English phrases, Porto Alegre

One of the many difficulties of the English language is that the same word - without modification - can be both a noun and an adjective. I suppose that this facet, like the tendency in English to form compound words (e.g., birdhouse) comes from the German rather than the Latin.

Observe, for example, the street sign from Av. Borges de Medeiros, downtown Porto Alegre:



The sign uses correct English grammar in that it places an adjective ahead of a noun, and the adjective does make the expression more specific. (In fact, the same adjective is also in the Portuguese language, with the same spelling and pronunciation.) However, it's the wrong adjective. The correct adjective is the word that is also the noun.

Shana pointed out Friday night that the noun would be pronounced like the longer adjective, given the Brazilian difficulty with ending words in certain consonants. "Hot dog," for example, is pronounced "hot-chee dog-ee."

Oh, and "Sem Pudor" means "Shameless" or "Immodest." It's a very good name.

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To make final comments about the trip: I had a tranquil and productive time, and very much enjoyed all my interviews. The locals don't live up to the stereotype about them in the rest of Brazil - that they are proud, boastful, and distant - but were instead all warm, welcoming, and friendly.

It's been a rainy week back here in Rio de Janeiro. Although I conducted three interviews in my "vacation" week, that only met 60% of my goal total. The remaining subjects are either on vacation, busy, or unreachable.

Off to Mato Grosso do Sul on Sunday night. I've just been informed that Monday is a holiday, which means a wasted day for research. I'm uncertain whether "Children's Day" is a real holiday, or whether Monday is a different state-specific holiday.