8.30.2009

FREECONOMICS & FREEMIUM

FREECONOMICS
-----------Economia das coisas de graça: o livro “Free – The Future of a Radical Price” (Chris Anderson) custa US$26,99 no papel, US$9,99 em versão eletrônica e é grátis na versão “audiobook” (em inglês) (baixar em http://www.thelongtail.com/). “The Long Tail” traduzido como “teoria da cauda longa” (?!?) pela Folha de S. Paulo é uma estratégia de negócios cuja meta é vender poucas unidades de muitos e variados itens, o que substituiria o popular modelo dos "best-sellers").
FREEMIUM
-----------Junção das palavras “free” e “premium” para refletir o conceito de produtos de graça (free) para a maioria, bancados por uma minoria que paga por uma versão de mais qualidade (premium).
Fonte: Folha de São Paulo

SAUSAGE & MASH

-----------Caixas eletrônicos no leste de Londres, na Grã-Bretanha, começaram a oferecer duas opções de "idiomas" para os clientes: inglês ou "cockney rhyming slang".
-----------O cockney rhyming slang ("gíria com rimas de cockney", em tradução livre) é uma gíria do sotaque inglês cockney, típico do leste de Londres, que consiste em substituir algumas palavras por expressões com significado totalmente diferente. A única semelhança entre a palavra e a expressão é no som: as duas precisam rimar.
-----------Nos caixas eletrônicos com o "idioma", correntistas podem sacar sausage & mash ("cash", ou dinheiro), olhar seu extrato na "Charlie Sheen ("screen", ou tela) ou desbloquear suas Huckleberry Finns ("PINs", ou senhas). A opção de cockney rhyming slang estará disponível em cinco caixas eletrônicos no leste da capital britânica por três meses.

Source: CNN

8.29.2009

JAMBOREE

De uma amiga inglesa, acabo de receber a "joint party invitation" - "a Jamboree to celebrate our birthdays". And it adds: " (There will be a marquee in case of rain)".
Bem que eu gostaria de ir...
A Jamboree is "a boisterous party or noisy revel (festivity, celebration); a gathering or celebration, with planned entertainment".
A marquee is "a large tent". Poderia ser também a nossa marquise? ( Na parte externa de um edifício, cobertura proeminente que serve de abrigo: "Tenho apanhado muita chuva, dado muita corrida, me plantado debaixo de muita marquise..."
Socorro! Preciso desligar meu "traduteitor" (parece que está no automático)!!

SQUARE MEAL

Ouvi na rua, entre duas pessoas: “Mas, afinal o que você quer: comida normal ou comida japonesa?”
Mas, o que é “comida normal”? (Para os japoneses, sashimi? Para indianos, um curry bem temperado? Para os mexicanos, um chili com muita pimenta?)
A “regular meal” seria uma “comida normal”, enquanto que a “square meal” is a satisfying, a substantial meal”. (Daí lembrei que “a regular” (no inglês) é “alguém que vai a um local com frequência".
E é assim que funciona a cabeça do tradutor: você não consegue deixar de traduzir o que encontra pelo caminho!

8.28.2009

HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR SANITY

by Trey Ryder

I found these tips in a file I saved some years ago. I am not the source of these tips. Many of these things I've learned the hard way. Some are lessons I hope to learn. If you care to add anything to this list, drop me an e-mail and I'll publish an update in the future.

1. Do a good job. You'll be happier.
2. Be honest. You'll stand out from the crowd.
3. Give good service. You'll find yourself far ahead of competitors.
4. Deliver more than you promise. Then everyone wins.
5. Help your competitors. There's plenty of business for everyone.
6. Just do it. Doing something is infinitely more valuable than doing nothing.
7. Don't worry about making a mistake. Everybody makes them and most people never notice.
8. Learn how to say no. You're the only person who can make that decision.
9. Don't try to help everyone. You can't.
10. Return phone calls quickly. Most people don't.
11. Don't overlook small clients. Someday they'll be big clients.
12. Do what you love and the money will follow.
13. Don't be easily impressed. People who tell you how successful they are usually aren't.
14. Stay away from negative people. They drain your energy.
15. Don't discount your fees. You deserve the full value of what you charge.
16. If you charge a lot, make sure you're worth it.
17. When you charge too little, you undermine everything you do.
18. Accept rejection. When God closes one door He opens another.
19. Typos are always bad. Proofread.
20. If you overlook a typo, don't worry. The person reading your material will likely miss it, too.
21. Take time for fun. It recharges your batteries.
22. Take a break.
23. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff.
24. The shortest distance between two people is a smile.
25. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Like everyone else, they're pedaling as fast as they can.
26. Apologize.
27. Forgive.

If you'd like to receive Trey Ryder's weekly Lawyer Marketing Alert, send an e-mail to Trey@TreyRyder.com. Write "Subscribe LMA" in the subject line and write your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.

