Spanish and Portuguese: Same Same but very Different!

One of the most widely held misconceptions about languages is that Spanish and Portuguese are almost the same. In fact, even after coming from the same descent of Latin they are very much different. The words you use in Spain are guaranteed to get you funny looks if you try using those in Portugal. If Cristiano Ronaldo understood Portuguese by the time he grew up, why is talking in English to Lionel Messi who knows Spanish perfectly? You can very well accrue that to the confusion that might be created if they both start speaking in their own language to each other.

Both languages vary with geographical locations. European Portuguese is much different than Brazilian Portuguese, which in turn varies in the Portuguese spoken in Mozambique and Angola. Much like that, Spanish is spoken differently in Castilian, Andalusian, Murcian, Galician, Mexican, Columbian, Peruvian, Bolivian, and Caribbean among many others. Though Portuguese and Spanish have a lot of common words and terminologies, it is used in different ways and isn’t easy for one native speaker to understand the other one without being aware of it.

“You speak Spanish, please talk to this guy from Portugal.”

That is a request that one of our Spanish call center agents received from a client visiting our multilingual call center facility, which did push the agent into an awkward situation.

It isn’t as simple as it is made out to be.

Spanish and Portuguese are Romance languages having their roots in ancient Latin. It cannot be properly stated when the languages developed and parted ways from each other. Though they both originated in the Iberian Peninsula and the same classical language of Latin, they both differ from each other to an extreme now.

The prominent difference between both these languages isn’t in the written form of usage but in the way it is pronounced. Even with stark differences, the vocabulary is almost 90% like each other. Mind you, even with the words being the same; you cannot be sure that they mean the same too in each language. Even the pronouns differ and so does the grammar.

Quick Facts About Both The Languages

• While Spanish is the second-most common native language spoken worldwide, Portuguese comes at seventh in that list. Also, Spanish is spoken across different continents and in varying dialects. Much like that, Portuguese is spoken across different continents and with different dialects
• Both languages are the official ones in more than ten countries, at least.
•  Both languages became spread out with European colonialism reaching the world over.
• Spain and Portugal were both once a part of the Roman empire whose spoken language was Latin. It is here that they both share the origin of their language history.
• Spanish has the same vowel sounds as in English i.e. ‘a,e, I,o,u’ while Portuguese has 9 vowel sounds.
• Portuguese has 19 consonants while Spanish has 22 consonants.
• Portuñol or Portunhol is a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, which originated along the border with constant connection and trade.

Spanish And Portuguese: Mirror Images Or Poles Apart?

Much like languages branching out from the same classical language, Spanish and Portuguese have widely different dialects and phonetics. If you want to learn both, you will have to spend time learning each of them individually as learning one doesn’t mean learning the other. A Spanish speaker who goes to Portugal won’t be able to make the population understand what he/she is trying to say half the time. Try calling up a Portuguese call center and asking for what you want in Spanish; you are both likely to pull your hair out trying to understand each other. Though still, experts argue that a Portuguese speaker can understand more than half of what a native Spaniard is speaking; but basic words are pronounced and written differently in both languages making it a classic case of lost in translation.

Another problem is that both languages have their own set of idioms and cussing words, as every language should have their own unique set. That might be one of the reasons both the languages are highly intelligible to both the speakers, for they seem polished when written down. But everyday language is bound to get harder if you start speaking in your own Spanish dialect to someone whose native language is European Portuguese.

False cognates

Let us now have a look at false cognates and how everyday words can be misinterpreted in another language:

