Palindrome is a word, phrase or number that reads the same way in both directions - from left to right and vice versa. Some examples in English language are: Madam, Amore Roma, Dee saw a seed etc. For a complete list, check here.
We also find palindromes in Portuguese language and here are some famous ones:
ANOTARAM A DATA DA MARATONA
ASSIM A AIA IA A MISSA
A DROGA DA GORDA
A MALA NADA NA LAMA
A TORRE DA DERROTA
O CÉU SUECO
O GALO AMA O LAGO
O LOBO AMA O BOLO
RIR, O BREVE VERBO RIR
A CARA RAJADA DA JARARACA
SAIRAM O TIO E OITO MARIAS
Do you know what they mean? Check our next article tomorrow for the answers ;)
One thing I find very interesting (and amusing) in our language is how some popular sayings have been misspoken for generations and today people don't know anymore their "right" version, The mistake is due to the sound formed by the words blended in speech. Below are two examples of popular sayings that have lost their original idea:
# Esse menino não para quieto, parece que tem bicho carpinteiro.
(this boy is restless, looks like he has a carpenter bug!)
The right form is: "Esse menino não para quieto, parece que tem bicho no corpo inteiro". (looks like he has a bug in his 'whole' body).
Here "carpinteiro" and "no corpo inteiro" were swapped, we can observe how close the pronunciation of the 2 are.
 |
| The carpenter bug! |
And if we stop for a moment to wonder "what a carpenter bug is", we realise that there must be something wrong with this popular saying! Can bugs be carpenters? Is it a special bug only carpenters catch? Have you ever heard of a carpenter bug?
Be it as weird as you may think, in Brazil we ended up saying that when someone (usually kids) is restless, can't stay still; this person has fallen victim of the carpenter bug. And even though we know that this is NOT the correct version of the saying, even though we know that there is NOT such a bug in our environment, we carry on saying that.
# Batatinha quando nasce, esparrama pelo chão. (fragment of a popular nursery rhyme)
(When the potato sprouts, it spreads itself on the ground)
The original version is: "Batatinha quando nasce, espalha a rama pelo chão". (spreads the foliage on the ground"
In this example, "espalha a rama" became "esparrama". :)
This is an easy one to be spotted as we do have the verb "esparramar" and "espalhar" and their meanings are very close. The problem here lies on the idea of the incorrect phrase: have you ever seen a potato plantation?
Well, actually, potatoes are roots, therefore the little potatoes live under the earth, not over it. So, how come can they "spread themselves" over the ground as the incorrect saying goes?
But I have to admit that "espalha a rama" in the original version and "esparrama" are very close in sound and nowadays, unfortunately most people don't even know how potatoes are cultivated. So, it makes sense, at least for these people, that potatoes spread themselves all over the ground. Or it doesn't?
Watch here some kids reciting the rhyme "Batatinha quando nasce" (the incorrect version)
and after performing a quick search in YOU TUBE for related videos of this nursery rhyme, I could not find any (at least on the first ten pages) that features people reciting the original verses.
The incorrect form has taken over. Forever!
But searching for "Bicho Carpinteiro", I was glad to find this nice song - Bicho Carpinteiro - played by the best accordionist Brazil has ever had: Mario Zan, who died in 2006, in São Paulo.
Enjoy!
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