Sound Correspondence Between French/Portuguese and Spanish

Portuguese is more closely related to Spanish than to Portuguese, but the phonology of Portuguese is sometimes closer to that of French. The letter g can represent a voiced alveopalatal fricative in both languages, but only before the letters e and i. It is also the sound represented by the letter j. In Spanish, however, the sound is different- it is a voiceless velar fricative. Here is a list of ten French, Portuguese and Spanish words to illustrate the difference:

genuine genuino genuino (genuine)

génération geração generación (generation)

générosité generosidade generosidad (generosity)

geste gesto gesto (gesture)

girafe girafa girafa (giraffe)

jardin jardim jardín (garden)

jeu jogo juego (game)

jeune jovem joven (young)

justice justiça justicia (justice)

juge juiz juez (judge)

The words for genuine, gesture and giraffe are identical in Portuguese and Spanish. Only one word is identical in French and Portuguese, the word for garden. Many French and Portuguese words which are pronounced with a voiced alveopalatal fricative correspond to Spanish words pronounced with a voiceless velar fricative.