•  Barata- What means ‘cockroach’ in Portuguese translates to ‘cheap’ in Spanish. Don’t try to find cheap places to stay in Portugal if your native language is Spanish.
• Ligar- In Portuguese, it means ‘join’ or ‘call’ but in Spanish, the word translates to ‘flirt’. It can get pretty awkward soon enough for a Portuguese in Spain
•  Botequim and Botiquin- Though, both words spell differently; they do sound the same. The first one means ‘bar’ in Portuguese and the second one means ‘first aid box’ in Spanish. How about a Spanish call center agent receiving a request from a Portuguese tourist asking them to locate a bar for him?
•  Esquisito and Exquisito- The first one means ‘strange’ and ‘odd’ in Portuguese while the other means ‘excellent’ and ‘delicious’ in Spanish. Imagine a Spaniard trying to give compliments to a restaurant owner in Portugal.
•  Apelido and Apellido- What means ‘nickname’ in Portuguese translates to ‘surname’ in Spanish. What should be ‘Garcia’ could easily be ‘amorcito’.
• Borrar- While it means ‘stain’ or ‘soil’ in Portuguese depending upon the dialect and usage. The same word means ‘remove’ in Spanish. For someone whose native language is English, this is irony at a linguistic level.
•  Mala- While it means ‘suitcase’ in Portuguese, the word has an extremely different meaning in Spanish i.e. ‘bad’. If you thought learning one language will make you understand the other completely, think again.

Final Word

You should be wary of the confusion, which might arise with using similar-sounding words. Especially when you are learning languages originating from the same classical one.

There are lots of similarities between the two languages and learning one will surely prepare you for the other one. Still, don’t try to delve into another while still learning the first one; it will only lead to confusion for you. Remember each language is spoken in a varying dialect across different countries; figure out which one you would want to learn first.

At LiveSalesman, our Spanish Call Center and Portuguese call center services are delivered by natives who understand this difference and have an intimate knowledge of the dialects spoken in different parts of the world. Our objective is not to only provide support in the local language but to provide it with local cultural flavor. Talk to us today to learn more.

Source: https://livesalesman.com/spanish-and-portuguese-same-same-but-very-different/

2021 Buyers Guide

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Cloud Contact Center Solutions

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1.)

Accordia Solution Accordia Solution CIS Accordia Solution is an innovative developer of seamlessly integrated cost-effective omnichannel Contact Center Solutions specifically targeted at the micro, small and medium operations.Our core business model involves the development and marketing of IP Telephony and IP Contact Center Solutions. We also strive to develop customer interaction solutions which include contact center and customer relationship management (CRM) that enhances Customer Experience Of The Future (CEOTF) and optimizes agent productivity. Our flagship product, the Accordia Customer Interaction Suites (CIS), offers comprehensive functionality by helping your business meet and exceed the level of service in line with... (read more)Accordia Solution is an innovative developer of seamlessly integrated cost-effective omnichannel Contact Center Solutions specifically targeted at the micro, small and medium operations.Our core business model involves the development and marketing of IP Telephony and IP Contact Center Solutions. We also strive to develop customer interaction solutions which include contact center and customer relationship management (CRM) that enhances Customer Experience Of The Future (CEOTF) and optimizes agent productivity. Our flagship product, the Accordia Customer Interaction Suites (CIS), offers comprehensive functionality by helping your business meet and exceed the level of service in line with the expectations of your customers while driving your employees' productivity and controlling your operational costs. Are you ready to provide exceptional customer experience? https://accordiasolution.com/

2.)	Adversus Dialer Adverus Dialer Adversus is a web-based dialer and practical CRM solution for telemarketing, fundraising, and appointment scheduling businesses.

3.)

Alcor Consulting, Inc. HoduCC/VoipCor Omnichannel contact center platform which can be deployed on-premise, private cloud or public cloud subscription. Our contact center provides all of the modern features expected in a full contact center solution. Includes voice, SMS, chat, email, and social media integration. Built-in integrations for all major CRM's (Plus a built-in CRM). Survey module and QA module are also available.

4.)

Alvaria Alvaria Cloud Alvaria Cloud is the only enterprise cloud contact center solution that allows you to adopt best-of-breed Customer Experience (CX) and Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) applications modularly. Start with one or more applications and then add applications with ease when ready for additional capabilities, as your needs change. With the Alvaria Cloud Platform, you have the advantage of knowing that all provisioning, security, user management and other administrative tasks are already configured and in place.

5.)

