Dallas, You don't need to be able to speak the language in order to do genealogy research (whether it's Portugal, France, Germany, China). You just have to teach yourself to pick out key words and phrases. A good chunk of people on this list do not speak, or if they do, they aren't fluent. Yet they "read" the records and help translate. It takes some patience and perseverance.
Go to the Azores GenWeb here for key words and the format: https://goo.gl/ny1kGM At the end is a link taking you to examples. The Portuguese Genealogical Word List is here (modern Portuguese): https://goo.gl/jyDbmE You'll have to add the older words (old Portuguese) to it as you go along. The paleography (handwriting) is here: https://goo.gl/IlhrSN If you took a foreign language in high school, such as Spanish, French, Italian, you will have an easier time since you have exposure to a non-native language. Christian started working on his Portuguese lineage maybe a month ago when he joined this list. With what Spanish he remembers from high school, he's starting to "read" the words. He's asking the list for help on the parts he doesn't know. Anyone can do it. You can too! Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores.
