Portuguese skills

[richard_sloat]

This is something out of curiosity alone...

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Every single bit of Portuguese I know, I learned from Sergio Mendes records. But I really don't know what most of the words mean, except ones that are translated in song titles -- and even then some of them aren't correct! (I.E. "Cancao Do Nosso Amor" apparently doesn't mean "Far Away Today").

I can sing right along with Lani on most of those Portuguese songs but I have no idea what I'm singing!

 

[Dave]

Same goes for me singing along w/ Carnival or Tamba 4...



Dave

 

[Harry]

I've gotten only a little farther than Mike. I've come to actually know only a few words. In his example of "Cancão do Nosso Amor", I can translate the "Cancão" as "Song", "do" is "of", and "Amor" is "love", so it's the "Song of (something) Love".

I know "obrigado" well enough to say "Thank You" to a waitress around here from Brazil. That kind of thing.

But really, I couldn't string together a sentence in Portuguese to save my life. But I'll sing along with Lani, Gracinha, Karen, and Janis all day, as best I can understand the phoenetic syallables!

Harry

 

[JMK]

Song of Our Love, Harry.

I speak OK Portuguese, but I've taken some lessons. I think knowing French and Spanish helped--I've always thought Portuguese is the perfect marriage of those two languages, and in fact I think it's possibly the most beautiful language of all.

 

[JMK]

Before I learned Portuguese, when I was a kid, I would sing along with B66 (in fact one of my most mortified memories was when some neighborhood kids heard me singing along when my bedroom window was open--I was probably 9). It's funny thinking back now how I invented phonemes that had little actual connection to what was actually being sung.

 

[LPJim]

Don't understand a word but can pick up the emotions in the music of Brasil '66 and Milton Nascimento.

JB

 

[richard_sloat]

But I really don't know what most of the words mean, except ones that are translated in song titles -- and even then some of them aren't correct! (I.E. "Cancao Do Nosso Amor" apparently doesn't mean "Far Away Today").

Yes, totally not, like it has been said here. I noticed Mendes transforms the lyrics to some songs he works, he's said it himself that he's much of a melody digger, primarily. One example is You and I from Bom tempo, goes the farthest away from the original song Muito obrigado, axé.

I can sing right along with Lani on most of those Portuguese songs but I have no idea what I'm singing!

I do the same with songs in Italian and French. Sometimes you can deduce the meaning when the words sound similar or have similar grammar or you THINK you can... because they are all Latin languages.

 

[richard_sloat]

I know "obrigado" well enough to say "Thank You" to a waitress around here from Brazil. That kind of thing.

I've heard that Japanese "arigato" comes from Portuguese "obrigado" but I don't whether this is really true.

But really, I couldn't string together a sentence in Portuguese to save my life. But I'll sing along with Lani, Gracinha, Karen, and Janis all day, as best I can understand the phoenetic syallables!

No problem with most of the consonants, I think it's the vowels pronunciaton that differs the most in English and Portuguese.

 

[richard_sloat]

I speak OK Portuguese, but I've taken some lessons. I think knowing French and Spanish helped--I've always thought Portuguese is the perfect marriage of those two languages, and in fact I think it's possibly the most beautiful language of all.

I think it's easier for a Portuguese speaker to learn English than the other way round. If you took some lessons, you have probably noticed in how many tenses the verbs are conjugated in Portuguese, like ten of them!! Don't know whether this happens for French and Spanish also...

Knowing Spanish sure helps. I believe any Portuguese speaker can read a text written in Spanish and get much of its meaning and the opposite must be true as well. "Portunhol" is the mix of Spanish ("Espanhol") and Portuguese some people use to try to communicate in both languages.

 

[richard_sloat]

It's funny thinking back now how I invented phonemes that had little actual connection to what was actually being sung.

I guess everybody does that. It is very rare for me to figure out a whole English song by listening only. I always need the written lyrics and untill I get them I make them up.:-P

 

[richard_sloat]

I speak OK Portuguese, but I've taken some lessons.

I totally remembered you today, Mr. JMK, I was watching this very amuzing flick, The Jane Austen book club, and this Kathy Baker lady said "we could all take a class, learn Portuguese, go to Brazil", lol. I watched this book because I have finished reading Pride and prejudice a couple of weeks ago, I quite enjoyed it and may reread some parts often, maybe my copy shall become as worn out as my copy of Mr. Schmidt's book??? Well, I haven't dropped coffee on neither of them yet, lol!

 

[JMK]

If you like Pride and Prejudice, I highly recommend a couple of (strange but enjoyable) offshoots--the Bollywood film BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (with Lost's Naveen Andrews) and the wonderfully funny British miniseries LOST IN AUSTEN, where a modern day English girl gets transported back to the Bennet household and wreaks absolute havoc.

 

[richard_sloat]

Thank you, Mr. JMK. I doubt either one has been released in Brazil, of course, which would make me have to download them. Unfortunately, I absolutely despise PC movie watching but who knows.

 

[JMK]

All region DVD players are cheap nowadays. Both DVDs are available on Amazon and eBay.

 

[JMK]

I assume you already know about the parody book PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.

 

[richard_sloat]

All region DVD players are cheap nowadays. Both DVDs are available on Amazon and eBay.

Are they? That possibility didn't occur to me, lol, though I WOULD be more willing to do PC watching than purchasing import DVDs. We'll see.

 

[richard_sloat]

I assume you already know about the parody book PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.

Yes, I'm aware of Pride and prejudice and zombies, I've been told about it on a Yahoo Group about Stephen King. It even has been edited at Brazil...

 

[JMK]

All region DVD players are cheap nowadays. Both DVDs are available on Amazon and eBay.

Are they? That possibility didn't occur to me, lol, though I WOULD be more willing to do PC watching than purchasing import DVDs. We'll see.

It just occurred to me that if you have Netflix, these both might be streamable over their free internet service. I haven't checked for either title, so I can't say for sure.

 

[richard_sloat]

Hmm. I see.

http://www.google.com.br/#hl=pt-BR&...etflix&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&fp=8be7758d8d6384a1

Netflix - Watch TV Shows Online, Watch Movies Online

Watch TV Shows & Movies Online or Streaming to your TV via Wii, Xbox, PS3 & many other devices. For Only $7.99 a month.
www.netflix.com/ - Estados Unidos

I might consider it.