English for Brazucas

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What is the difference between pre-owned and
second-hand? This is a simple marketing gimmick,
a trick to push away the idea of used.

Wilson Velloso

One month after my abdominal operation, it gives me much pleasure to announce that I am back in shape. It was a trip to hell, days with my wrists tied to a bed, to stop me from pulling out the tubes, catheters, and probes stuck into my body. I was saved from craziness by my wife, Barbara, whom I would give three Nobel Prizes. She took good care of me, washed me, cleaned me, dressed me. And almost got sick of fatigue in the process.

Many thanks to the readers who sent e-mails of good wishes, including Zeumar, who also asked why her American husband gets hurt when she answers "It is indifferent to me," when he asks whether she would like to go to some live theater, or the movies. Dear Z., the term you want to use—and I understand you—is immaterial, not indiferente because the latter implies you don't care.

Erasmino asks me how you tell apart cozy meaning aconchegado, and a cover for the teapot, abafador. Sorry, E., but languages are full of things like this. Like in Portuguese banana, which is a fruit but is also a description of not firm, and even a kind of rude gesture.

Another reader asks me whether the pronunciation of volley, rajada, is vôlei as they say in Brazil, or vólei as it should be correctly pronounced. This is one of many English terms that Brazilians, in their teenage wisdom, think they know better than anybody else.

Clara asked what is the difference between pre-owned and second-hand. My dear C, this is a simple marketing gimmick, a trick to push away the idea of usado. It has no difference, it is segunda mão, na dura.

Lozenge caught the eye of D.F., who asks: is it the same as losango? Yes, it is. Only in English it refers not so much to a geometrical figure but, more familiarly, to an ordinary shape, like that of a game space, such as a diamond, a baseball field. It is also a little piece of medicated candy, like a eucalyptus drop.

Poached bothered Arlindo S. Well, it has several meanings, among which a poached egg, which in "proper" Portuguese is ovo escalfado, but called in Brazil "ovo pochê", a French term. The other poach is a verb—invadir para roubar, como furtar frutas, frangos, cabritos, etc.

For Henrique K. M., who works as a caddy in a golf course, this word is a bit of a mystery. Atendente de golfista would be my translation. It is also a little (tin) box to keep tea. Another form of caddy is a colloquialism, a familiar abbreviation for Cadillac, the automobile. (Caddy is usually a car that has seen better years.)

Console yourselves, gentle Brazilian readers. Americans also screw up their language. Specially when they try to be scholarly. Take gender instead of sex. Pure poppycock. Gender is a grammatical term, for words. Words have gender, but people and animals have sex. It is not the same thing.

Sea is a word usually described as "feminine". And giraffe, usually thought of as masculine (big animals are all masculine), but the sex may be either.

Grammatically, the gender of all these words in English is usually neutral—described with it without an idea of sex. But you can, and it is not incorrect, to say of a cat "Her name is Jellybeans." Or, of a horse, "He is 10 years old and still wonderful."

People don't have that kind of choice. Teresa is a feminine name, usually reserved for ladies and other women. But a gay guy may call himself Therèse. The name is of the feminine gender, but the guy still is he.

Because that is his sex. It is not a question of choice or whim.

Another pretty stupid error in English is homophobic. This word is formed with two Greek words, homo, meaning equal, very similar, identical; and phobe meaning that hates, that is afraid of. Like in agoraphobia, "the horror, hate for high places".

This homo has nothing to do with the Latin homo which means man. Therefore, homophobic is 100 percent wrong. It really means "somebody who hates, or has horror for, those who are identical, equal, very similar. Exactly the opposite of what was intended.

Creating new words, specially when derived from foreign languages, is not easy. You have to know your stuff. This is a horrible pedantism. What the Brazilians call pretensioso or metido a sebo.

The author wishes to reiterate his thanks for all those who expressed their concern and send good wishes on occasion of his last "predicament". As usual, e-mail will be welcome at vewilson@3oaks.com

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