Alvaria Noble Contact Center Noble offers a modern communications platform for optimizing all customer interaction. Put Noble’s unified platform to work for you — building performance and productivity, improving the quality and effectiveness of customer contacts, and reducing costs. With the critical software technologies that contact centres need most, our solutions provide seamless integration to existing corporate environments, reduce your learning curve and protect your technology investments.

6.)

Amtelco Genesis Intelligent Series Genesis is the latest advancement in Amtelco’s long line of call center solutions. This call center technology is entirely software-based and virtualized, with cloud-based capability. Genesis provides skills-based automatic call distribution (ACD), built-in speech recognition, text-to-speech (TTS), and voice services to improve call routing and management.

7.)

Arise Virtual Solutions The Arise Platform Arise is a pioneer of on-demand customer management business process outsourcing solutions, headquartered in Florida. Through the cloud-based Arise Platform, Fortune 50 and other companies connect to Service Partners who deliver authentic, loyalty-building interactions with their customers. Delivering radical flexibility to meet even extreme contact volume fluctuations, the award-winning Arise Platform is an innovative alternative to the traditional contact center.

8.)

Astute Solutions Astute Agent Astute Agent gives your agents everything they need to work cases confidently and efficiently. This modern case management CRM is the preferred choice for Consumer Relations and Customer Care teams who support some of the world’s most prestigious brands. Astute Agent balances agent efficiency with customer experience. Here’s how: - Automated email responses Using natural language processing, Astute Agent reads incoming customer emails and automatically supplies a response to agents to review and send. - Auto-populated case fields AI capabilities automatically suggest reason codes, product codes, and other case information, saving agents minutes per case. - Time-saving case feat... (read more)Astute Agent gives your agents everything they need to work cases confidently and efficiently. This modern case management CRM is the preferred choice for Consumer Relations and Customer Care teams who support some of the world’s most prestigious brands. Astute Agent balances agent efficiency with customer experience. Here’s how: - Automated email responses Using natural language processing, Astute Agent reads incoming customer emails and automatically supplies a response to agents to review and send. - Auto-populated case fields AI capabilities automatically suggest reason codes, product codes, and other case information, saving agents minutes per case. - Time-saving case features Integrating all contact channels into one CRM interface, combined with time-saving features like field auto-complete, ensures agents can work cases quickly and effectively. - Customer profile and history Show agents relevant customer information, like location, loyalty status, and interaction history, right on the CRM case screen. - Next best actions With suggested next actions like case codes, responses, and enclosures, even your newest agents can work cases with confidence. - Built-in knowledge Astute’s integrated knowledge engine lets agents quickly find answers to any question – without having to leave the case workflow.

9.)

Britannic Technologies INBOX INBOX allows any digital interaction to be blended into single or multiple queues with zero service interruption with implementation. Organising them by business context with smart tagging and search filters, the events can be automatically prioritised and categorised. Automating the route to the correct agent or business orchestration rule. It also connects with all your social media channels, enabling you to respond and route accordingly in real-time. Customer sentiment is also indicated. Use it to measure trends across your business or by a single event so that your agents can easily prioritise responses.

10.)

Brook Trout Solutions CCaaS, SIP Trunking, SD WAN, Interconnectivity Brook Trout Solutions provides Technology Guide services to help Contact Centers to the best possible solution for their business. This includes: CCaaS: Talk Desk, Five 9s, Nice, Genesys and more SIP Trunks: Many Global Providers to lower cost and improve operational efficiency SD WAN: Connect to customers rapidly with the latest network technology to scale with flexibility. Our service are at no cost to our customers. We look forward to meeting you!

11.)

Call Center Studio Call Center Studio Call Center Studio is the world’s first call center built on Google and is one of the most secure and stable systems with some of the industry’s best reporting. It is one of the most full-featured enterprise grade systems (with the most calling features, one of the best call distribution, outbound dialing features and integrations—including IVR, AI Speech Recognition, blended inbound/outbound calling and includes Google’s new Dialogflow and Speech API. Call Center Studio is the absolute easiest to use (with a 10 minute setup), and is the price performance leader with lower equipment cost and less setup time. https://callcenterstudio.com/

12.)

