Archive for 'Culture'
Reproduced Songs: David Bowie Meets Seu Jorge Posted by polyana on Apr 12, 2010
The other day, my friend and I were talking about songs Brazilian artists translate from another language (mostly from English) to Portuguese and whether we like them or not. We came to the conclusion that some artists have some translations and remakes that are a little tasteless (i.e., Preta Gil singing “Hoje Estou Solteira,” a…
Reading Comprehension: Dance Club Posted by Rachel on Apr 8, 2010
For today’s reading comprehension, we’re going to read a bit of a bizarre story about a nightclub in São Paulo. Talk about dancing to your own beat! You can also watch the accompanying video here. Casa noturna promove balada silenciosa com música só nos fones de ouvido Excerpt: “Uma casa noturna da capital resolveu lançar…
Side by Side Lyrics Translation: Maria Rita Posted by Rachel on Apr 6, 2010
Today we’re going to listen to a Maria Rita song with an adjacent translation in English! In this song, the singer compares her life to a busy train station. She uses fairly simple language, so hopefully it won’t be too difficult to follow along with the English to help. Lyrics – Encontros e despedidas Mande…
Listening Comprehension: Movie Review Posted by Rachel on Mar 30, 2010
Today, we’re going to do a listening comprehension exercise with a movie review from VEJA. You can watch more of them here, as well as other interesting online content from the magazine. Questions 1. What is the title of “500 Days of Summer” in Portuguese? 2. What are the reviewers two favorite movies of the…
Jokes in Portuguese Posted by Rachel on Mar 29, 2010
Jokes in Portuguese, called piadas, tend to poke fun at different groups, like in English: lawyers, doctors, people from specific parts of the country, blondes, and famous people. Brazilian jokes also poke fun at Argentines, Portuguese people, soccer players, and caipiras, or people from rural areas. Let’s take a look at some jokes, and see…
Lyrics Translation: The Girl From Ipanema Posted by Rachel on Mar 23, 2010
One of the most internationally famous bossa nova songs of all time, The Girl from Ipanema is a classic with easy to follow lyrics. It’s useful to see a side by side translation, especially since the song is also sung in English (the most famous recording by Frank Sinatra), but with slightly different lyrics. Here…
Reading Comprehension: On Tour Posted by Rachel on Mar 16, 2010
Today we’re going to do a reading comprehension exercise about an American band on tour in Brazil. Guns N’Roses deve se apresentar no Rio em abril Excerpt: “Cancelado no domingo por conta do temporal que caiu no Rio, o show do Guns N´Roses na Praça da Apoteose deverá ser remarcado para o início do mês…