tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post5366081978984930245..comments2023-04-21T15:19:04.905+08:00Comments on Being Multilingual: Languages come in flavoursMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-51837877456610797372012-05-24T16:44:42.805+08:002012-05-24T16:44:42.805+08:00Updated link, hopefully un-broken...
Maria Bethâni...Updated link, hopefully un-broken...<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDcFa16ZisY" rel="nofollow">Maria Bethânia’s <i>jeito</i></a>Madalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-34126131216039050822010-12-12T22:39:14.133+08:002010-12-12T22:39:14.133+08:00Sergio: Great example that language varieties come...Sergio: Great example that language varieties come in flavours too.<br />I’m planning a couple of posts on matters of culture, intelligibility, and so on, where my first close encounters with Brazilians play a role. I learned, among other things, that “speaking the same language” means quite different things from what it says.<br />Here’s a glitch-free one for you: <i>Aquele</i> abraço!<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-62101050824459160652010-12-11T10:21:31.056+08:002010-12-11T10:21:31.056+08:00Hello, Madalena
Last week I had a funny intercult...Hello, Madalena<br /><br />Last week I had a funny intercultural experience related to food. Close to my street there's this cosy little coffee shop, owned by a Portuguese and his Brazilian wife. From his accent and manners,I wouldn't say he has lived here too long. Well, I'd just ordered my usual latte and beef empanada , when the girl at the counter asked me if I wanted to try one of the two sample cakes of the day, neatly cut up in small cubes. Probably following the owner's instructions, she explained that the cake in front of me was chocolate and the other one to my right was a traditional Portuguese delicacy. She went on to say, "even after three years this cake is still good for eating". I was halfway through munching the nutty browny bit when I stopped. My almost instant reaction came in the shape of an expression of discreet disgust, framed by a timid question: "Really? Is this one I'm eating three years old?!" Noticing my surprise, another patron let out this heart felt laughter, and, in the end, to my relief, the girl said the cake had been baked just that week.<br /><br />Cheers from Brazil,<br /><br />SergioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-27826153722769237592010-11-02T20:15:07.830+08:002010-11-02T20:15:07.830+08:00Hi Madalena,
Sorry this came late. I was up to my...Hi Madalena,<br /><br />Sorry this came late. I was up to my neck in a lot of things! Incidentally, I happened to be having dinner when I read this. Since Deborah had posted something related to Singaporean food, I thought I would share my experience with potatoes.<br /><br />The first time I was in the US, I had to grapple with a lot of interesting things where food was concerned. For example, at breakfast, the lady asked if I wanted tater tots and I had no idea what it was. My friend kindly explained to me that it was something like hashbrown, but what came looked nothing like hashbrowns to me! Same for tootsie roll, which took 3 people to explain but the reality of what it really was only came when I got myself a pack of mini tootsie rolls!<br /><br />So yes, I totally agree with what you wrote. Some things are just better in one language! <br /><br />Jessiems_bobdoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10175658529569132614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-35461249481355739952010-10-28T01:16:11.718+08:002010-10-28T01:16:11.718+08:00Thank you for your comments, Deborah and Cuban! Yo...Thank you for your comments, Deborah and Cuban! You give perfect examples of what I mean. <br />Since Deborah left us a picture of nasi lemak, here is what the Cuban in London referred to: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQSv12fGgco" rel="nofollow">Maria Bethânia’s <i>jeito</i></a>.<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-89262534517630769482010-10-25T16:17:50.530+08:002010-10-25T16:17:50.530+08:00A couple of things about this marvellous gem of a ...A couple of things about this marvellous gem of a post. I love Nasi Lemak (that one's for you, Deborah). I loved it the first time I visited Malaysia and adored it this second time around. I must have it at least four of five times.<br /><br />In regards to you and your Edith Piaf example I completely understand where you're coming from. Despite being a Maria Bethania fan for many years, it's only recently that I've been able to come to terms with her hard 'r' in Portuguese, via my mp3 player. Hers is so different from other Brazilian singers'. Including her compadres 'in crime', Gilberto, Gal and Milton. The way she lets that hard, raspy, throaty 'r' out in 'Jeito Estupido de Amar', for instance, is unique.<br /><br />Ahhh... I loved this post because you've combined two of my favourite subjects, languages and cooking. Many thanks. Great to see your blog growing so quickly! :-)<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-30042497648363796642010-10-25T10:01:29.358+08:002010-10-25T10:01:29.358+08:00Hi Madalena
Being the multilingual foodie that I ...Hi Madalena<br /><br />Being the multilingual foodie that I am, I can certainly identify with the point you’re trying to get across in this post on ‘Languages come in flavours’. An example I can think of in the Singapore context would be a local dish in Singapore and Malaysia known as 'nasi lemak'. <br /><br />'Nasi lemak' is a Malay phrase that can literally be translated as ‘rice in cream’, 'nasi' meaning 'rice' and 'lemak' meaning 'cream'. 'Nasi lemak' can also be loosely translated as ‘coconut rice’ because the cream that is used to prepare the rice is always coconut cream. Although 'nasi lemak' literally means ‘coconut rice’, when one places an order for a 'nasi lemak', one would typically expect not only a plate of coconut rice, but a plate of coconut rice with various accompaniments such as a heaped spoonful of sambal chilli sauce (a must!), a few slices of cucumber, an egg (sunny side-up, omelette style, or sometimes, hard-boiled), a fried chicken wing, a small fried fish, picked vegetables known as ahcar, anchovies and peanuts, and the list goes on. One could of course opt for which accompaniment one wants with one’s 'nasi lemak', e.g. just an egg and anchovies and peanuts, or a fried chicken wing and egg without the fish, and so on. The sambal chilli sauce, by the way, is always present, by default, unless one specifically requests not to have it. <br /><br />The point, though, is that when one places an order for a 'nasi lemak' in Singapore, one would and should not expect just a plate of coconut rice and nothing else; if that’s the only thing one gets, one should really get a refund. In other words, 'nasi lemak', although translated as ‘coconut rice’ or ‘rice in cream’ in English, has come to denote much more than simply ‘coconut rice’ or ‘rice in cream’ in the context in which it is used. This is why its English translation, ‘coconut rice’, cannot quite capture the ‘essence’ of what a nasi lemak really is. <br /><br />For a photo of nasi lemak, see http://www.soshiok.com/where_to_eat/restaurant/photo/1755<br /><br />Cheers<br />DeborahDeborah Chuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02911786996482749777noreply@blogger.com