How would a typical Brazilian pronounce the following sentence, particularly the two o’s?
Eu vi o computador e o comprei.
The first "o" would sound like /ʊ/ but would the second "o" also sound identical to the first or would it sound like "oh"?
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3I fear that talking about “something sounding like ‘ew’ ” to mean /u/ will confuse people, considering how ‘ew’ ʟᴏᴏᴋꜱ like the sound heard in eu, meu, europeu — but I'm sure that’s ɴᴏᴛ what you meant. Please see the section on "Unstressed Vowels" in the Wikipedia article on Portuguese Phonology to see how these sounds are standardly written in the International Phonetic Alphabet. You'll see possible phonetics for written ‹o› include [o], [ɔ], [u], and [ʊ], but when and where each occurs is a tale much longer to tell.– tchrist ♦Jul 9, 2022 at 13:54
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@tchrist I updated the question to hopefully use the correct phonetics of the first "o"– tnrichJul 9, 2022 at 17:12
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1 Answer
They are pronounced the same way. You can check that at this site: pt.forvo.com/search/o_menino/pt_br For both Iberian and Brazilian Portuguese.
Here's the thing though: those single letters change depend on the environment. It is not the single o that makes the difference; it is the fact it comes after vi. So, I can understand how you came up with "ew". Ha ha. Learning these things is part of learning correct connected speech. :)
If you say: Eu vi muitas casas no terreno. The "ew" disappears because the environment is different.
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Hi @lambie, I don't see an example on the site you linked of the pronunciation of the clitic pronoun. I found a site that has one - practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/…– tnrichJul 9, 2022 at 17:19
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Also @Lambie I don't quite understand what you mean that they change depending on the environment. Can you give some examples of that?– tnrichJul 9, 2022 at 17:20
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1You are hearing "ew" because the term vi followed by o said fast "sounds like" ew to you. vi+o computador is not "o comprei". The vi influences how the o sounds in fast speech. The o in front of comprei is not affected in the same way. vi+o sounds almost like a dipthong. Go look on that site and try listening to: Vi o menino. Comprei o [some word you put in].– LambieJul 9, 2022 at 17:30
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Environment just means the surrounding sounds and how they influence it.– LambieJul 9, 2022 at 20:34
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1Lambie, I think your good answer would be even better with an example where "o" sounds different due to the neighbour words. This would perfectly show what you mean when you say that they change according to the environment.– ANevesJul 11, 2022 at 2:49