C2 · 57 words
Linguistics in Portuguese
Sound, form, change — and the quarrel over what counts as correct.
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From these 57 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
The forty-fourth entry is o crioulo, and it is one of the few words on this page that English did not lend to Portuguese but took from it. « Creole » reached us through French créole and, before that, Spanish criollo; behind criollo stands, on the usual account, Portuguese crioulo, a noun built on the plainest of verbs, criar — to raise, to bring up, to rear. In the colonial centuries the word marked where somebody had been brought up rather than where their parents had come from: the one raised on the spot, as against the one carried there. English kept the noun and left the verb behind, so « creole » now stands alone, useful and opaque, attached to a set of languages, to a cuisine and to a few communities, with nothing beside it to explain it. In Portuguese the family is still standing in daylight. Criar raises children and animals alike, a criação is the raising, a cria is the young of a beast, and o criado, the servant, is literally the one brought up in the household. Set crioulo beside those and the whole idea arrives for nothing: born here, reared here, and therefore not fetched from anywhere.
The words
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Adjective (9)
Grammar for these: Adjective agreement · Where the adjective stands
sonorovoicedAdjectiveC2
O som é sonoro quando as cordas vocais vibram.A sound is voiced when the vocal cords vibrate.
surdovoicelessAdjectiveC2
Este som é surdo, embora a letra seja a mesma.This sound is voiceless, although the letter is the same.
átonounstressedAdjectiveC2
O pronome átono liga-se ao verbo por hífen.The unstressed pronoun is joined to the verb with a hyphen.
transitivotransitiveAdjectiveC2
Este verbo é transitivo e pede um objeto direto.This verb is transitive and asks for a direct object.
intransitivointransitiveAdjectiveC2
Um verbo intransitivo não admite objeto direto.An intransitive verb takes no direct object.
aglutinanteagglutinatingAdjectiveC2
Numa língua aglutinante, cada sufixo traz um só sentido.In an agglutinating language every suffix carries a single meaning.
isolanteisolatingAdjectiveC2
Uma língua isolante quase não altera as palavras.An isolating language hardly alters its words at all.
descritivodescriptiveAdjectiveC2
Um dicionário descritivo regista o uso sem o julgar.A descriptive dictionary records usage without judging it.
prescritivoprescriptiveAdjectiveC2
O manual prescritivo indica a forma tida por correta.The prescriptive manual names the form held to be correct.
Noun (m) (26)
Grammar for these: Definite article: o, a, os, as · Contractions: do, na, ao, pelo
o fonemathe phonemeNoun (m)C2
Estes dois sons são o mesmo fonema em português.These two sounds are the same phoneme in Portuguese.
o morfemathe morphemeNoun (m)C2
O plural acrescenta um morfema à raiz.The plural adds a morpheme to the stem.
o som vocálicothe vowel soundNoun (m)C2
O som vocálico final quase desaparece na fala rápida.The final vowel sound almost disappears in rapid speech.
o ditongothe diphthongNoun (m)C2
Aqui há um ditongo, não duas sílabas.There is a diphthong here, not two syllables.
o schwathe schwaNoun (m)C2
O schwa aparece nas sílabas sem acento.The schwa turns up in unstressed syllables.
o par mínimothe minimal pairNoun (m)C2
Um par mínimo prova que a diferença é fonológica.A minimal pair proves that the difference is phonological.
o acento de palavraword stressNoun (m)C2
O acento de palavra muda o sentido em muitos pares.Word stress changes the meaning in a great many pairs.
o acento de frasesentence stressNoun (m)C2
O acento de frase recai sobre a informação nova.Sentence stress falls on the new information.
o aspeto verbalverbal aspectNoun (m)C2
O aspeto verbal separa o acabado do que ainda dura.Verbal aspect separates the finished from what is still going on.
o sintagma nominalthe noun phraseNoun (m)C2
O sintagma nominal ocupa aqui a posição de sujeito.The noun phrase stands here in subject position.
o sintagma verbalthe verb phraseNoun (m)C2
O sintagma verbal inclui o verbo e os seus complementos.The verb phrase takes in the verb and its complements.
o modificadorthe modifierNoun (m)C2
O adjetivo funciona aqui como modificador do nome.The adjective works here as a modifier of the noun.
o signo linguísticothe linguistic signNoun (m)C2
O signo linguístico une uma forma e um conteúdo.The linguistic sign joins a form and a content.
o alargamento semânticosemantic wideningNoun (m)C2
O alargamento semântico fez a palavra servir para tudo.Semantic widening has made the word serve for everything.
o empréstimo lexicallexical borrowingNoun (m)C2
O empréstimo lexical entra primeiro pela fala técnica.Lexical borrowing comes in through technical speech first.
o decalquethe calqueNoun (m)C2
O decalque traduz a estrutura, não o som.The calque translates the structure, not the sound.