8.22.2009

TROLL / KOOK

Troll (noun): An individual who regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, “Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.”

Kook (noun [slang]): A person regarded as strange, eccentric, or crazy. Term used to describe a regular poster who continually posts messages with no apparent grounding in reality. Different from a troll, which implies a sort of sly wink on the part of a poster who knows better, kooks really believe what they write, to the extent that they believe anything.
-----The kook trademark is paranoia and grandiosity. Kooks will often build up elaborate imaginary support structures, fake corporations and the like, and continue to act as if those things are real even after their falsity has been documented in public.

-----While they may appear harmless, and are usually filtered out by the other regular participants in a newsgroup of mailing list, they can still cause problems because the necessity for these measures is not immediately apparent to newcomers; there are several instances on record, for example, of journalists writing stories with quotes from kooks who caught them unaware.
An entertaining web page chronicling the activities of many notable kooks can be found at http://www.crank.net/usenet.html.
Related words: crackpot, crazy, eccentric, lunatic. Informal crank, loon, loony. Slang cuckoo, ding-a-ling, dingbat, nut, screwball, weirdie, weird

Source: Answers.com

"Comentaristas Agressivos da Internet - By Daniel Feix daniel.feix@zerohora.com.br
-------Pesquisadores tentam entender os trolls, comentaristas agressivos da internet - Leitores veem num simples post de um blog ou num perfil de um site de relacionamentos a oportunidade para despejar ofensas para todos os lados
-------Trolls são monstros do folclore escandinavo, criaturas horrendas e antissociais comuns em histórias infantis. Também dão nome a uma verdadeira praga, igualmente medonha e de comportamento inadequado, que surgiu nos primórdios da internet, em fóruns e listas de discussões, mas que se espalhou após a popularização dos blogs. Cada vez mais, são muitos os debates virtuais prejudicados por suas agressivas intervenções.
-------Qualquer pessoa pode se tornar um troll. Com o – relativo – anonimato oferecido pela rede, nem é preciso criar pseudônimos para publicar comentários que escancaram, além do próprio semianalfabetismo, preconceitos, imoralidades e até crueldades verbais direcionadas a um blogueiro, a outro comentarista, ao proprietário de um site ou mesmo de um perfil num portal de relacionamentos. É um fenômeno. Que sensibiliza não só os internautas comuns, mas também a própria Academia, que aos poucos começa a se debruçar sobre o assunto. Bem aos poucos, no entanto. ..."
Veja a continuação em:
http://zerohora.clicrbs.com.br/zerohora/jsp/default.jsp?uf=1&local=1&section=Estilo%20de%20Vida&newsID=a2627634.xml

8.18.2009

ASSIDUOUS = DILIGENT = SEDULOUS = ZEALOUS

Sedulous (adjective): Diligent, assiduous, zealous; applying oneself unflaggingly to a task. This is a qualitative adjective, which means it can compare, "more sedulous, most sedulous", form an adverb, "sedulously," and a noun, "sedulity".

"If you do your homework sedulously this week, I'll take you to see the Red Sox play this weekend" is a good way for Bostonians to encourage good study habits.
"If Bob were as sedulous [aplicado, dedicado] in his work as he is in his golf, he would have dodged this last round of lay-offs."
Source: YourDictionary

8.14.2009

PERQUISITES / PERKS = BENEFITS / BENNIES

A benefit or emolument beyond a regular salary; a tip; a privilege of rank or office.

This word is often "clipped" in English slang to "perk" just as a benefit becomes a "benny." English speakers clip their words pretty indiscriminately. Usually, the end of a word is clipped as in this case but sometimes the beginning goes, as in "(tele)phone," "(tele)scope," and "(ham)burger." Occasionally, both ends of a word are clipped: "(in)flu(enza)" and "(re)fridge(rator)." [Essa mania também está "pegando" no Brasil: "refri(gerante)"]

Perquisites come with a job or office: "I guess buying the president's lunch twice a week is a perquisite of the vice presidency." Perquisites also attach to social classes: "Telling an offspring when they can go and come is one of the perquisites of fatherhood," is a useful sentiment for fathers.

“For information on job perks, visit ...”
“Presidential perks: Presidents receive perks that entitle them to special extensions of power. Certain luxuries, such as the fully staffed White House residence, Camp David retreat, Air Force One, and presidential helicopters and limousines, are provided as much to symbolize presidential power as to facilitate the conduct of official business.”


"My dream job: US$20.75 an hour plus bennies. Yours is a crappy job, but it includes health bennies."
Source: Your Dictionary; Answers.com

8.12.2009

SIGNIFICANT DIGIT

any of the digits of a number beginning with the digit farthest to the left that is not zero and ending with the last digit farthest to the right that is either not zero or that is a zero but is considered to be exact.
Source: Proofread Now

P.S.: Veja "significant other" em postagem mais antiga.

