High Central Unrounded Vowel of European Portuguese

The phonology of European Portuguese is very different from that of Brazilian. One noticeable difference is the high central unrounded vowel. It occurs in European Portuguese but not in Brazilian. The high central unrounded vowel only occurs in unstressed syllables. However, it can be deleted.

Speakers of European Portuguese use the high central unrounded vowel in words such as noite (night), presidente (president) and sete (seven). In the word colesterol (cholesterol), the high central unrounded vowel occurs in the second and third syllables. However, in all of these words, the high central vowel can also be deleted.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the high central unrounded vowel does not occur. In words such as noite, presidente and sete, most speakers of Brazilian Portuguese use the high front unrounded vowel [i]. In the word colesterol, speakers of European Portuguese often pronounce it with only two syllables. In Brazilian Portuguese, however, it is always pronounced with four syllables.

One feature of European Portuguese which is different from Brazilian Portuguese is the high central unrounded vowel. It occurs in many unstressed syllables and can even be deleted. The use of the high central unrounded vowel and the frequency of vowel deletion serve to distinguish the European variety of Portuguese from the Brazilian.