You can practically feel the sun and samba beats bursting out of Brazilians mouths. Yet when the coolest and sexiest accents in the world are spoken about you hear of the Irish, French, Italians or us Aussies. Even one of the many Spanish-speaking countries will usually be tossed up. But Brazil, not so much. Let me tell you though it should be on those lists because it is without a doubt one of the best accents in the world. And it sounds nothing like Spanish.
Brazilian Portuguese is like the world’s best kept secret accent, one any tourist who visits the country soon discovers.
In the streets, beaches and jungles from north to south surrounded by all its variations it’s hard not to be swept up in its rhythm which seems to mirror the essence of life in Brazil.
Like the famous French and Italians, Brazilians often don’t just talk, they “sing”. Their words ebb and flow like a musical chorus.
This is on display no better than on Rio’s Ipanema, Copacabana and Leblon beaches where the roaming food and drink sellers get their catchy calls stuck in your head for life.
“Acai, acai, acai!” a man cries about the country’s now world-famous hipster berry turned icy-cold drink (A-cai-eee).
“Coca, agua, cerveja!” the next one shouts for coke, water and beer, emphasising the last A of each word.
Cariocas, Rio's residents, are also famous for having their own distinctive accent which people from the country's largest city Sao Paulo just six hours away do not have and do not like.
But with much of the most famous Brazilian pop culture and its dominant media and television network 'Globo' coming from Rio de Janeiro, the rest of the country cannot avoid it unless they switch off.
There’s also the cute, high-pitched, kind of nasally way Brazilian women often speak and the deep, rhythmic swagger that many of the men have. It can even sound kind of Eastern European.
A Brazilian speaking English is always a pleasure to listen to as well, their sound translates across so well that native English speakers might wish they could sound like them.