We’re No 1? No! We’re No. 1!

When you see "No." as an abbreviation for number, do you wonder why? Why not "Nu." or just plain "N"? It's from the Middle English days, when the word was nombre. The abbreviation has stayed but Modern English turned the word into number. Always include the period, though!

The correct abbreviation for number is "No." and it is used only in front of an actual number, e.g.:
No. 1 / Paragraph No. 2.
Source: ProofreadNow

8.09.2009

ABATE DE VEÍCULOS EM FIM DE VIDA (Português de Portugal)

O site português "Portal do Cidadão" comenta a nova lei de incentivo ao "abate de veículos em fim de vida". Isso, no mínimo, seria mais uma piada por aqui.

Em alguns sites de tradutores do Brasil (com a participação também de portugueses) foi comentado que os portugueses não estão aceitando as últimas mudanças na ortografia.

Realmente, as diferenças linguísticas entre as duas nações são profundas. Seria o caso de um grito de independência também em relação ao idioma?

8.07.2009

SAGRADA LAICIDADE

(Sacred Laity?)
Este é o título de um artigo escrito por Roberto Livianu e publicado na Folha de São Paulo de hoje. Transcrevo abaixo os três primeiros parágrafos:
------"Por que será que certas forças conservadoras têm defendido com tanta veemência a manutenção de símbolos de uma única religião em prédios públicos? Por que negar a norma constitucional que determina a separação entre Estado e religiões no Brasil? A quem interessa esse retrocesso?
------No ano que vem, o decreto 119-A completa 120 anos de vida. Ele significou um marco histórico, a partir do qual o Brasil optou pelo Estado laico. E determinou pela primeira vez a separação entre Estado e religiões.
------Por força dessa norma, cemitérios passaram a ser administrados pelo Estado e instituiu-se a figura do casamento civil." (Brazil is a lay state)

1. Of, relating to, or involving the laity: a lay preacher; the lay scientist; a lay witness (nonprofessional, who is not a recognized expert)
2. Not of or belonging to a particular profession; nonprofessional: a lay opinion as to the seriousness of the disease. "While the professionals use electronic equipment, lay (amateur) eavesdropping (espionagem?) remains quite wide-spread: "I normally respect the privacy of others but I did find out about my current job by eavesdropping on a conversation at a neighboring table in a cafe."
a lay state / education = estado laico / educação laica (não religioso) “Forum for the Advocacy of a Lay State”. “Cuba is a lay state.”

"Estado laico não significa Estado anti-religioso. Estado laico significa Estado de liberdade religiosa. Logo, qualquer manifestação religiosa deve não só ser permitida, como garantida pelo poder público. Isto deve ocorrer não só nas vias públicas como também nas dependências estatais, desde que não ofenda a ordem pública e os princípios garantidos pela CF/88. Assim sendo, não seria permitido o sacrifício humano, ainda que amparado por uma crença religiosa qualquer, vez que o direito à vida é uma das garantias fundamentais arroladas pela CF/88. No entanto, nada impede que numa repartição pública haja uma estátua ou pintura de Buda, Moisés, Cristo ou Maomé. Isto não ofende os bons costumes nem aqueles que professam um credo diverso do líder religioso cuja figura está representada nas dependências públicas. Creio, no entanto, que o Ministério Público foi coerente ao pretender banir os crucifixos dos Tribunais. O Cristo na cruz não representa apenas um líder religioso, representa também os juízes, pois o último ato de Jesus em vida foi julgar: julgar o bom ladrão. E absolveu. Para o MP absolver é pecado mortal." Américo Masset Lacombe - desembargador Federal aposentado (Source: Migalhas)

Não confundir com “lie in state” = funeral público = to place a person's body where it can be seen by the public. “His body was laid in state at the Capitol for three days and thousands walked by his coffin to pay their respects.”
Source: YourDictionary et al

WHISKY (UK) / WHISKEY (US)

(noun): A 'spiritual' potable distilled from rye, corn, or barley.
Scotch "whisky" and Irish "whiskey" are distinguished in spelling; "whisky" is the usual in Britain and "whiskey," in the U.S.
Source: YourDictionary

HARK BACK TO

(This phrasal verb has more than one meaning and can't be separated): to repeatedly talk about the past, sometimes in a way that annoys people. [Quem não conhece alguém assim?]

“He's always harking back to his childhood and saying how things were better then.”
“Don't mention text-messages! She'll hark back to her school days and tell you all about the importance of good handwriting and spelling!”

Source: Knights English

8.06.2009

SUSURRUS / SUSURROUS / SUSURRANT / SUSURRATE

Susurrus / susurration (noun): whispering sound

Susurrous / Susurrant (adj): Pertaining to a susurrus, having or similar to whispering or rustling sounds.

