Ccaps Blog

Here are some more pearls from the former US President.

“People say, well, do you ever hear any other voices other than, like, a few people? Of course I do.” Washington, DC. Dec. 18, 2008
Like, who man? It’s those little voices in your head, right?

“I’ve been in the Bible every day since I’ve been the president.” Washington, DC. Nov. 12, 2008
Have you been there, physically? How did it feel, old man?

“I want to share with you an interesting program — for two reasons, one, it’s interesting, and two, my wife thought of it — or has actually been involved with it; she didn’t think of it. But she thought of it for this speech.” Bush discussing a company that improves access to clean water in Africa. Washington, DC. Oct. 21, 2008
So Laura too can be blamed for some of these English distortions?

“There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk — that’s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras — it got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments.” Speaking at a private fundraiser. Houston, TX. July 18, 2008  (Watch video clip)
Looks like it’s time to give Wall Street one of those morning after hangover cures. Red Eye, anyone?

“And they have no disregard for human life.” Bush on the brutality of Afghan fighters. Washington, DC. July 15, 2008
Those Afghan fighters are quite compassionate, are they not?

“Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.” George W. Bush, in parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock. Rusutsu, Japan. July 10, 2008
Go Big Texas!

“Amigo! Amigo!” Calling out to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Spanish at the G-8 Summit. Rusutsu, Japan. July 10, 2008
Phylologists of the world, here is a new language: Spanlian.

“Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people.” Charlottesville, VA. July 4, 2008
What overpopulation problem?

“I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office.” Washington, DC. June 26, 2008
What were North Koreans doing in the Oval Office? Building a UFO?

“There is some who say that perhaps freedom is not universal. Maybe it’s only Western people that can self-govern. Maybe it’s only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self-government. I reject that notion.” London, UK. June 16, 2008
I think only, you know, white-guy Methodists, like say that.

“Penetra surdamente no reino das palavras.” (Penetrate silently into the kingdom of words) With this verse, which is part of the poem Procura da poesia, by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, I invite you to check out the Museum of the Portuguese Language.

Inaugurated in 2006, the museum was built in downtown São Paulo, next to the charming Estação da Luz train station, which was especially restored for the museum inauguration. As a translation student, I could not fail to step foot there at least once…

My morning began precisely at the train and subway station. Such a beautiful scene! Dating back to the early years of the 20th century, the Victorian building was built after sites like the Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Hardwood doors, crystal chandeliers, detailed plaster ceiling and iron arches make up the interior. In the middle of the entrance hall leading to the platforms, there is a simple piano, though sufficient to complement the movement of those passing by.

At 10 AM I was already in the museum! The excursion begins with a video about the origins and the evolution of Brazilian Portuguese, narrated by renowned actress Fernanda Montenegro. We are then transported to some language planetarium, on where images and audio are projected. Language here is a concrete experience, almost like a hand that touches our senses.

Poems and tongue twisters in the voices of singers Chico Buarque and Maria Bethânia and actor Matheus Nachtergaele are accentuated by colors and live forms on the celestial dome. You cannot leave the Praça da Língua (Language Plaza) without first taking a walk of fame on the floor of projected poems. Pure delight!

The elevator is in fact panoramic! A full view of the Árvore de Palavras (Word Tree) on our way to the second floor (as we were on the third floor). Not to mention the mantra composed by poet and singer Arnaldo Antunes, who repeats the words “language” and “word” in multiple languages. Much better than “Smile! You are on security camera!”

The second floor begins with the Grande Galeria (Great Gallery), a screen that extends the entire wing. Here there are projections of the Portuguese language in the daily lives and history of its users. But I am not saying that you are a mere spectator! Beco das Palavras (Alley of Words) and Mapa dos Falares (Map of Dialects) are like our own personal Maracanã. The former is like a game with a big electronic table where we place the letters to form words and learn about their meanings and origin. The latter is an electronic booth where we can touch the screen to see and listen to testimonials of Brazilian speakers throughout the country and check the local color of each speaker. Linha do Tempo (Time Line) and the totems named as Palavras Cruzadas (Crosswords) are also worth a look!

I am not going to tell you what I saw on the first floor. You have to see it for yourself. The exhibits on this floor are temporary. Once you have been there, you can tell us what you saw. The Ccaps Blog is precisely for this!

What do you think? If you want to embark on the idea of visiting the museum, just make sure to not go on Monday as it’s closed! The reasonably priced entrance fee is your passport to a great museum collection. Flying first class, of course, just like when you buy Ccaps services! =)

Textese could be “The Death of English,” according to a Newsweek article posted last year. Gabriel wrote a blog post about Textese being a new variable, a new language of sorts fueled by a new community of people. The fear that language purists have about this new “language” is that it will somehow kill modern day English as we know it, or impair people’s abilities to communicate properly in any language for that matter.

In his book, Txtng: the Gr8 Db8, David Crystal, Britain’s most prolific linguist, challenges the notion that texting kills language. He makes two general points: that the language of texting is hardly as deviant as people think, and that texting actually makes young people better communicators, not worse. Crystal spells out the first point by marshaling real linguistic evidence. He breaks down the distinctive elements of texting language—pictograms; initialisms, or acronyms; contractions, and others—and points out similar examples in linguistic practice from the ancient Egyptians to 20th-century broadcasting.

Shakespeare freely used elisions, novel syntax and several thousand made-up words (his own name was signed in six different ways). Even some common conventions are relatively newfangled: rules for using the oft-abused apostrophe were set only in the middle of the 19th century. The point is that tailored text predates the text message, so we might as well accept that ours is a language of vandals. Who even knows what p.m. stands for? (“Post meridiem,” Latin for “after midday,” first recorded by a lazy delinquent in 1666.)

In a British study conducted last year, results showed that children who texted—and who wielded plenty of abbreviations—scored higher on reading and vocabulary tests. In fact, the more adept they were at abbreviating, the better they did in spelling and writing. “Before you can write abbreviated forms effectively and play with them, you need to have a sense of how the sounds of your language relate to the letters,” says Crystal. The same study also found the children with the highest scores to be the first to have gotten their own cell phones.

Ireland’s Educational Committee disagrees. In their study of 37,000 Irish students aged 15 to 16, results showed that students are becoming poorer spellers and lack punctuation when writing school papers. The report branded today’s teens “unduly reliant on short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary.” According to a FOX news story, “too many test-takers were choosing to answer sparingly, even minimally, rather than seeing questions as invitations to explore the territory they had studied and to express the breadth and depth of their learning and understanding.” Ireland’s youth generally get their cell phones by the age of 12.

So who is right? Does texting harm ones ability to use a language properly? Or is it a question of culture and habits? Are the Irish lazier than the English? What is the difference between textese and writing shorthand for note taking?

Perhaps teachers need to emphasize to students that both textese and proper language use can exist harmoniously. That one can save time and finger muscles while sending messages on your favorite messaging device while maintaining the ability to write a fully punctuated, eloquent sentence. One variable does not need to kill the other, but can complement the other.

Long live the evolution of communication!

Congratulations to Rio and all Brazilians!