"Ah, tipo assim..."
and other small words
Learning goals:
to identify the usage and meaning of linguistic forms frequent in spoken language
Level: Intermediate
Spoken and written language can have different features depending on the context, audience, and purpose of communication. In less formal or less monitored contexts, we notice the use of abbreviations and small words, for example, in internet language.
Now we are going to see examples of those abbreviations, small words, slang, and other features of spoken language in the conversation snippets below.
1) Listen to the audio and follow along with the transcript. Discuss with your partners and help each other understand the general context of each excerpt.
intermediate-activity-01.waveu escolhi a tecnologia de fazer cópias tipo xerox ou fotocópia
no início da tecnologia um documento em papel
[...]
agora temos a cópia três dimensional
no futuro quando se avançar a tecnologia
as pessoas se vão copiar como tipo clone
Excerpt of an oral assignment of a student in PORT 325 talking about technologies of the future.
Source: Multilingual Corpus of Assignments Writing and Speech (Staples, 2019-)
bfamdl23.wavJanayna and Barbara are friends. They are undergraduate students. Barbara is explaining to Janayna how RPG online game works. Janayna is from São Paulo-SP and Barbara is from Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil.
Source: RASO, T., & MELLO, H. (Eds.). (2012). C-Oral-Brasil I: corpus de referência do português brasileiro falado informal. Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG.
Janayna: mas que missão que cê tem que fazer nesse jogo?
Bárbara: ah… é tipo assim… calma que eu vou… olha, eu sou… no caso… a personagem que eu quero jogar aqui, eu sou uma maga, então eu tenho que evoluir essa maga porque eu quero virar bruxa
[...]
Bárbara: cê podia jogar, por que cê nu joga? porque você é escrota!
Janayna: é… eu num vejo graça nisso… ué…
Bárbara: por quê, velho? cê nunca jogou…
Janayna: mas eu num eu nunca tive muita aptidão pra jogos não…
Bárbara: tenta… é super legal, cara! tem muita gente… é tipo um chat… igual você conheceu suas namoradas… nó! falei uma coisa escrota <laughs>
[...]
Bárbara: e… agora eu… fiz essa maga… e… tô jogando só com ela…
Janayna: uhum
Bárbara: vô colocar o girassol de novo… mesmo que você me zoe… pra caralho… porque pelo menos o girassol me dá um de defesa… olha, tem vários personagens, saca? esse aqui é mago, igual eu, só que é masculino… essa aqui é…
bfamdl33.wavHermínia and Janayna are mother and daughter. Hermínia is showing Janayna how to prepare "bolinhos de chuva" (fried sweet pastry). They are in their kitchen. They are both from São Paulo state.
Source: RASO, T., & MELLO, H. (Eds.). (2012). C-Oral-Brasil I: corpus de referência do português brasileiro falado informal. Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG.
Janayna: tem canela em pó?
Hermínia: não… só em pedaço… mas a gente faz pó dela
Janayna: como?
Hermínia: batendo
Janayna: no liqüidificador?
Hermínia: não
Janayna: porque daí a gente colocava… canela em vez de açúcar
Hermínia: não… mas tem que pôr açúcar e canela… cabeça foi posta em cima do pescoço pa pensar, sabia?
Janayna: foi posta?
Hermínia: é
Janayna: mas daí ela vai ficar… canela granulada… não canela em pó!
Hermínia: uhn… "quem num tem cão caça com gato"
2) In groups, identify the meaning and usage of the words highlighted. Write them in the appropriate gap.
a. _______ is generally used before giving an example or being more specific. In English, it is similar to the word 'like', as in 'I learned how to cook Italian food, like pasta and risotto'.
b. _______ is generally used in the same contexts as 'tipo'.
c. _______ is the abbreviation of 'você'.
d. _______ is generally used when you are pointing someone's attention to what you are going to say. In English, it's similar to 'Look, here is what I'm talking about'
e. _______ is the abbreviation of 'olha'.
f. In speech, it is common to not say the whole word 'não', so its abbreviation can be transcribed as _______.
g. _______ is an exclamation that can have a variety of meanings depending on the context, In the dialogue, it could be expressed by the gesture 🤷🏽♀️.
h. _______ and _______ are vocatives (words to invoke a person). In English, they are similar to 'dude'.
i. _______ is the abbreviation of the exclamation 'Nossa!' (which is originally a shorter form of Nossa Senhora, in English, Holy Mother). It can express a variety of feelings, including surprise or reproval.
j. _______ is a sound that shows approval or understanding.
k. _______ is the abbreviation of 'vou'.
l. _______ is the abbreviation of 'estou'.
m. _______ is the abbreviation of 'para'.
n. _______ is a word to express continuity, such as 'então'.
o. _______ from the verb 'saber', as a question at the end of a sentence is used to check comprehension. In the dialogue, it is used in a sarcastic manner.
p. _______ from the verb 'sacar' is used to check comprehension at the end of a sentence. It has more of a slang register.
q. _______ is a curse expression to express emphasis, such as 'as f*' in English.
r. _______ / escroto is a curse word that can be used to disqualify something or someone.
Listen to the excerpts again and pay attention to how those words are said (intonation, pauses, etc.)
3) Compare context, speakers, and intended audience of each excerpt.
a) Are they close/intimate to the person or intended audience they are talking to? Are they monitoring what they are saying or speaking more spontaneously? How do you know?
b) Do you think they would change the way they speak in a different context? Think about the contexts in which you would or would not use such abbreviations, expressions, and slangs you just studied (Emailing professors? Texting friends? Phone call with grandparents? Oral/Written assignments in this course?).
4) Vocabulary tip: there is a sentence in the last conversation that does not mean what is literally said. It is a proverb or a saying. Can you spot it? What does it mean? Is there a correspondent in English or Spanish?