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Renew your wedding vows in Goa, or gift a Ceremony Package to a close couple Multiple options to make your day extra special! http://www.renewalsetc.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ More Portuguese than the Portuguese Guia de um novato ao Portugues falado em Goa By Cecil Pinto Language is a good place to begin when attempting to appreciate any culture. Goan-Portuguese though similar to the language spoken in Portugal is also vastly different in many ways. After all the Portuguese language, and entire culture for that matter, continued evolving in Portugal itself but remained static in Goa after 1961. This is true of other Portuguese colonies too and doesn't always have negative connotations. For example in Portugal at Carnival time the women on the floats now wear clothes, whereas in Brazil they still use body paint. Viva Brazil! Viva Carnival! I got carried away. We were discussing Goan-Portuguese. Keep in mind that Portuguese is a Romance Language (derived from vulgar, as opposed to classical, Latin) along with Italian, Spanish, French and Konkani. One of the characteristics of a Romanic language is the presence of dipthongs. Goa = beaches = dip in the sea = bikinis = thongs = romance… well you get the idea. Got carried away again! Anyway, a cursory examination of Portuguese as it is spoken in Goa will make things clearer. Let's start of with basic greetings. "Bom dia" means "Good Lord". Dia, deu, deva, deo, daman and diu - all mean Lord or God. That is why in Roman Konkani too we say "Deo boro dis deum" (May God give you a good day) to signify Good Morning. In Devnagri Konkani it is, "Boro mure Bappa?", which also, in a way, is an invocation to God, who is very important for Goans of all religions. "Bom tarde" means "Good you are late" similar to the English phrase "Better late than never". "Como vai?" means "Why cock?" Before attributing any obscenity to this phrase keep in mind that the colourful Barcelos Rooster is a popular symbol of Portugal. Hence the word 'como' features a lot in Goan-Portuguese. "Como e seu nome?" (Sue is not a cock's name), "Como voce quiser" (Don't speak like a queer cock), "Perry Como"(Perry's cock) and "Como e Doodalia" (Cock a doodle do). In Konkani too there is a parallel in the folk song "Kai boro vho como mhojo…"(How nice is my cock…) An interesting Goan-Portuguese phrase is "Da licenca" which means "The licence". Depending on the context it can mean a driving license, a bar license, an offshore casino license or a license to speak Portuguese in the presence of non Portuguese speakers without so much as an "Excuse me". Another popular Portuguese phrase in Panjim is "Qual é sua nacionalidade?", which roughly translates as "Are you a Nacionalite?" or basically a member of Clube Nacional (pronounced Handicraft Exhibitions & Garment Sales) which is one of the two clubs in Panjim that have survived from the Portuguese era, the other being Clube Vasco da Gama (pronounced Ernesto's). There are also two more in Margao, Clube Harmonia and Clube Sandwicha. Committee elections to these clubs are a matter of great prestige to the Goan-Portuguese, and are hotly contested. This has been covered in my ground-breaking essay "Festam ani Carnival" - here we will stick to language. Keep in mind though that when a Panjim-Portuguese says "I'm going clubbing", his choices are pretty limited. A Goan-Portuguese will normally accost you with "Fala Portuguese?" Which means "Tomorrow Portuguese?" Those of the older generation have fond memories of the Portuguese and live in the hope that they will return someday. It is an interpretation too of the Konkani phrase found on most Goan graveyards, "Aiz maka, fala tuka" (Today it bees for me, tomorrow it bees for you). The correct polite response to that is "Estou aprendendo" which means "I understand your apprehensions" (after the Indian invasion). Typically if a middle-aged Goan-Portuguese woman is walking down the road and meets a younger Goan-Portuguese person she will say, "De onde voce e? O que voce faz? Quantos anos voce tem? Voce e casado/casada?" (You seem of good stock and not too old. Have you lost your voice? Why don't you marry my son/daughter?) The correct response to this from a single Goan-Portuguese person contemplating marriage is, "Nao, sou solteiro/solteira. Voce pode me informar onde fica o correio? Foi um prazer te conhecer?" (I play Solitaire on my PC/Mac. Can I post you my resume? Has your scoundrel brother sold all the ancestral property or is there some left?) An important person for the Goan-Portuguese is Felix, pronounced Felize. Only the last syllable 'Ze' is used in combination with the word 'Povinho' (everyman). Ze Povinho is a fictional character and has come to symbolize the aspirations of the non-elite Goan-Portuguese. They will invoke his name before any major festival, for example "Feliz Natal" (May Felix bless your birth date), "Feliz Novidade (May Felix bless all new fathers), Feliz Aniversario (May Felix bless any verse from your song), Felix Pascoa (May Felix bless Pascoal). Some other useful phrases to keeping mind when speaking in Goan-Portuguese are "Eu te amo" (You eat that mango), "Com gelo" (Where did he go?) "Eu nao como carne" (I don't go down), "Saude!" (South! As in - down boy, down!), "Eu posso chegar la a pe? (Can one smoke in the toilet?), "Esta e minha filha" (We don't serve mince with filets), "Voce poderia escrever isso?" (Your baker has screwed himself), "Voce poderia falar mais devagar" (Your baker visits my mother's temple tomorrow). "Bom" and "Boa" both mean 'good' and are used in pleasantries. "Boas ferias!" (The ferry boat ride wasn't bad), "Boa sorte!" (Hope this lottery ticket is good), "Bom apetite!" (Small but good), "Bom viagem!" (That was good Viagra!), "Esta bom tempo" (The estate-wagon is better than the tempo) and "Bom again!" (Good Catholic!) In subsequent articles on Goa-Portuguese culture we will examine: Corrodinho on the River Cruise, Cuizinhero Portugesa-Goana, Any Port in a Wine Storm, Saudade de Goa, Fado e Camoes, Iberian Goan Futebol, Festam ani Carnival and Azulejo e Architectura Asinine Arosticratica. I end this section with "Bom fim de semana!" (Good wishes for a seminal festival!) ------ The column above appeared in Gomantak Times dated 13th November 2008 ===