SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE?

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

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Visiting with some friends one asked how easy was it for me to become fluent in several Romance languages besides my native Spanish. “Spanish and Portuguese… they’re just about the same, aren’t they?” I weighed my answer carefully as I didn’t want to give my friend a bad answer. So, instead, I decided to write this post as my answer on my blog where I have readers from more than 100 countries.

I looked over my translations several times, and the only exact cognate words I could find were two: tempo (time) in both Italian and Portuguese, and finestra in Italian and Catalan.

English: The girl took her doll and threw it out the window. She then knelt down on the floor, surrounded by her toys and called her grandmother, crying like a baby.

Português do Brasil: A garota agarrou a boneca e atirou-a pela janela. Ela então ajoelhou-se no chão, cercada por seus brinquedos e chamou sua avó, todo o tempo chorando como uma criança.

Português de Portugal: A rapariga pegou na boneca e atirou-a pela janela fora. Em seguida ajoelhou-se no chão, rodeada pelos seus brinquedos e chamou pela sua avó enquanto chorava como uma criança.

Italiano: La ragazza afferrò la sua bambola e la gettò fuori dalla finestra. Poi si inginocchiò sul pavimento, circondata dai suoi giocattoli e chiamò la nonna, per tutto il tempo piangendo come una bambina.

Español: La chica agarró su muñeca y la tiró por la ventana. Luego se arrodilló en el suelo, rodeada de sus juguetes y llamó a su abuela, mientras lloraba como una niña.

Català: La nena va agafar la seva nina i tirar per la finestra. Ella llavors agenollar a terra, envoltada per les seves joguines i anomenat la seva àvia, tota l’estona plorant com un nen.

Galego: A rapaza colleu a boneca e arroxouno pola fiestra. Ela entón arroxouse no chan, rodeada dos seus xoguetes e chamou á súa avoa, mentres tanto choraba como una nena.

Français: La fille saisit sa poupée et la jeta par la fenêtre. Elle s’est ensuite agenouillée sur le sol, entourée de ses jouets et a appelé sa grand-mère, tout en pleurant comme un enfant.

Română: Fata și-a luat păpușa și a aruncat-o pe fereastră. Apoi a îngenuncheat pe podea, înconjurată de jucăriile ei și a sunat-o pe bunica ei, în timp ce plângea ca un copil.

Latinum: Puella pupa tulit eam, et miserunt eum in fenestra. Tunc pronus in area, et vocavit eam aviam cincta se nugas omnes qui dum a puero quasi clamantis.

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”