Archive for November, 2010
How to Make Pamonha Posted by Rachel on Nov 30, 2010
Pamonha is a traditional Brazilian food made from corn and milk eaten throughout the country. Sometimes it has additional fillings, like meat or cheese, but you’ll most commonly find it sold in its simplest state wrapped in a corn husk. The word comes from the Tupi Guarani language, which means sticky. In certain regions of…
Pé Frio is not Cold Feet! Posted by polyana on Nov 29, 2010
The other day, I was talking to my Brazilian friend who was an English student of mine, and since then we like to speak in English so he can practice. We were trying to figure out when to go to the beach and I told him the last few times I went to the beach…
The Word Mergulho Posted by Rachel on Nov 23, 2010
Mergulho has few different meanings, so it’s a useful Portuguese vocabulary word to know, especially when traveling. 1. Scuba Diving This is the noun used for scuba in Brazilian Portuguese. Here’s an example: Durante as férias, gosto de curtir a praia e fazer mergulho. During the holidays, I like to enjoy the beach and go…
Portuguese-Speaking Countries Posted by Rachel on Nov 19, 2010
While Transparent’s Portuguese Blog’s main focus is on Brazil and Brazilian Portuguese, it’s also important to know where else Portuguese is spoken in the world! Here are the countries where Portuguese is the official language: 1. Portugal (population: 10 million) The birthplace of this beautiful language, there are around twelve dialects, ranging from Açoriano…
Brazilians Fighting Autism Posted by Rachel on Nov 18, 2010
This week, an interesting story came out in the news about Brazilian scientists working in the United States on an autism study. They discovered an autism “neuron” that they managed to fix in a laboratory experiment. The ground-breaking study, led by Brazilian molecular biologist Alysson Muotri, showed that there may be a possibility to treat…
Sloth in Portuguese Posted by Rachel on Nov 16, 2010
While you may remember that preguiça means laziness, it can also be used to describe a famous Brazilian animal: the bicho-preguiça, or the sloth. This animal, which in Portuguese is pronounced bee-shoo preh-gee-sah, not only lives in the Amazon, but also throughout Brazil, particularly in the Mata Atlântica. This sweet, slow-moving creature prefers to hang…
Proclamação da República Posted by polyana on Nov 15, 2010
As you’re reading this on Monday morning, I will hopefully be lying on one of the beaches of Búzios in Rio de Janeiro! Today is a holiday in Brazil, Dia da Proclamação da República in which marechal Deodoro da Fonseca led Brazilian revolutionaries in a coup d’etat against the monarchy and put an end to Brazil’s…