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Blog criado por Bruno Coriolano de Almeida Costa, professor de Língua Inglesa desde 2002. Esse espaço surgiu em 2007 com o objetivo de unir alguns estudiosos e professores desse idioma. Abordamos, de forma rápida e simples, vários aspectos da Língua Inglesa e suas culturas. Agradeço a sua visita.

"Se tivesse perguntado ao cliente o que ele queria, ele teria dito: 'Um cavalo mais rápido!"

segunda-feira, 16 de novembro de 2015

DID ENGLISH SPEAKERS REALLY NOT USE CONTRACTIONS IN THE 19TH CENTURY AS DEPICTED IN TRUE GRIT?


Won’t, don’t, wouldn’t, isn’t and even ain’t- where would we be without our contractions? Prevalent in spoken English and increasingly accepted in written pieces, contractions enable brevity and make written works more accessible and friendly.
Contractions in some form of English date back to Old English (450 AD – 1150 AD), a language that bears little resemblance to our English today. Before this period, although the Romans had already invaded, the dominant language on the island was Celtic. In the 5th century, several groups, notably the Angles and the Saxons, began to invade, and they brought their Germanic languages and rune alphabets with them, along with several well-established contractions. These included shortened forms for “is not” (nis, today, “isn’t”), “did not have” (ne haefde), “was not” (ne waes, today “wasn’t”) and “would not” (wolde, today “wouldn’t).
During the Old English period, Christian missionaries introduced Latin as well as the Roman alphabet, so by the time the Normans appeared in the mid-11th century, the language was ready to incorporate a fair bit of French, the language of post-Conquest English nobility. (In fact, King Richard “The Lionheart” barely spoke English, and only spent about six months in the country he was king of for the decade he was king.)
Nonetheless, the common people continued to speak English, although now peppered with thousands of French words and conventions, and eventually, this pidgin developed into Middle English (1150 AD to 1450 AD). Far easier for a modern English speaker to understand, it was during this period that negative contractions (i.e. using “not”) arrived on the scene in the form of ne were (“were not”) and noot (“knows not”). Other contractions from this period include thilke (for “the ilke” meaning “the same”) and sit (a shortened form of sitteth).

domingo, 15 de novembro de 2015

Charlie Chaplin's Controversial Speech - The Great Dictator 1940



Hope... I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor -- that's not my business -- I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.


We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls -- has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair".

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish...

Soldiers -- don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you -- who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder.

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate -- only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers -- don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty.


In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written " the kingdom of God is within man " -- not one man, nor a group of men -- but in all men -- in you, the people.

You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power -- let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers -- in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting -- the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality.

The soul of man has been given wings -- and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow -- into the light of hope -- into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up.


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quinta-feira, 12 de novembro de 2015

20 Things Only ADHD (Highly Creative) People Would Understand


There’s no argument anymore. Neuroscience confirms that highly creative people think and act differently than the average person. Their brains are literally hardwired in a unique way. But that gift can often strain relationships. I’ve seen it firsthand while working with New York Times bestselling authors and Grammy-winning musicians.
If you love a highly creative person, you probably experience moments when it seems like they live in a completely different world than you. Truth is, they do. But trying to change them isn’t nearly as effective as trying to understand them.
It all begins by seeing the world through their lens and remembering these 20 things:
1. They have a mind that never slows down.

The creative mind is a non-stop machine fueled by intense curiosity. There is no pause button and no way to power it down. This can be exhausting at times but it is also the source of some crazy fun activities and conversations.
2. They challenge the status quo.

Two questions drive every creative person more than any others: What if? and Why not? They question what everyone else takes at face value. While uncomfortable for those around them, it’s this ability that enables creatives to redefine what’s possible.
3. They embrace their genius even if others don’t.

Creative individuals would rather be authentic than popular. Staying true to who they are, without compromise, is how they define success even if means being misunderstood or marginalized.
4. They have difficulty staying on task.

Highly creative people are energized by taking big mental leaps and starting new things. Existing projects can turn into boring slogs when the promise of something new and exciting grabs their attention.
5. They create in cycles.

Creativity has a rhythm that flows between periods of high, sometimes manic, activity and slow times that can feel like slumps. Each period is necessary and can’t be skipped just like the natural seasons are interdependent and necessary.
6. They need time to feed their souls.

No one can drive cross-country on a single take of gas. In the same way, creative people need to frequently renew their source of inspiration and drive. Often, this requires solitude for periods of time.
7. They need space to create.

Having the right environment is essential to peak creativity. It may be a studio, a coffee shop, or a quiet corner of the house. Wherever it is, allow them to set the boundaries and respect them.
8. They focus intensely.

Highly creative people tune the entire world out when they’re focused on work. They cannot multi-task effectively and it can take twenty minutes to re-focus after being interrupted, even if the interruption was only twenty seconds.
9. They feel deeply.

Creativity is about human expression and communicating deeply. It’s impossible to give what you don’t have, and you can only take someone as far as you have gone yourself. A writer once told me that an artist must scream at the page if they want a whisper to be heard. In the same way, a creative person must feel deep if they are to communicate deeply.
10. They live on the edge of joy and depression.

Because they feel deeply, highly creative people often can quickly shift from joy to sadness or even depression. Their sensitive heart, while the source of their brilliance, is also the source of their suffering.
11. They think and speak in stories.

Facts will never move the human heart like storytelling can. Highly creative people, especially artists, know this and weave stories into everything they do. It takes longer for them to explain something, explaining isn’t the point. The experience is.
12. They battle Resistance every day.

Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, writes:
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
Highly creative people wake up every morning, fully aware of the need to grow and push themselves. But there is always the fear, Resistance as Pressfield calls it, that they don’t have what it takes. No matter how successful the person, that fear never goes away. They simply learn to deal with it, or not.
13. They take their work personally.

Creative work is a raw expression of the person who created it. Often, they aren’t able to separate themselves from it, so every critique is seen either as a validation or condemnation of their self-worth.
14. They have a hard time believing in themselves.

Even the seemingly self-confident creative person often wonders, Am I good enough? They constantly compare their work with others and fail to see their own brilliance, which may be obvious to everyone else.
15. They are deeply intuitive.

Science still fails to explain the How and Why of creativity. Yet, creative individuals know instinctively how to flow in it time and again. They will tell you that it can’t be understood, only experienced firsthand.
16. They often use procrastination as a tool.

Creatives are notorious procrastinators because many do their best work under pressure. They will subconsciously, and sometimes purposefully, delay their work until the last minute simply to experience the rush of the challenge.
17. They are addicted to creative flow.

Recent discoveries in neuroscience reveal that “the flow state” might be the most addictive experience on earth. The mental and emotional payoff is why highly creative people will suffer through the highs and lows of creativity. It’s the staying power. In a real sense, they are addicted to the thrill of creating.
18. They have difficulty finishing projects.

The initial stage of the creative process is fast moving and charged with excitement. Often, they will abandon projects that are too familiar in order to experience the initial flow that comes at the beginning.
19. They connect dots better than others.

True creativity, Steve Jobs once said, is little more than connecting the dots. It’s seeing patterns before they become obvious to everyone else.
20. They will never grow up.

Creatives long to see through the eyes of a child and never lose a sense of wonder. For them, life is about mystery, adventure, and growing young. Everything else is simply existing, and not true living.


quarta-feira, 4 de novembro de 2015

Dating a Translator? You Better be Aware of These 7 Details




If you think there’s nothing intimidating about translators, you seriously got it all wrong. We’re not even talking about individual characters here. There’s something – many things actually – common to translators that you may want to be aware of. Avoid the “shock” of dating a translator by knowing these idiosyncrasies.

7. They can be ridiculously passionate about languages and translation.

Obviously, translators know languages and they are passionate for them if they know them by heart and if they’ve been doing translations for years. If you don’t want to get yourself in hot water, don’t even think of engaging them in discussions like; which language is better or whether or not it’s really necessary to know different languages. Don’t even dare raise the speculations about computers and AI taking over the language translation industry.

6. They expect you to know the difference between a translator and an interpreter.

As much as possible, avoid mistakenly using the terms translator and interpreter interchangeably. These are two different things in translation. Hint: A translator is to write, while interpreter is to speak. In their defense, though, this is not really a matter of being obsessive compulsive. If you don’t know what they are actually doing, it can be easily interpreted as your lack of interest in them.

5. Sometimes they love exhibiting their superiority.

Don’t dare compare, even implicitly, a translator you are dating with your ex. Translators know their worth as they are usually exposed to various cultures because of the nature of their work. They are usually tolerant but they know they have an edge in their multilingualism alone that they can easily brag whenever they feel like you are making comparisons. This often makes them appear judgmental or critical of other people especially when it comes to their written or verbal use of languages. When going to foreign-themed restaurants, for example, they tend to easily catch errors in menus or signages, and raise an eyebrow over misspellings or mistakes in the words used. If you are not sure how to pronounce certain foreign food names, it’s better to simply point it on the menu to the waiter to avoid the embarrassment or not-so-secret grin from your date.

4. They are strict with grammar.

Annoyed by online “commenters,” forum members, or social media users who are excessively fond of correcting people’s grammar and punctuation use, word choice, or spelling? Prepare to encounter someone similar in the flesh. Translators have been trained to be meticulous and precise to properly convey the idea of the texts they are translating. They are somewhat obsessed with the thought that a little mistake in spelling or punctuation can change the message of what ought to be conveyed.

3. They are always on work mode.

Those who work in the translation field rarely rest their brains. Even when they are simply strolling around or doing some window shopping on their way home, their neural networks continue moving to associate the words and things they see with their equivalent terms in other languages. And they’re not even intentionally doing this! It’s a habit they could hardly undo. This shouldn’t be annoying, though. Just think of it as a learning opportunity.

2. They can use languages to tease, irritate, or curse you.

Familiar with instances when someone wants to say something to you but he or she couldn’t muster enough of the courage to say it. How about situations wherein someone wants to cuss at you or give you a less than pleasant treatment? Translators know how to use the third, fourth, or fifth languages they are fluent with to indirectly do these. Many of them want to express themselves to release the pressure they are feeling but they want to do it in a less confrontational way.

1. They will ask for context…and more context.

Translators know the value of context more than anyone. If you argue with them or if you are trying to reason out to them, be ready to properly present the context. Most likely, this is because they are trained to always look at the context in everything. Likewise, if you are asking them to translate sentences or phrases, don’t expect them to automatically generate a translation. Remember that they always want to be precise in understanding and translating messages. Also, if you want to use one-liners and witticisms on them, don’t expect them to simply show an expression of awe without looking into the context of the words you are using.
Lawyers, programmers, and financial analysis experts are not the only professionals who have the inherent ability to intimidate their dates. Translation professionals, too, possess qualities and attitudes you may not find easy to handle. If you ever plan on dating one, remember the pointers above.


PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.
Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!
Did you spot a typo?
Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?
Do you disagree with something on this page?
Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page: