Posts from May 2008

Corpus Christi Tradition: Street Carpets

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May 22 2008

Today is Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday that is also a national celebration in Brazil. It is a tradition to create tapetes (carpets) in the streets made of different organic materials like salt, flowers, and wood chips, usually with religious themes. They are often kilometers long, extremely intricate, and are along procession routes. The creations are a sight to see, and you can check them out below.

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Some of the most famous cities with Corpus Cristi tapetes include:

São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro
Poá, São Paulo
Castelo, Espirito Santo
Rodeio, Rio Grande do Sul
São João del Rei, Minas Gerais
Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais
Mariana, Minas Gerais
Florianópolis, Santa Catarina

Also, click here to see a Globo video about tapetes from Pará, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazilian Profile: Jorge Amado

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May 21 2008

Jorge Amado is one of Brazil’s most famous and beloved novelists. Born in 1912 on a cocoa plantation in the state of Bahia, he grew up in the coastal town of Ilhéus, where he set many of his novels. He went to high school in Salvador and begin his career in writing. He published his first novel at the age of 18, and married and had a daughter a year later.

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Just when his literary career was taking off, Jorge was exiled due to his left-wing tendencies during the Vargas era. He lived in Argentina and Uruguay, and when he returned to Brazil he was elected to the National Constituent Assembly as a representative of the Communist Party. He divorced his wife and was remarried to author Zélia Gattai. They had a son, but Jorge was soon exiled yet again, this time to France and Czechoslovakia.

He returned again to Brazil in 1955, and dedicated his time to writing. He published his most famous novel, Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, in 1958. Though it would become a huge success, his depictions of the women and the scandals they were involved in resulted in threats against Jorge. He couldn’t visit his hometown, where the book is set, for several years.

Jorge’s books were translated into 49 languages in 55 countries, and his novels were adapted as TV shows, movies, plays, and even samba schools. Jorge died in 2001, and his wife died last week, in May 2008.

Tudo vai dar certo

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
May 20 2008

The best way to use the English expressions, “Everything will be fine,” or “Everything will work out” in Portuguese is to use the expression dar certo.

For example: Eu estou muito estressada com tudo isto. All of this is really stressing me out.
Não se preocupe, tudo vai dar certo. Don’t worry, everything will work out.

Este projeto é bem dificil. This project is really hard.
Fica calma, vai dar certo. Relax, everything will be fine.

Additionally, we can use this concept in the past tense.
Não tinham muita confiança, mas tudo deu certo. They didn’t have much faith, but it all worked out.

Similarly, when we talk about if something that is a distinct possibility or something that will work out, we can just use dar (this is a review from a past entry on the verb dar).

Acho que devemos ir para Europa. I think we should go to Europe.
Será que vai dar? Do you think that it will happen?

Dá para andar até a igreja? Is it possible to walk to the church?
Nosso dinheiro vai dar para comprar a TV? Do we have enough money to buy the TV?
Dá para ver o que está acontecendo lá embaixo? Can you manage to see what’s going on downstairs?

Brazilian Becomes Guinness Recorder Holder

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May 20 2008

Forty-three year-old Brazilian Elaine Davidson, who lives in Scotland, has made it into the Guinness Book of Worldpier.jpg Records for the most body piercings: 5,920 in total. She also won the world record in 2000 when she only had 462 piercings, including 192 on her face alone. Elaine is a nurse, and does not drink or smoke. Surprisingly, she doesn’t set off metal detectors at airports unless she is wearing a watch.

Hint: in Portuguese, the word “piercing” is the same as in English.

To see a larger version of the picture on the right, click here to go to Globo’s Planeta Bizarro page.

Portuguese Parliament Adopts Brazilian Spelling

Posted by Transparent Language 5 Comments
May 18 2008

On Friday, the Portuguese Parliament passed a law that adopts the Brazilian form of ortografia (spelling) of hundreds of words. The move is a small part of a movement to unify the Portuguese language in the eight countries where Portuguese is spoken.

But the move is not exactly popular in Portugal. Over 33,000 people signed a petition against the law, arguing that the legislation gives in to Brazilian influence. But the President is expected to sign the legislation, and it appears that the law is one step closer to making widespread changes in the Portuguese language all over the world. It will take around six years to incorporate the changes into written materials.

Here are the changes to Portuguese ortografia, based on the Brazilian spelling:

  • three letters have been added to the alphabet: k, w, and y, which are used in foreign words
  • the silent “h”  will no longer be used; words like “húmido” will be come “úmido”
  • the use of other silent consonants, “c” and “p” will be discarded:

-óptimo becomes ótimo
-baptismo becomes batismo
-acto becomes ato
-acção becomes ação

To see the potential changes to the “global” Portuguese language, click here.

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