _portug*u*ezi, portug*u*ezit_, etc., pronounced, or is that actually _portugezi, portugezit_?



No, I'm sure the "u" isn't pronounced... (we're just so used to transcribing this with a "u" in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, etc., so she probably just inserted it instinctively!  Plus, probably so as not to confuse the English speakers into using a _soft _"g"...)  It has to be *portugezi *(no "u" sound), but obviously with the _hard _"g" as noted by *gadyc*, and as in the above languages.


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