o falso cognatothe false cognateNoun (m)C2
Um falso cognato parece familiar e engana.A false cognate looks familiar and misleads.
o contacto linguísticolanguage contactNoun (m)C2
O contacto linguístico deixa marcas na gramática.Language contact leaves marks on the grammar.
o substratothe substrateNoun (m)C2
O substrato aparece nos nomes dos rios.The substrate shows up in the names of the rivers.
o pidginthe pidginNoun (m)C2
Um pidgin nasce onde ninguém fala a língua do outro.A pidgin arises where nobody speaks the other’s language.
o crioulothe creoleNoun (m)C2
O crioulo já tem falantes de língua materna.The creole already has native speakers.
o socioletothe sociolectNoun (m)C2
O socioleto marca o grupo, não a região.The sociolect marks the group, not the region.
o idioletothe idiolectNoun (m)C2
Cada falante tem o seu idioleto.Every speaker has an idiolect of his own.
o corpusthe corpusNoun (m)C2
O corpus reúne textos falados e escritos.The corpus gathers spoken and written texts.
o lema de dicionáriothe dictionary headwordNoun (m)C2
O lema de dicionário reúne todas as formas flexionadas.The dictionary headword gathers all the inflected forms.
o órgão regulador da línguathe language regulatorNoun (m)C2
O órgão regulador da língua decide sobre a grafia.The language regulator decides on the spelling.
Noun (f) (22)
Grammar for these: Definite article: o, a, os, as · Contractions: do, na, ao, pelo
a sílabathe syllableNoun (f)C2
O acento cai na penúltima sílaba.The stress falls on the second-to-last syllable.
a consoantethe consonantNoun (f)C2
A palavra começa por uma consoante muda.The word begins with a silent consonant.
a ortografiaspelling as a systemNoun (f)C2
A ortografia guarda letras que já ninguém pronuncia.Spelling as a system keeps letters that nobody pronounces any more.
a transcrição fonéticathe phonetic transcriptionNoun (f)C2
A transcrição fonética vai entre parênteses retos.Phonetic transcription goes between square brackets.
a flexão gramaticalinflectionNoun (f)C2
A flexão gramatical marca número e pessoa.Inflection marks number and person.
a flexão nominalnoun inflectionNoun (f)C2
O português perdeu a flexão nominal que o latim tinha.Portuguese lost the noun inflection that Latin had.
a conjugaçãothe conjugationNoun (f)C2
Este verbo pertence à terceira conjugação.This verb belongs to the third conjugation.
a valência verbalthe valency of a verbNoun (f)C2
A valência verbal diz quantos complementos o verbo pede.The valency of a verb says how many complements it asks for.
a ordem básica das palavrasthe basic word orderNoun (f)C2
A ordem básica das palavras muda de família para família.The basic word order changes from family to family.
a arbitrariedadethe arbitrariness of the signNoun (f)C2
A arbitrariedade do signo explica os nomes diferentes.The arbitrariness of the sign explains the different names.
a mudança semânticasemantic changeNoun (f)C2
A mudança semântica leva séculos e passa despercebida.Semantic change takes centuries and goes unnoticed.
a restrição semânticasemantic narrowingNoun (f)C2
A restrição semântica deixou apenas um dos sentidos antigos.Semantic narrowing has left only one of the old senses.
a gramaticalizaçãogrammaticalisationNoun (f)C2
A gramaticalização transforma um verbo pleno em auxiliar.Grammaticalisation turns a full verb into an auxiliary.
a mudança fonéticasound changeNoun (f)C2
A mudança fonética separou as línguas irmãs.Sound change drove the sister languages apart.
a família linguísticathe language familyNoun (f)C2
As duas línguas pertencem à mesma família linguística.The two languages belong to the same language family.
a protolínguathe proto-languageNoun (f)C2
A protolíngua é reconstruída, nunca escrita.The proto-language is reconstructed, never written.
a diglossiadiglossiaNoun (f)C2
A diglossia dá a cada situação a sua variedade.Diglossia gives each situation its own variety.
a alternância de códigocode-switchingNoun (f)C2
A alternância de código segue regras próprias.Code-switching follows rules of its own.
a língua ameaçadathe endangered languageNoun (f)C2
Uma língua ameaçada deixa de passar às crianças.An endangered language stops being passed on to the children.
a morte linguísticalanguage deathNoun (f)C2
A morte linguística chega quando cala o último falante.Language death arrives when the last speaker falls silent.
a concordânciathe concordanceNoun (f)C2
A concordância mostra a palavra no meio das suas ocorrências.The concordance shows the word in the middle of its occurrences.
a faixa de frequênciathe frequency bandNoun (f)C2
A faixa de frequência indica quão comum a palavra é.The frequency band indicates how common the word is.
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This list belongs to Language, style and argument — 30 lists and 1 225 words that can also be practised as a whole.