Page:The Brasilian language and its agglutination.pdf/37

 as strong a nasal sound, as if they had a d between the consonant and the vowel :=nda, nde, ndi, ndo.

Vowels

A

14.—a (unmarked) has the brief sound of the Portuguese a in the preposition para=to and for, or of the final a in the word—America; ex: marika, the belly. In final syllables, this short sound sometimes becomes almost undistinguishable, as :—menàra, to marry.

â has a long sound, as the a of the Portuguese word fado, fate, or of the a in father; ex:—tauâ, the town.

à' has a broad sound, almost like two aa; ex:—parà, the sea (or a large river); abá, creature.

ã has, finally, a nasal sound, like the Portuguese compound am; ex:—Tupã, God; kunhã, woman.

E

e (unmarked) has a brief sound, sometimes almost undistinguishable, like the e in the word some; ex: petima, tabaco; moâme, to arm.