Spanish and Portuguese Consonants

The number of phonemes in Brazilian Portuguese, especially the vowels, is higher than in the General Latin American Spanish. This more extensive sound inventory combined with the greater variation in the quality of Portuguese vowels makes it harder for speakers of Spanish to understand spoken Portuguese. The closer spoken Spanish is to the written Spanish, the easier it is for speakers of Portuguese to understand. The written language factor suggests that this well-known phenomenon is easier to observe in academic environments because college students and teachers can readily visualize sounds of the Spanish spoken language in the written symbols. This understanding, however, can be superficial or limited to the topic of discussion, the language aptitude of the individual, and the regional varieties of each language and other factors.