Call Tracking Metrics CallTrackingMetrics is the only contact center solution with marketing attribution software built in. Our powerful UCaaS platform lets you know upfront who is calling in, what campaigns they were referencing, and their previous history with your company. Partnering this data with tools to automate and streamline your team’s workflow frees you up to focus on truly delighting your customers. Conditionally direct calls, texts, chats and forms based on: • Actions the customer has taken on your website • Whether they’ve previously contacted your business • Which agent they last interacted with • Custom criteria unique to your business needs • The location nearest to your customer Say... (read more)CallTrackingMetrics is the only contact center solution with marketing attribution software built in. Our powerful UCaaS platform lets you know upfront who is calling in, what campaigns they were referencing, and their previous history with your company. Partnering this data with tools to automate and streamline your team’s workflow frees you up to focus on truly delighting your customers. Conditionally direct calls, texts, chats and forms based on: • Actions the customer has taken on your website • Whether they’ve previously contacted your business • Which agent they last interacted with • Custom criteria unique to your business needs • The location nearest to your customer Say goodbye to internal IT concerns, hardware costs, and service downtime with our cloud-based softphone. Everything your team needs to succeed and scale is on their computer or smartphone. Our UCaaS platform grows with you, with flexible month-to-month agreements and no price-per-head or user costs. You can manage remote staff, access virtual voicemail, and forward calls to any device around the world.

13.)

CallShaper CallShaper Welcome to CallShaper – Harnessing the Power of the Cloud for Greater Sales Efficiency For sales-based call centers, where margins are so tight, it’s all about closing. Thanks to CallShaper, inbound or outbound call center directors can have a dynamic, highly flexible platform that enables sales agents to focus on making the sale. Thanks to CallShaper’s flexibility, call center directors who are managing multiple vendors from multiple locations can have everything they need on one platform that offers 99.999% reliability. And when it comes to reporting, CallShaper has no equal in providing real-time transparency. With CallShaper, clients quickly find that they are better able to manage efficiencies at the sales rep level – and make more money!

14.)

Cloud Call Center Search From AI - WFO and everything in between! Cloud Call Center Search has spent hundreds of hours evaluating and vetting leading cloud software applications (Omni-Channel, Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Workforce Management and many others) and their actual use in the trenches with real-world clients. As a result, we understand the strengths and weaknesses of cloud-based call center software solutions. At NO charge, Cloud Call Center Search will match your organization with the cloud software providers that are the best fit to drive positive ROI in your customer experience, sales, and back-office operations. http://cloudcallcentersearch.com

15.)

Cloud IT Services GmbH Dialfire Dialfire offers you a complete call center solution that is simple and intuitive to use and adapts to your needs. It's completely cloud-based, saving you the hassle of setting up a phone system and installing software. In addition to predictive dialing and call blending of inbound calls, you can create personalized campaigns through an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. Features include automated workflows and full control over the agent screen. You can see the full list of features here:

16.)

Connex One Cloud contact centre technology with built in gamification tools, workforce optimiser, omni-channel, speech analytics, artificial intelligence, quality assurance, PCI-DSS payment platform, form builder and much more features. All seamlessly integrating with almost 100% of your inhouse applications & CRM systems - creating one powerful workflow platform. Increasing productivity, customer engagement, saving you cost. Available in opex model - pay per license per month. No binding contracts with NO cost for 24/7/365 support and full training with built in SLA. https://www.connexone.co.uk/

17.)

