Tag: walking dead

Posted in English

Have I Mentioned How Much I Like Comics?

Posted on by Colin Lusk

I think I’ve banged on about comics a few times, mainly in the page I wrote about the best Portuguese graphic novels.

Just to show it’s not just me though, I can testify that my daughter, who has just started A Level French, and is a big fan of the Walking Dead video game series, has been getting just as much out of the French version of the Walking Dead graphic novel series as I got out of the Portuguese ones. She’s only a couple of volumes deep but she’s already better able to unravel complicated sentences, recognise new vocabulary that has come up before, and read out loud. I’ve been nagging her for ages to try the Astérix books but they’re not something that appeals to her and I’m glad she’s found her way to a series that suits her.

Posted in Portuguese

The Talking Dead

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Trigger warning: may contain rudity.

Two weird pieces of slang grammar in the Walking Dead book I’m reading (Vol 12, which is called “Viver Entre Eles” in portuguese), during a scene in which Abraham finds out Eugene has been lying all along and that Washington is not, in fact, a safe haven.

  • Seu filho de puta
  • Porque, c’um caraças?

Apparently that c’um is short for “com um”, and the “seu” can mean “you are” although why the heck that should be, I have absolutely no idea! To me it just looks like he’s saying “your son of a whore” which is baffling.

–update–

Paulo on iTalki offers an extra bit of wisdom, saying that “seu filho de puta” is ironically following the very formal way of addressing a member of the aristocracy – e.g. Sua Alteza Real o princípe-herdeiro, equivalent to “his royal highness….”. My mind is still grappling with this new information. Can it be right? It seems like a lot of baroque irony to apply to – basically – a physical assault…

–update to the update–

OK, Paulo’s explanation checks out. Although the person probably isn’t going out of their way to be wittily ironic, the format “seu…” is derived from that way of speaking and indicates a higher degree of specificity – you specific son of a whore!

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Thanks Ariene for helping me with these.