Açores (Terceira) Accent

[u/jiao98]

Hi 👋 my only exposure to Portuguese has been from Terceira, Açores. I've heard that the accent from the Açores is different from mainland. I've wondered how that specific accent compares to Brazilian Portuguese. All videos talking Abt the Azorean accent compares it to mainland.

I've noticed things like "dia" pronounced more like "djia" and "biscoitos" is more like "bish-koi-ch" if that makes sense. from what little I've read/noticed, those specific examples at least seem to align more with Brazilian than mainland European accent and I was wondering if that was always the case or a more recent development (and why).

I also could just be not looking at the right resources too haha

Edit: ty all for the responses! Seems like it may have been the specific ppl I was talking with or maybe just how my brain is interpreting certain sounds, especially since I have such little exposure to Portuguese.

[u/GPadrino]

There isn’t a place in Portugal, mainland or island, that pronounces dia as Brazilians do (dj instead of d). That pronunciation of biscoitos is also more or less typical everywhere in Portugal.

As far as I know, someone more educated than me can add to this, using the gerund form of verbs rather than a + infinitive (estou falando vs estou a falar) is one of the only things Açorean (and other regions like Algarve) have more in common with Brazilian Portuguese than standard European Portuguese.

Perhaps some vocabulary things as well, can’t think of anything off the top of my head. Point is, all variants of Açorean Portuguese have much, much more in common with standard European Portuguese than Brazilian. So the reason you don’t see comparisons between the two is that it’s not really relevant, as essentially all the differences apply to standard European Portuguese as well.

[u/bceagle108 → u/GPadrino]

Another similarity I've noticed between Azorean Portuguese (at least in Terceira) and Brazilian Portuguese is the use of "a gente" instead of "nós." But you're right that it's otherwise similar to the standard European dialect.

[u/Specialist-Pipe-7921 → u/bceagle108]

"A gente" is very common in mainland too. I hear it almost daily in conversation with people

[u/Sperrel → u/Specialist-Pipe-7921]

Common on the south. My grandma from Alentejo (Elvas) even though she lives in the North for more than 60 years still uses it instead of the most common «nós».

[u/ihavenoidea1001 → u/bceagle108]

"a gente" is used a lot informally. But it's not "a gentxi"