Spanish is the lingua franca of Latin America. Maybe most Brazilians couldn't conduct a philosophical debate in Spanish, but they could order a beer and some chips in Spanish.
Muchos años después, frente al pelotón de fusilamiento, el coronel Aureliano Buendía había de recordar aquella tarde remota en que su padrelo llevó a conocer el hielo. (Spanish) Muitos anos depois, diante do pelotão de fuzilamento, o Coronel Aureliano Buendía havía de recordar aquela tarde remota em que o seu pai o levou para conhecer o gelo. (Portuguese) Yep, completely different.
Yea a speaker of portuguese can converse in spanish to at least a competent level But they speak portuguese in day to day life in brasil
So could I but it doesn’t mean I speak it. I could order beer and chips in a lot of languages but it doesn’t mean I speak those languages. A lot of Brazilians get upset at people thinking they speak Spanish,
I think you have misunderstood. Most Brazilians have Portuguese as their mother tongue but they certainly can speak Spanish too. Why would they be offended if people think they can speak Spanish? Portuguese and Spanish are very similar as evidenced by the comparison I posted above.
Only 4% of Brazilians are classed as Spanish speakers.. From an article about things than annoy Brazilians that people wrongly believe. “Simple. Brazilians also don’t speak Spanish; nor is it a second language. Brazil’s official language is Portuguese, and although some guidebooks may even state that Spanish is widely spoken, it simply isn’t true. Portuguese and Spanish share strong linguistic similarities in terms of grammar and vocabulary, yet they are still very separate languages, and the differences are evident among native speakers”
My wife, who is fluent in Spanish, travels a lot to rural and urban Brazil for work reasons. She knows first hand that Spanish gets you not much further than ordering a beer and chips. Says English gets you further if you don't know Portuguese. Her daughter, who is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese and has lived in Brazil for a few years concurs.