John, It wasn't until I took an introductory Portuguese course that I had the opportunity to see how Portuguese words were actually spelled. I remember hearing my mother and grandmother using the phrase "Oxala que" often in conversation. To me it sounded as if they were saying "Oh, Shellac." I thought this was very strange. Now I can only marvel at how my grandmother, who had no formal education, was so comfortable using the subjunctive.
How interesting that this expression has Arabic roots! Nancy On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 12:37 PM, John Raposo <marra...@yahoo.com> wrote: > One of the most common Portuguese expressions, Oxalá, comes from the Arab, > May God will, God willing, etc. We have had many discussions about our > Jewish roots. Is it time for a discussion of out Muslim roots? > > J > -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
