Posts under "Podcast"

Podcast: False cognates

Posted by André 1 Comment
Aug 31 2010

Filipe DurãesDownload this podcast: http://www.transparent.com/portuguese/files/2010/08/cognates.mp3

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Hello, you’re listening to the Transparent Language Portuguese Blog Podcast. My name is Filipe Durães and in this episode I’ll talk about False Cognates.

False friends or false cognates are typically derived from the Latin words that appear in different languages with similar spelling and therefore have the same origin, but over time ended up acquiring different meanings.

In the case of words with multiple meaning, this non-equivalence may occur only in some senses of the word, but not others. Far from being exhaustive, the list of false cognates below illustrates the problem with common and frequent occurrences in modern English.

It is also important to remember that there is a strong presence of words of Latin origin in English, since the percentage of occurrence of these words as false cognates in relation to Portuguese is negligible – at less than 0.1%.

Check out this false cognates list: http://www.sk.com.br/sk-fals.html

After you’ve had a chance to look at this list, I’m going to give you some examples of possible mistakes that can happen to new Portuguese learners. These errors usually happen when the learner is trying to “translate” certain words from English to Portuguese in a very literal fashion. For example, many users have trouble separating the meaning between Pretend and Intend.

In the translation process of these words, a logical option in the mind of the learner is to say “Pretender” for Pretend and “Entender” for Intend. But be careful. The original meaning of these “logical options” may be way different than the actual meaning you’re looking for. Although the word “Pretender” is very similar to Pretend it doesn’t work as a possible translation because the translation of the word “Pretender” is actually “to Intend” which sounds like “Entende” (depending on the scenario).

Let’s say you’re at “Carnaval” in Rio de Janeiro, a very big party where people use costumes, drink a lot, and some men even dress as women. Maybe you can’t understand why a man would do this (I don’t understand it either) so you ask him: “Por que você Pretende ser uma mulher?” This sentence is actually a “literal“ translation of the Phrase you wanted to say: “Why do you pretend to be a woman?” But what you really said was: “Why do you intend to be a woman?” The difference between these two meanings is very significant. And besides, the guy is already drunk and will likely get mad at you because he doesn’t really want to be a woman. He just wants to wear the costume and beat you up in it now. Take this scenario as a good lesson since “pretende” is a very common word here in Brazil and means “to Intend”.

“Intend” sounds a lot like the word “Entende”. You may say: Well, it’s not so similar… But there are regions here in Brazil that trade the “E” from “Entende” with an “I”, making it sound like “Intende”. And here is the problem because “Entende” or “Intende” means “to Understand”.

As you can see, false cognates can cause many confusing situations. But if you are aware that they exist and are careful to notice the very fine details in language, you will become an expert.

If you have any questions or comments about the words I’ve mentioned, words written on the list, or even words that are not in the list, I encourage you to post them as well as any other suggestions for podcast topics and video posts given to you by the Transparent Language Portuguese Blog.

So that’s it. My name is Filipe Durães signing off for the Transparent Language Portuguese Blog. Talk to you next time!

Podcast: Different meanings of the word “trabalho”

Posted by André No Comments
Aug 24 2010
André Barbosa

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Download it: http://www.transparent.com/portuguese/files/2010/08/trabalho.mp3

Hello, you’re listening to the Transparent Language Portuguese Blog Podcast. My name is André Barbosa and in this episode I’ll talk about different meanings of the word “trabalho”.

“Trabalho” literally means work. The professional, productive and/or creative activity. Now let’s see how some words can modify the meaning of “trabalho”.

The first expression is “conseguir um trabalho”. This expression means “to get a job”. Again: “conseguir um trabalho”.

The second expression is “Fazer/entregar um trabalho”. This expression means “to do/hand a project” or “to do/hand in work”. Again: “fazer/entregar um trabalho”. So, in these expressions “trabalho” means “a piece of work or project”. These expressions are very commonly used when talking about school and university work.

The third expression is a tricky one. “Dar trabalho” as in the phrase “Essas crianças só dão trabalho!” (These children are very difficult to handle). “Dar trabalho” means “to be difficult to handle” or to require attention so that it is somewhat annoying or inconvenient. Therefore “trabalho” here means something that demands your attention, oftentimes in an undesired context.

The fourth and last expression is “morar perto/longe do trabalho”. This expression means “to live near/ far from the workplace”.  So, here “trabalho” means the workplace. You can also say “chegar ao/no trabalho” (Get to work) or “sair do trabalho” (leave work).

If you have questions or comments about these different phrases and definitions of work, I encourage you to post them as well as any other suggestions for podcasts and video posts on the Transparent Portuguese Blog.

That’s it. My name is André Barbosa signing off for the Transparent Portuguese Blog. Talk to you next time.

Podcast: New Year’s Greetings

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Jan 5 2010

For today’s podcast, we’re going to look at greetings, some of which are specific to the New Year, and others that you can use for other occasions. We’re going to look at greetings that use the subjunctive, as well as some basic phrases. The podcast is a bit more conversational with less text to look at than past podcasts, so we’ll see how it works out.

Click here to listen to the podcast!

Feliz Ano Novo! Happy New Year!
Lhe desejo muita paz, saúde e amor. I wish you lots of peace, health, and love.
Que tenha muito sucesso este ano. May you have lots of success this year.
Espero que o próximo ano lhe traga muita felicidade. I hope this year brings you much happiness.
Tudo de bom para você. All the best.
Mande um abraço para sua família. Give my regards to your family. (or Say hi to your family for me)
Um brinde ao Ano Novo! A toast to the New Year!

Highlights:

to wish = desejar

subjunctive, third person of ter (to have) = tenha

subjunctive, third person of trazer (to bring) = traga

subjunctive, third person of mandar (to send) = mande

health = saúde

hug = abraço

happiness = felicidade

success = sucesso

tudo de bom = all the best

toast = brinde

Podcast: At the Pharmacy

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Dec 1 2009

Today’s podcast is a conversation you might have at a pharmacy. Click here to listen to the podcast!

Na farmácia

Olá. Aqui está a receita.

Preciso deste remédio.

Meu médico prescreveu um antibiótico.

O medicamento se chama Azitromicina, de uma marca genérica.

O médico também disse que eu deveria tomar Paracetamol para a febre.

Ah, também queria um colírio.

Posso pagar com cartão? Obrigado.

Today, we’re going to learn useful language for the pharmacy.

This means, “Hello, here is my prescription. “ As a reminder, “olá” is the formal way to say hello, as opposed to “oi” which means hi. “Receita” is prescription. Though you’re not saying “my” directly (which would be “minha” or “meu”), it is implied in context. You can use “aqui está” when presenting something to someone.

Here, the speaker says, “I need this medication.”  Note that we put “de” and “este” together to form “deste” (this). “Precisar” is to need, and ”remédio” is medication. When a noun follows “precisar,” we add a “de” as a preposition to the noun.

This means, “My doctor prescribed an antibiotic.” “Médico” is doctor, and “prescrever” is to prescribe. Antibiotic is simply “antibiótico.” Don’t forget the accent when you write it. Though doctors will indicate the best antibiotic to take, you can actually buy antibiotics without a prescription in Brazilian pharmacies.

The speaker says, “The medication is called Azitromicina, a generic brand.” “Medicamento” is just another way to say medication or prescription drug.  “Chamar-se” means to be called. For your information, Azitromicina is in fact a brand of antibiotics in Brazil, should you ever need it. “Marca” is brand, and “generic” is “genérico” which in this case is feminine because of the noun. Generic drugs are common in Brazil and are very cheap.

This means, “The doctor also said I should take Paracetamol for the fever.” “Dizer” (to say) in the past simple tense is irregular, and becomes “disse” in the third person. “Também” means also. “Dever” means to should, and we put it in the conditional tense to indicate a potential desire or order to do something.  “Tomar” is to take, as in medication and food/drinks. “Febre” is fever, and is a feminine noun. Paracetamol is in fact a fever medication, like Tylenol.

Here, the speaker says, “Oh! I would also like some eye drops.”  “Ah” is commonly used as an interjection in Portuguese, like we’d use “oh!” in English. “Querer” (to want) in the past imperfect tense indicates a desire, like putting to like in the conditional tense.  “Colírio” is eye drops.

This means, “Can I pay with a credit card? Thank you.” “Cartão” is understood to mean credit card, even though the full expression is “cartão de crédito.” You can use the present simple tense in the first person  (posso) for “poder” (to be able to), but you could also use it in the third person (pode), which would mean something like “Is it possible to.”

Podcast: Buying Airfare

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Oct 30 2009

Since many of you will need to use Portuguese for travel, we are doing a second air travel podcast, this time to help you learn how to buy airfare, which can be a bit tricky by phone.

Click here to listen to the podcast!
Olá. Queria comprar uma passagem para Fortaleza.
Gostaria de sair de Guarulhos, em São Paulo.
A ida será no dia 3 de Dezembro, e a volta será no dia 10.
A que horas é o voo? É melhor que seja de manhã.
Prefiro um assento na janela, se tiver.
Quanto custa? Vai ser trezentos reais sem taxas?
Tem que pagar mais para despachar as malas? Tá bom, obrigado.

This means, “Hello. I’d like to buy a ticket to Fortaleza.” “Olá” is a formal way to say hello, as opposed to “oi” which is a bit more informal. When you use “querer” (to want) in the past imperfect, this means “I’d like” or “I want.” “Passagem” is a ticket that involves travel, like a plane ticket or train ticket. Though “para” has multiple meanings, in this case, it means “to.”

Here, the speaker says, “I’d like to leave from Guarulhos in São Paulo.” Using “gostar” (to like) in the conditional tense is a more formal way to say “I’d like.” “Sair” is leave, and stays in the infinitive since it directly follows a conjugated verb. Guarulhos is an airport in the city of São Paulo.

This means, “The departure date will be December 3rd, and the return date will be the 10th.” When we say “passagem de ida e volta,” this means a round trip ticket. Therefore, when we split up the two words, “ida” is the first leg of the trip, departing, and “volta” is the return, the second leg of the trip. When you list a date in Portuguese, you preface the number with “no dia” (the day of). Here, we use the future simple tense, by simply adding an á to “ser” (to be).

Next, the speaker says, “What time is the flight? It’s better if it’s in the morning.” To say “what time is…” we say “a que horas é” or “são” depending on the noun that follows. Note that because of the recent accent changes to the Portuguese language, “voo” (flight) no longer has an accent. “É melhor” (it’s best if, it’s better if” is a great way to indicate a preference or state an opinion. Here, we use the subjunctive of “ser” (to be) since we are expressing a desire or request. “De manhã” is “in the morning.”

This means, “I prefer a window seat, if there is one.” “Preferir” means to prefer, and “assento na janela” is “window seat.” We use the future subjunctive tense of “ter” here, since there is uncertainty about whether or not something exists or will happen.

The speaker says, “How much does it cost? It’s 300 reais without taxes?” “Quanto custa” is one of the simpler ways to ask how much something costs. Note that “real” in the plural is “reais.” “Taxa” is tax, though “imposto” is another way to say tax.

Finally, this means, “Do you have to pay more to check luggage? Ok, thanks.” “Despachar” is check when we’re talking about air travel. “As malas” are bags, or luggage. As we’ve reviewed before, “tá bom” means OK, or fine.

Stay tuned next week for the BYKI list!

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