Florianópolis
Pronunciation of S, “singing” the phrases, traditional vocabulary. All with historical explanation. And there was an agreement signed in 2025.
Deep in the south of Brazil, before reaching Porto Alegre and already relatively close to Paraguay or Uruguay, we find Florianópolis.
Florianópolis is the capital of the state of Santa Catarina. Famous for its beaches, of course, it has an accent and some traditions that remind us… Azores.
It’s no coincidence.
Starting with the accent. Yes, the Florianópolis accent has several similarities to that of the Azores. It mixes the archaic Portuguese of the Azores, Brazilian popular orality and a linguistic creativity that enchants those who listen, citing the .
Os “little island hands”as they are known, speak “Manezês” and have, for example, a “chiada” pronunciation of the S – similar to certain Azorean islands (and also to European Portuguese in general).
Often, when they speak, locals have a melodic intonation. It’s a way of “singing” the phrases, which is very reminiscent of the way people from Espírito Santo speak.
And there is also traditional vocabulary: some old words and expressions that still appear in more traditional communities (especially in historic neighborhoods).
Differences: as the Florianópolis accent obviously evolved alongside Brazilian Portuguese, it is more “open” in vowels, has influence from other groups (such as Italians or Germans) and the rhythm of speech tends to be closer to southern Brazilian.
Historical context: in the 18th century, many Azorean settlers were taken to the south of Brazil, especially to the island of Santa Catarina. And they were: it is estimated that there were around 5 thousand Azoreans heading to Santa Catarina. This cultural heritage remains very marked to this day.
Last year, to reinforce this connection, Florianópolis and Velas (São Jorge, Azores) signed a collaboration between the two cities – which remained.
And the idea is to bring back to the Azores traditions that were taken to Florianópolis, but were lost on the Portuguese islands: “This is the case of bobbin lace, which we want to relearn, by bringing lacemakers from Santa Catarina here, to provide training and teach this tradition to current generations and which was taken by our ancestors” Luís Silveira, mayor of Velas.
Nuno Teixeira da Silva, ZAP //