Susurrate (verb): make a whispering, rustling sound.

"Lila's susurrous voice drove all men mad—some with lust, others with disgust."
"Leaves become susurrous when the wind rakes them in the fall."
"The susurrous stockings on women walking speak to some men, while others prefer the susurrous banter of a steak on the grill."
Source: YourDictionary

8.05.2009

RENDER / RENDERER / RENDERING / RENDITION

Render (verb): (1) to give, deliver, or present (render assistance, render a decision, render an apology); (2) to melt down and/or extract in liquid form (render fat, oils, cider); (3) to create a work of artistic, dramatic, or musical interpretation (Thelonius Monk rendered "'Round Midnight" beautifully); (4) to coat with plaster or stucco; (5) to make or cause (render someone helpless). There are probably more.

Renderer: Someone (or something) who renders.”What's the best renderer of the world ? Apple claims that this makes Safari not only the world's fastest browser -- something we'll be testing, naturally -- but also the fastest renderer (executor / executante[?]) of JavaScript, with rendering speeds (velocidades de execução) 30 times faster than Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 and three times faster than Mozilla's Firefox 3.

Rendering / Rendition (noun). "Rendition" is generally restricted to reference to musical and dramatic rendering: "The Philadelphia Orchestra's rendition of Schumann's symphonies is exquisite."

"Helmut, when he had finished rendering the pig of its lard, rendered his house with stucco, and rounded off the day by rendering Beethoven's Ninth on his ukulele."
“This sentence renders me speechless (a rare state).”
“The Japanese term gappei is written in the characters meaning together, total, fit, match, and put together or combine in the first character and put together in the second. The term gappei can be rendered in English as merger, amalgamation or consolidation.”

Source: YourDictionary

8.03.2009

POWERBROKER

Powerbroker or power broker (n)
A person who exerts strong political or economic influence, especially by virtue of the individuals and votes he or she controls.

Source: Answers.com

STATESMAN

(noun): A wise, articulate, essentially non-partisan leader in the conduct of government or public affairs.

"Madeline Albright is one of the outstanding statesmen of our time" is proper and politically correct English so long as "man" is pronounced [mên] and is unaccented (see 'Etymology').

Suggested Usage: We think the term could be used to distinguish between genuine leaders in public affairs and those skilled mostly in the electoral process (politicians). "Charlie is a consummate politician but not much of statesman" would mean that Charlie is better at getting himself elected to office than running the office he is elected to.
Source: YourDictionary

Mandarin / mandarin

"Mandarin (n)" with a capital "M," refers to a group of Chinese dialects spoken in about 4/5 of China and centering on Beijing. The mandarin orange uses the same name because it is native to the same general area (southeastern Asia)

mandarin (n): In Webster's 1828 dictionary, a mandarin was a magistrate or governor of a province in China. (Mind your history, now—Webster's was speaking of the imperial government, long before Mao Zedong). From that root, the meaning of "mandarin" took on a disapproving tone in modern English until it came to refer to a behind-the-scenes powerbroker in government. It also means a member of an elite intellectual group or one who believes in rule by the cultural elite. Calling someone a "mandarin" with a small "m" usually is not flattering.

Suggested Usage: In discussions of national and local politics, today's word often comes in handy: "Tanisha's squad of mandarin mommies overthrew the librarian to gain control of Children's Book Week." You might want say "I know a couple of linguistic mandarins who use their Word of the Day to fight what they perceive is catachresis (pronunciation and usage errors)." But please, say it with a smile!

Source: YourDictionary

8.01.2009

STAND-UP COMEDY

Comédia em Pé
No programa do Jô Soares de ontem, foi apresentada essa tradução que, pelo visto, foi bem aceita no meio.

O que é uma “stand-up comedy”? Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where a comedian performs for a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. It is usually performed by a single comedian, with the aid of a hand-held microphone. A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a stand-up comic, stand-up comedian (comedienne if female) or more informally a stand-up.

Alguns "pubs" de Londres tem um pequeno palco para apresentar esse tipo de "show" para seus "patrons" (clientes de bar ou restaurante).

CASH FOR CLUNKERS

“Troque a sua Lata Velha por Grana (?)”
clunker (: n. Informal.): A decrepit machine, especially an old car; a rattletrap. A failure; a flop.

“The Cash for Clunkers program, or CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System), has only been under way for a week, but the [U.S.] federal government has already handed out $35 million of the $1 billion available.”
“Cash vouchers of up to $4,500 to trade-in their old gas guzzlers (An immoderate drinker = bebedor de gasolina)...
Source: Answers.com

R&D: P&D (Brasil); I&D (Portugal)

(Research and Development)
Brasil = Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (P&D)
Portugal = Investigação e Desenvolvimento (I&D)
Source: Portal do Cidadão (PT)