Category: English

Posted in English

Well I Didn’t See That Coming!

Posted on by Colin Lusk

I got my result from the DAPLE exam and I am absolutely staggered to say I seem to have made like a houthi drone facility and got bommed.

I’m really nonplussed about this. When I did the DIPLE I absolutely smashed it and yet got a pitifully low mark, which is an injustice so great the tories have tried to blame it on Kier Starmer’s time as the Director of Public Prosecutions. This time, I made horrible errors on the dialogue, guessed a lot of my multi-choice answers and left the exam feeling pretty sure I’d actually failed and yet according to this I was above 70% across the board. Errrr… How?

Posted in English

My Great Suffering

Posted on by Colin Lusk

While I was writing that, my wife was learning Spanish in Duolingo and kept saying things like “estoy lendo dos biografias” in a loud, clear voice.

No wonder I’m confused!

Posted in English, Portuguese

Hiato / Espetáculos

Posted on by Colin Lusk

#uncorrectedportugueseklaxon

Perdi dois dias por causa do novo emprego, mas preciso de montar o cavalo novamente*, portanto aqui vou eu com um pequeno texto antes de me deitar:

Acabamos de ver uma peça de teatro chamada “Ulster American” em Hammersmith, num sitio onde foram filmados os episódios do Dr Who nos anos 60 e 70. A peça é muito engraçada e satírica sobre as perspectivas dos americanos e ingleses sobre a Irlanda do Norte. Até a personagem anglo-irlandesa é antipática**!

Daqui a 8 dias, irei ver um comediante português, cujo nome é Luís Franco-Bastos e depois faltam 3 semanas para o concerto da Sara Correia. Que sorte de ter tantos divertimentos para me sustentar durante os meses mais escuros e deprimentes do ano!

And I really do need to get to bed so I’m not even doing the most basic checks on this. I hope it isn’t too rubbish.

*As far as I’m aware, “get back on the horse” is not a portuguese expression… By the way, “Remontar” sounds like it should mean remount but I don’t think it does. None of the definitions priberam give sound like that anyway. It has quite a few meanings having do with raising things or fixing things that have collapsed. One meaning is even “adornar as extremidades de” which is a beautifully specific definition. Anyway, I could be wrong, but I think you have to say it the long way, I’m afraid.

**I wrote “até (…) não é simpática” but the até and the não clash, apparently.

Posted in English, Portuguese

Smells Like Tuga Spirit

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Another translation – this one from Amália. It’s not one of my favourites but I’ve always been intrigued by the title: Cheira a Lisboa: It smells like Lisbon. OK, well let’s see what that smells like then. Cigarettes and roasted chestnuts mostly, I think, well, OK, there are worse smells.

It’s probably worth remembering the differerence between “cheirar a” and “cheirar de” which is discussed in this blog post from a couple of years back. I’ll translate “cheirar a” as “smells like” not “smells of”. And “Cheira bem” I will translate as “smells good” but it would be more literal to say “it smells well” because bem is an adverb, but that would sound stupid in english.

PortugueseEnglish
Lisboa já tem Sol mas cheira a Lua
Quando nasce a madrugada sorrateira
E o primeiro elétrico da rua
Faz coro com as chinelas da Ribeira		Lisbon has sun but smells like the moon
When the surreptitious dawn breaks
And the first tram in the street
Makes a chorus with the slippers of Ribeira
Se chove cheira a terra prometida
Procissões têm o cheiro a rosmaninho
Nas tascas da viela mais escondidas
Cheira a iscas com elas e a vinho		If it rains it smells like the promised land
Processions have a smell like rosemary
In the most hidden backstreet bars
It smells of Iscas com Elas and of wine
Um cravo numa água furtada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa
Uma rosa a florir na tapada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa		A carnation hidden in the window
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A rose flourishing in the park
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A fragata que se ergue na proa
A varina que teima em passar
Cheiram bem porque são de Lisboa
Lisboa tem cheiros de flores e de mar		The frigate that rises up on the prow
The fish seller who insists on passing by
They smell good because they are from Lisbon
Lisbon smells like flowers and the sea
Lisboa cheira aos cafés do Rossio
E o fado cheira sempre a solidão
Cheira a castanha assada se está frio
Cheira a fruta madura quando é verão		Lisboa smells like Rossio cafés
And fado always smells like solitude
It smells like roasted chestnuts* when it’s cold
It smells of ripe fruit when it’s summer
Nos lábios tem um cheiro de um sorriso
Manjerico tem cheiro de cantigas
E os rapazes perdem o juízo
Quando lhes dá o cheiro a raparigas		On its lips it has the hint** of a smile
Basil smells like songs
And the boys lose their judgement
When the smell of girls reaches*** them
Um cravo numa água furtada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa
Uma rosa a florir na tapada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa		A carnation hidden in the window
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A rose flourishing in the park
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A fragata que se ergue na proa
A varina que teima em passar
Cheiram bem porque são de Lisboa
Lisboa tem cheiros de flores e de mar		The frigate that rises up on the prow
The fish seller who insists on passing by
They smell good because they are from Lisbon
Lisbon smells like flowers and the sea
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa		It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A fragata que se ergue na proa
A varina que teima em passar
Cheiram bem porque são de Lisboa
Lisboa tem cheiros de flores e de mar		The frigate that rises up on the prow
The fish seller who insists on passing by
They smell good because they are from Lisbon
Lisbon smells like flowers and the sea

*Ha! I told you so! She’s got half of it, anyway! The best half!

** I assume “um cheiro” can be “a hint” in this sense.

***I think “lhes dar” is equivalent to “dar a” (eles) which can have the sense of reaching or arriving at something

Posted in English

1) Become Blogger 2) ??????? 3) Profit!!!!

Posted on by Colin Lusk
Portuguese Gnome

Just a pause to thank everyone who has sent me money through the “Buy Me a Coffee” link on the right. I just had a really nice message from someone who was enjoying an audiobook of “O Livro do Desassossego” from Wook after I mentioned it in a post on New Year’s Eve. It’s always really nice to know that someone is reading these little brainfarts of mine and recently I seem to find there are more and more people saying hello to me. I’m not sure what that means. Is European Portuguese becoming a more popular language these days? Excellent!

I tried to set it up so I had enough money trickling in that I could run the site ad-free without it costing me money because the ads that used to appear in the first 3 or 4 years were so annoying. As it turns out, when I tally up contributions minus WordPress’s hosting fees I am actually earning about 4 pence per blog post! Amazing! I am now going to tell everyone I know that I am a professional bogger since for the last two months it has been my only income stream! (Don’t worry though, I’m starting a new job tomorrow so I won’t starve!)

Posted in English

Portugal Decoded

Posted on by Colin Lusk

I always like to mention new online ventures related to Portugal and portuguese, so allow me to point you to this newish newsletter explaining the latest current events in Portugal. It’s called Portugal Decoded and as you can guess from the name, it’s in english, not portuguese, but that’s OK, I’ve subscribed on the idea that if I read the news in english then when I listen to the news podcast I will know what to listen out for and that’ll make it easier. Anyway, if thats sounds like something you’d be interested in, try it – as Yo Gabba Gabba used to say* – you might like it.

Incidentally, while trying to find it, I came across this reaction to a video called “Portugal Explained”. I’ve seen the original before and might even have mentioned it here, but for a second time I was super-impressed at how many in-jokes the non-portuguese-speaking creator of the original video was able to squeeze in. He clearly did his homework! I’ve definitely mentioned Wuant (the guy reacting) before. He’s a silly man, but that’s influencers for you innit!

* In case you’re too young or old to have suffered through this with your kids… here

Posted in English

Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Naughty

Posted on by Colin Lusk

This post is about unpacking an interesting short video from Portuguese Dips a couple of years ago in November 2021. It’s part of a series about Portuguese idioms. On day 4 he talks about “Fazer Trinta Por Uma Linha“. He’s very good at these capsule summaries, and he definitely gives you all you need to start using it; basically it means they’re a handful.

But I was curious about the origin of the expression as well as how to use it. Well, as Westley says in The Princess Bride, “Get used to disappointment” because nobody seems to know. Andreia Vale, in “Puxar a Brasa à Nossa Sardinha” says there’s no origin known but tries to infer it. She points to thirty being number commonly used to denote human accomplishments, but the only examples she gives are “estar com 30 sentidos” which, ok, is fairly relevant, and the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas… which I would say is not a good example of human accomplishment, on the whole. “Por uma linha” is like “a fio” or “a eito” (which came up in yesterday’s lyrics), being like “on the trot” or “in a row”. So they’re doing thirty things, one after another, resulting in total confusion.

In the same video he refers to “a canalha” which can either mean a gang of villains or a group of children. Hmmmm… Then there are words for naughtiness and general mischeif: irrequieto, traquino and asneira and finally he uses another expression “Têm de ter um olho nelas” which is obviously like the english expression: they have to keep an eye on them.

Quite a lot to pack into such a short video!

Posted in English, Portuguese

Faz-te um Homem, Rapaz (TV Rural)

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Well, who fancies a translation? I know I do. First translation of the new year. This one is a bit more poppy and upbeat than some of the ones I’ve done lately.

By the way, can anyone work out what the marioneta is saying at the start? Tell me in the comments because I’d love to know. But even the CAPLE exam setters aren’t sadistic enough to make you listen to a guy talking through a swozzle in their aural comprehension. The creator is currently working with a company called Mãozorra at the moment so if you want to know more, have a look at their site.

PortuguêsEnglish
Modera a ansiedade de te veres a eito 
faz-te calmo e bom proveito
Quando amanhã te levantares 
E achares que é natural 
Não pensares nessa mulher, então 
Tudo vai mal 		Don’t focus on yourself so much*
Calm down and enjoy yourself
When you get up tomorrow
And think it’s natural
Not to think of that woman, then
Everything goes wrong
Quando te ouvires a falar 
Mete a cabeça para dentro 
Quando te ouvires a falar 
Encolhe os ombros num lamento 
Nem penses nisso, então 
Tudo vai mal
Tudo vai mal 
Vai de mal a pior 
E essa coragem, se és capaz 
Faz-te um homem, rapaz 
Já viste o que um dia faz? 		When you hear yourself talking
Put your head inside
When you hear yourself talking
Shrug your shoulders in sorrow
So dont even think about it
Everything goes wrong
Everything goes wrong
It goes from bad to worse
And that courage, if you can
Man up, lad
Have you seen what one day can do?
E se esta noite passar 
Há-de te irritar o dia 
E se esta noite evitar 
O que a estupidez faria 
Pára com isso, então 
Tudo vai mal
Tudo vai mal 
Vai de mal a pior 
E essa coragem, se és capaz
Vá lá, faz-te um homem, rapaz
modera a ansiedade de te veres a eito 
faz-te calmo e bom proveito
Faz-te um homem, rapaz 
Já viste o que um dia faz?		And if this night passes
It’s going to irritate you all day
And if this night avoids
What stupidity will do
So stop that
Everything goes wrong
Everything goes wrong
It goes from bad to worse
Adn that courage, if you can
Go on, man up lad
Don’t focus on yourself so much*
Calm down and enjoy yourself
Man up, lad
Have you seen what one day can do?

*Really paraphrasing here – “Moderate your anxiety of seeing yourself constantly”