Is "Dutch" 16 different languages?
So, Brazilian Portuguese is a separate language from Continental Portuguese since most Brazilians don't understand a fast dialog between two Portuguese people (in a movie or sitcome, therefore the need to dub them). Same for Swiss German.
1. German people don't understand Swiss German, but Swiss people understand German. so from the German point of view, these are two separate languages, from the Swiss point of you they are not, because Swiss people understand Germans perfectly.
2. From the Brazilian point of view, Brazilian Portuguese is a separate language from Continental Portuguese because many people have difficulties understanding it (paradox: most Brazilians call their language: português). For Portuguese people, Brazilian Portuguese is not a separate language since they can understand it perfectly (paradox: Portuguese people call language of Brazil: brasileiro ''Brazilian'')
So, there are two identities in every equation: from x to y, and from y to x.
Cape Verdeans understand both Portuguese and Brazilians, as well as Spanish perfectly, but people speaking only these languages cannot understand even basic phrases in Cape Verdean creole.
3. Afrikaans people understand the Flemish, but they don't understand the Dutch. Dutch people subtitle Flemmings. How many languages do we have here?
<<criterion of >90% intelligibility = dialect and <90% intelligibility = language.>> This makes sense-Portuguese and Spanish intelligibility is 89%<90%.Conclusion: Portuguese and Spanish are separate languages,not dialects.
No, that's lexical similarity. Intelligibility between Spanish and Portuguese is actually 54%. It's been tested.
<<3. Afrikaans people understand the Flemish, but they don't understand the Dutch. Dutch people subtitle Flemmings.>>
<<So, Brazilian Portuguese is a separate language from Continental Portuguese since most Brazilians don't understand a fast dialog between two Portuguese people (in a movie or sitcome, therefore the need to dub them). Same for Swiss German. >>
<<German people don't understand Swiss German, but Swiss people understand German. so from the German point of view, these are two separate languages, from the Swiss point of you they are not, because Swiss people understand Germans perfectly. >>
It is nonsense.
Strange situation:Spanish understand Italian,but Brazilians don't understand Continental Portuguese . Most of Dutch understand German and English,but don't understand Flemings.Flemings don't understand West Flemish,but most of them understand French.Germans don't understand Swiss German,but most of them understand English.
Spaniards think of understanding Italian but they "prendono fischi per fiaschi il più delle volte" :-)
. Intelligibility between Spanish and Portuguese is actually 54%. It's been tested. //
That means speakers of Portuguese understand 98 % of Spanish, but speakers of Spanish understand only 10 % of Portuguese: (98%+10%)/2 = 54%
<<3. Afrikaans people understand the Flemish, but they don't understand the Dutch. Dutch people subtitle Flemmings. How many languages do we have here?>>
Afrikaans sometimes understand Flemish, not always. Also, Dutch may subtitle Flemings, but that doesn't mean they don't understand us. We also subtitle Dutch, but I understand them very well. In our culture subtitles are often being used without them being necessary.
Moreover, the reason we understand English is because we've learned it of course. ;-) And no, most of them DON'T understand French, but some do because it's a compulsory subject at school here.
There's a great intelligibility between Afrikaans and Dutch speakers, but only when formal language is being used. Afrikaans can be hard to understand without being exposed to it otherwise. I do understand radio announcers in Afrikaans for more than 90% though.
is an exxageration to speak that brazilians dont understand continental portuguese.
iam brazilian and ive already heard even vulgar portugueses,what the portuguese says daily, before, and i dont understand some words here and there.and what i understood when they spoke is not below 95%.
when i dont understand is mainly due to slang or an unexpected way of contruct the sentences(grammar), and if u miss one word u almost lose the essence of the sentence.
if someone say that brazilians dont understand portuguese hes an idiot and all his opinios must be devalued,after this nonsense.
is much more likely that these other things happen:
south americans dont understand spanish very well.
portugueses dont understand brazilians due to diglossia.
we brazilian dont speak that slow as u foreigns think.
problably if someone says this is because he learned portuguese and the people facilitated for him,or he saw some video.
and the people from north-northeast are those who speak faster.
No:
Spanish understand 50% of Portuguese
Portuguese understand 58% of Spanish
Total = 54% for both languages.
There's a study on the web somewhere.
I don't think Spanish speakers understand Italian well. I know Italians who went to South America and they were not understood very well. Under 40% probably.
i would say:
all hispanics und. 20% european port.
all hispanics und. 50% brazilian port.
european portuguese und. 40% european spanish
brazilian portuguese und. 40% european spanish
european portuguese und. 90% american spanish
brazilian portuguese und. 90% american spanish
if none of them speak slang.
yes hispanics are not very good hearing portuguese.
simple sentences like 'por isso' can be an nightmare for spanishs understand. hispanics expect that we speak por(with guttural r)+ isso but what we speak mostly is something like 'purissu', with quick triled r and one almost nonexistent final u.
eur. portuguese is even worst, 'por isso' = pr iss
In European Portuguese "por isso" is " prss".
por isso = pur issu en European portugues too