[Leica] Learning a language!?

[jdos2 at mindspring.com (Jeff Sumner)]

Here's a hint: DON'T learn pronounciation from Jobim... All your new
Portuguese friends will be correcting your (accented to them) words like
"noite," "cidade," and "dia."

When I'm in Lisbon, I'm practicing ten words per day. I also practiced
rather a good bit before I even left, with the government tape-set. Worked
wonders. 
Total immersion works, too, but is annoying. Don't expect a vacation, but go
visit Portugal, staying the heck away from Lisbon, Porto, or points in the
Algarve (or you'll spend your days in the Real British Pubs there, learning
the finer points of Cricket and Rugby- ask one who knows) so you won't have
nearly the chance to have to revert to English. Sadly, once you make an
effort to speak Portuguese to a native, they feel almost duty bound to
apologize for their difficult language, and then try their (almost certainly
better) English on you. This works even in surprising places, like a zillion
miles from nowhere, pulling up to a melon stand (the word "melon" in
Portuguese is much more firmly tied to "breast" than in the ole EUA- so that
you know, and "Million" and "melon" sound almost the same= if you try to
describe your salary in the old escudo/"shield" measure, pronounce "million"
right or they'll laugh at you a full decade later on your return) and
chatting with the thousand year old lady still in mourning (Catholic black)
from when her husband died thirty years previously. My favorite was hearing
a southern "'preciate it!" from one, complete with accented drawl, and grand
toothy smile. She had lived in Atlanta in the 50's and 60's with her
husband...



I can now make myself completely mis-understood in several languages.
Portuguese is my fave. It's a labor of love. Have fun. The people are great,
the language is fun.

And if you try to read either Saramago or Pessoa, get a GOOD English
translation. Or read Pessoa in his original English poetry, BACK translation
written on the opposite page (available as a study guide for Pessoa's
English poetry). I've learned a bunch that way.


Carry around a dictionary as well as a grammar book. Work on the (strange to
the Portuguese) odd cases of the verbs (future tense- the Portuguese rely
almost completely on "gonna") and use them. It ALWAYS strikes up a
conversation (the old timers: "Oh, yes- that's the right usage. Haven't
heard it since SALAZAR was an economist, but...") and will open
opportunities to the subtlety of the language.

I buy DVD's over there. I have "The Incredibles" from there, and I can play
it on my Region Agnostic Mac. It's dubbed well (surprisingly so- even some
of the humor makes it across, though "Ice to see you" certainly doesn't) in
Portuguese, and the back translation of the subtitles is well worth the
education. It's nice to hear words, usage, and see them written. Besides,
it's a fun movie. 

Good luck. Try to find local Portuguese speaking folk, and practice with
them.

I love it. When in Lisbon, ask for, like my license plate says, "Uma Bica,"
and sip your "bebe-se isto com a?ucar" (delicious espresso shot) with
pleasure. 

By the way, the Leica is a great camera for the locale. Bring a Noctilux,
you'll need it.

JD