Amused me when a commentator said a Brazilian footballer would find it easier to settle in Spain than England as they spoke the language.
I speak a bit of Italian (just enough to get by) which is similar to Spanish which is similar to Portuguese. Whereas English is not similar to either Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. English is more aligned to German. Strange but true.
Why is it strange that Southern European languages evolved in Southern Europe and Northern European languages evolved in Northern Europe?
"However, to say that if you speak Spanish, you'll understand Portuguese, or the other way round, would be a misconception. The languages are not so similar as to make it easy for all Brazilians and their Spanish-speaking neighbours to understand each other easily" Which was my point in quoting the daft statement by the commentator.
You can have words that are similar (Italian-French 85-90%) but with the syntax/pronunciation very different it doesn't help that much understanding.
Are you sure? The actor who played Pablo Escobar in Narcos is Brazilian. At a Brazilian cafe in Germany they understood my basic South American Spanish better than my mate's Portuguese, that he learned in Portugal.
The closest language to English is Frisian (but not mutually intelligible), checking on the internet the next closest are Dutch and Afrikaans, all part of the Germanic language group. After that Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.
The actress who played the fanciable French speaking Camille in Death In Paradise was Portugese. Which is equally irrelevant.
They are filming the next death in Paradise at the KCOM. Plot line. Jovial chubby manager falls out with owner and disappears, rumoured to be in the Midlands, millions missing and the family jewels sold. All the previous employees gone, disposed off by the owners for earning too much money. Enter stage left DI Adkins and DS Crosby desperately trying to solve the mystery of how to save the iconic family brand. See his mix of blind optimism and hard working values as he interviews the usual suspects. Absolutely enthralling. Can’t wait.
