My favorite commercial these days is this one by Englishtown.com for English classes. It is titled “Overcome your Gringophobia” and begins with: “GUYS–THE GRINGO IS COMING!!!” The rest explains itself. Sometimes the line between satire and reality is very blurry. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this exact expression on the face of more than one shop …
On Winning
Brazilian Portuguese has an odd linguistic confusion: the words to win, to earn, to receive are all the same. Ganhar. “Ganhei a loteria.” I won the lottery.“Ganhei um vidrio de geleia.” Someone gave me a jar of jelly. And my favorite: “Ganhei meu filho no ano pasado.” I had my son last year. This language charms and enchants me. This is a …
When in Rome
It was a particularly nasty work-related accident. One of our best friends had cut himself on both his arm and his belly with a granite sander. We were all worried, and glad to hear that he was Ok. This was the text I sent to his wife: “That goodness he’s Ok. God bless. You two …
Rorschach
(This post was published accidentally about a week ago before it was complete. The mistake was quickly corrected, but some people got a 404 error as a result. Sorry for the confusion! Here it is in its finished state.) Without language, we strip human interaction down to it’s most basic. I find I learn a lot …