Consilium Software Consilium AWS and Amazon Connect Offering Imagine a cloud-based contact center that can make customer engagement easy, deliver answers, assistance, and resolutions in a very personal manner, and in the context of your customers’ actions. Amazon Connect is a self-service, cloud-based contact center that provides a seamless omnichannel experience through a single unified platform for voice and chat. Contact center agents and managers don’t have to learn multiple tools, because Amazon Connect has the same contact routing, queuing, analytics, and management tools in a single UI across voice, chat, and mobile interface. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 175 fully... (read more)Imagine a cloud-based contact center that can make customer engagement easy, deliver answers, assistance, and resolutions in a very personal manner, and in the context of your customers’ actions. Amazon Connect is a self-service, cloud-based contact center that provides a seamless omnichannel experience through a single unified platform for voice and chat. Contact center agents and managers don’t have to learn multiple tools, because Amazon Connect has the same contact routing, queuing, analytics, and management tools in a single UI across voice, chat, and mobile interface. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 175 fully-featured services from data centers globally. Millions of customers including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster. As a member of the AWS Partner Network (APN), Consilium is focused on technical proficiencies and customer success in rapidly building and launching Amazon Connect based contact center solutions. With over 33 years of experience in the contact center industry, workforce management, Artificial Intelligence AI, and CRM platforms, Consilium is uniquely positioned to help clients blend the newest technologies and cloud adoption, which is the natural path at this stage of the COVID-19 crisis. We have helped some of the world’s leading enterprises migrate their contact centers to Amazon Connect and the AWS platform. Our consultants have experience in architecting and building large-scale solutions that are well-integrated into customer processes and high on user experience. Amazon Connect delivered by Consilium is an open platform that can easily integrate with multiple CRM's, workforce optimization (WFO), or workforce management (WFM) tools to provide conversation history and real-time context to agents so customers don’t have to repeat themselves, improving customer experience (CX) and reducing resolution time. Amazon Connect also leverages AI to transcribe calls and show caller sentiment in real-time to better understand trends and improve customer service. It’s all about delivering a stellar customer experience that imprints your company’s image on your customers’ minds, much like the rave reviews won by Amazon’s own customer service, which also runs on Amazon Connect globally. Benefits at a glance • Personalizing the customer experience Amazon Connect is AI-enabled by default, to automate interactions and provide real-time context to the agent, making customer and agent interactions more effective as the most relevant customer interaction history is presented to the agent. • Easy to Use Amazon Connect is so simple to set up and use, with only a few clicks, organizations can set up an omnichannel contact center and agents can begin talking and messaging with customers • Pay as you go As an on-demand service, you pay for Amazon Connect usage by the minute with no long-term commitments. • Omnichannel Experience Amazon Connect provides a seamless omnichannel experience through a single unified contact center for voice and chat. • Seamless 3rd-Party Integrations Amazon Connect provides built-in integrations with 3rd party CRM’s, workforce optimization (WFO), or workforce management (WFM) tools. • Cost-effective Amazon Connect is helping companies save up to 80% over traditional contact center solutions. With Amazon Connect there are no minimum monthly fees, long-term commitments, upfront license charges, and pricing is not based on peak capacity, agent seats, or maintenance. • Reliable Amazon Connect runs on Amazon Web Services proven infrastructure operating 42 Availability Zones within 16 geographic regions around the world.

18.)

contactSPACE contactSPACE Cloud contact software that makes customer contact pain free, so your team aren’t worrying about complex technology and can focus on what they do best. Take control, and design the perfect agent interface with a drag-n-drop visual editor. Combined with AI, leverage data-driven contact strategies to ensure the right agent is contacting your customers at the right time & on the right channel.

19.)

Content Guru 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺® Content Guru makes engagement easy. A global leader in cloud communications solutions, we deliver off-the-shelf and bespoke customer engagement and cloud contact centre services, through the multi-award-winning 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺® platform. Europe’s largest Customer Engagement and Experience platform, 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺, brings together intelligent automation, third-party systems integration, and on-demand scalability to enhance all customer communication functions. With true omni-channel engagement capabilities, 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 gives organisations the power to create consistent and seamless experiences for customers, inspiring loyalty and powering success.

20.)

Convoso Convoso is the #1 dialer software for outbound lead gen/sales-related contact centers. Our cloud-based omnichannel solution solves the biggest frustrations call centers have with their dialer, including: *Caller ID reputation *Call flagging/blocking *Low contact rates *Limited insight into list performance *Time wasted resetting lead lists *Dropped calls *Poor answering machine detection Customers report dramatic increases in contact rates of up to 300%, delivering more conversions and significantly improved ROI.

 

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