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One of the challenges in reading and understanding old documents is to correctly identify words that are spelled differently than they are today. Sometimes the variations in spelling are slight; other times they can result in an almost unidentifiable word. Fortunately, however, there is usually a pattern to such variations. Once you become familiar with those patterns, the problems caused by spelling become minimal.
The Letter H
The letter h is seldom pronounced in current Portuguese and therefore is no longer used in many words that used it historically. For instance, the words um and uma used to be spelled hum and huma. The names Catarina and Tomazia were both formerly spelled with an h.
There are, of course, some words, homem, for instance, in which the h is still used today, although it is not pronounced.
U and V
The early Latin alphabet did not include the letter u. The letter v was used in all words where either a u or v would be used today. Refer to the words nove, hua (uma), vinho, duas, and verdade in practice text 3, lines 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8, respectively. [The practice is not included here.] Notice in the examples below that all five words are spelled using what appears to be either a v or a y:
This use of the v and u was very common in early Portuguese records and can be found in some eighteenth and nineteenth century texts.
I and Y
The letters i and y were used interchangeably in Portuguese records from early times until the nineteenth century. Notice the words estreito, deixou, licois, peixes, asi, and asinei in lines 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of practice text 3. [The practice is not included here.] In these examples the letters i and y are both used where only i would be used in modern Portuguese. Note that in this text both the i and y are dotted.
I and J; S and Z
In ancient Portuguese, the letters i and j were often used interchangeably, as were the letters s and z. Even after their usage was well defined, many scribes did not distinguish between them. From practice text 1, line 2, we have taken the name Isabel de Jezus:
Notice that the I in Izabel and the J in Jezus are identical and that the z and the s in Jezus are nearly the same.
K, W, and Y
These letters are not considered part of the modern Portuguese alphabet. The y, of course, was used until recently and appears often in ancient records; however, the k and w have never been a part of the language and are used only in foreign words or names.
Double Letters
Double letters are very common in early Portuguese records. The examples below from lines 3 and 5 of practice text 2 and lines 5 and 7 of practice text 3 indicate four variations of double letters: [The practice is not included here.]
The double n, the double l, and the double f in anos, nela, and ofertado are now archaic. However, the double s in missas is still in use today. You will encounter many other cases of double letters while doing research in early Portuguese records. Most of these are no longer used; nevertheless, a few, such as the double s and the double r are still in use.
Paleography Intro | Alphabet | Spelling | Abbreviations | Names
Reprinted by permission. Copyright (c) 1978 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
