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To understand the correlation between statism and Brazilian-style corruption one needs to consider this reality of a state that is historically above society. Statism in Brazil is a by-product of an old "spoils-system" inherited from Portugal, a country where the monarch granted to his staff and preferred subjects all sorts of graces and favours at the expense of the law.
Statism also finds its early roots in Portugal's disdain for economic freedom. In Portugal's Catholic medieval hierarchy, the class of entrepreneurs (traders) was ranked lowest on the social scale. In that country, "as in Communist China and Marxist Russia", explains C.R. Boxer, "the merchant was regarded as a parasitic and profiteering middle-man, resolved to enrich himself at the expense of his fellow-men".
Another factor that contributed to statism was the slavery system, which lasted longer in Brazil than in any other nation in the Western world. It was only abolished in 1888. In his 1879 visit to Brazil, U.S. historian Herbert H. Smith associated slavery with a certain "culture of indolence, pride, and selfishness" that, in his opinion, made many Brazilians aspire to live "as parasites on others or on the government".
Centuries of slavery had the effect of debasing the value of labour and pervert the sense of individual liberty and responsibility. It generated a society with deep contempt for any work other than that of a public job.
As a result, the state became, in the words of the great abolitionist leader Joaquim Nabuco, "the refuge of the descendents of the rich and noble families who squandered the fortunes acquired through slavery".
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8. Portuguese
Number of speakers: 191 million
Think of Portuguese as the little language that could. In the 12th Century, Portugal won its independence from Spain and expanded all over the world with the help of its famous explorers like Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator. (Good thing Henry became a navigator . . . could you imagine if a guy named "Prince Henry the Navigator" became a florist?) Because Portugal got in so early on the exploring game, the language established itself all over the world, especially in Brazil (where it's the national language), Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.
To say "hello" in Portuguese, say "Bom dia" (bohn DEE-ah).
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it is bon jee-ah, and not bohn deeah
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Actually bohn DEE-ah was right, I don't know why you are picking on such a small thing, probably in the hopes of starting another fight, since you lost your thread...
The pronounciation of dia as jee-ah is common only in certain parts of Brazil, such as Rio de Janeiro and the poorish north-west region and some African countries.
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GUEST
<<<Actually bohn DEE-ah was right,...>>>
Yes, your answer is all right. But, I prefer Brazilian pronunciation.
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Which Brazilian pronunciation? The one with Dee-ah or the one with jee-ah, cause Brazil is a big country and you can find different accents in different places inside Brazil, like Jee-ah as I stated above or Dhee-ah in the south-western region of Brazil and Dee-ah in the south of Brazil, etc...
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Accurately speaking, I'm very fond of the pronunciation of South Brazil.
It means that I like the region where people speak jee-a instead of dee-a.
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im portuguese, and im taking spanish as a second language in school
im having no troubles at all learning spanish and i can completely understand it. But there are many differences between the two languages and i required a considerable amount of learning before i could confidently say that i could speak spanish. Portuguese has a much larger vocabulary and more complex grammar structure such as all the contractions and conjugations in Portuguese. I really dont like it when people say that theyre the same language, or dialects of the same language, cause they are very different.
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PORT
You mean that Portuguese is more difficult than Spanish?
And what about Italian? You can understand it? Italian is more difficult than Portuguese? Italian is more different from Span and Port?
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Bom gee-a is General Brazilian pronunciation, used in Southeast (S. Paulo, Rio, Minas, Espírito Santo), in the Brazilian Midwest (Mato Grosso, Distrito Federal-Brasilia) and many parts of Brazilian South and Northeast.
I'd say 90 % of us say BOM GEE-A. BOM DEE-A is considered rural pronunciation of some distant places, and can be compared to hwitch pronunciation in English... (in Texas they say [hwitch] instead of [witch]) But [witch] is considered General American and [hwitch] regional.
General Brazilian pronunciation is the one used by Brazilian newscasters. And in real life, it corresponds to the pronunciation patterns of our capital BRASILIA-DF and some coastal cities like VITORIA-ES
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Brazilian has a much larger vocabulary and more complex grammar structure such as all the contractions and conjugations in Brazilian. I really dont like it when people say that Brazilian and Portuguese the same language, or dialects of the same language, cause they are very different
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“Nós, no Brasil, presos à gramática "portuguesa", somos vítimas de uma desintegração dolorosa de nós mesmos. [...]
A língua brasileira, já ninguém discute isso, diverge da portuguesa; é esta, entretanto, que a escola continua a ensinar ao brasileiro”.
(Mário Marroquim, 1931: 169-171)
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concordo pelnamente com vc , Kayo. Precisamos lembrar que já somos independentes de Portugal, e isso inclui liberdade lingüística
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Eu sou brasileiro e nós somos brasileiros aqui e fazemos o que bem entender com a nossa língua. Até mandar ela para a puta que pariu!
Pra mim, só os brasileiros têm algum direito sobre a língua deles e não toleraria nenhum português dizendo como devemos chamar a nossa língua ou dizendo que devemos usar uma gramática diferente da maneira que se fala no Brasil, só porque uma meia dúzia de portugueses assim fala e assim acha bonito.
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TEN TOP REASONS WHY BRAZILIANS DON'T UNDERSTAND PORTUGUESE
1. Portuguese is too difficult and Brazilians have small brains
2. Portuguese is a sophisticated European language
3. Brazilians want a language that only they can speak
4. Portuguese say more with less and fast
5. Brazilians need five minutes to order their coffee
6. Brazilians have short memories and big asses
7. Brazilians need to count syllables while they speak
8. Brazilians need a Portuguese grammar for dummies
9. Brazilians are not good at math either
10. Brazilians have their own language: Brazuguese
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