Double boiler, again!

It is interesting that, in English, "double-boiler" is used as a noun (a cooking utensil per se) and not as a verb, whereas in Brazilian Portuguese it is preceded by a preposition ("em") and is more like something that complements a verb, an adverb so to speak ("cozinhar em banho maria").

In Continental (or European) Portuguese (i.e., Portuguese as it is spoken and written in Portugal), there exists a specific cooking utensil which is designed to be used in order to "cozinhar em banho-maria", but -- at least as far as I know -- there is no such thing as a single "cooking utensil" that goes by that name in Brazilian Portuguese.

Also, I have searched both the OED (latest edition, 2009) and the Merriam Webster's Unabridged (2000 edition) about the usage of "double-boil" as a verb in English, and it has been to no avail. It definitely seems NOT to be an occurrence in everyday speech -- at least as far as these two authorities go.

"Double boiler" + "undershirt" + recommendations...

Banho-maria = "double boiler".

[Merriam-Webster's definition for "double boiler" --> Noun:  a cooking utensil consisting of two vessels, one fitting into the other, the contents of the upper being cooked by boiling water in the lower].

Camiseta (regata) q se usa por baixo da roupa, para homens = "undershirt".

[M-W's definition for "undershirt" --> Noun: a collarless undergarment with or without sleeves and usually of cotton jersey].

For more strange words, expressions, and curiosities in general, see books by Michael A. Jacobs and also by Prof. José Ricardo. Among Jacobs' books, I'd recommend Como não aprender inglês (vol. I & II).

Prof. José Ricardo's books include the magnificent Enciclopédia da língua inglesa (vol. I & II), which, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), still is a "must have" for all ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers in Brazil.

I guess you can still buy Prof. José Ricardo's books by writing directly to him. His "snail-mail" address is: Av. Atlântica, 4090, Ed. Joana do Mar, apto. 602. Balneário Camboriú, SC 88330-000.

By the time I bought his books, his email address used to be: prof.josericardo@uol.com.br, but I'm not sure whether he will reply.

As for Jacobs' books, I'd try ordering them through Estante Virtual at http://www.estantevirtual.com.br/. It's likely you will find them there (used but good!) at half the price you'd pay at a conventional bookstore...

"To join profit and pleasure"

This morning an E.E. II student asked me how to say "unir/juntar o útil ao agradável" in English, and I just couldn't remember.  I remember telling her that the expression wasn't translated literally -- not at least as far as the usage of the preposition ("a") goes in the Portuguese expression because of the verb ("unir algo 'a' algo"), and also, of course, that both Portuguese words "útil" and "agradável" cannot be translated (again, at least not literally) as "profit" and "pleasure".  So, here it goes: "unir/juntar o útil ao agradável" in Portuguese is the equalivalent to "to join profit and pleasure" in English.  I remembered how to say it this morning as I was driving back home from UFPI after classes.  Sometimes I think I'm just getting old when I can't remember certain things, such as this very common expression in English!

Expressão Escrita I e II

COMPOSITIONS, DRAFTS and PORTFOLIOS

• You must go by certain rules to write down your assignments (your composition drafts) and to assemble your portfolios for this course.
• The first golden rule is to always write your compositions by hand. Please do not use word processors or any other mechanical device, but your own writing.
• Your compositions must be written down in those big notebook sheets with ruled paper.
• As your compositions get corrected, you will always turn in the previous draft/s along with the new one. This will help me find out if your previous mistakes have been corrected.
• You shall keep the composition pattern in the handout I presented to you during the first day of classes as you go along the semester. If you do not, it is likely you will have your grades lowered.
• Now, the portfolios. Every one of your composition drafts will be part of your portfolios. So, you will collect them and keep them all in a safe place, so that you will have easy access to them when the time comes for you to assemble your portfolios. Do it as follows:
• In an A4 sheet of paper, you will write the following heading (font Times New Roman, size 12), justified in the middle of the upper portion of the sheet:

Universidade Federal do Piauí – UFPI

Centro de Ciências Humanas e Letras – CCHL

Departamento de Letras – DL

Língua Inglesa VII – Expressão Escrita I

Prof. Dr. Wander Nunes Frota

• This will be accompanied by a line in the middle of the same sheet, which will read: 1st PORTFOLIO (or 2nd, accordingly), plus another line with your full name, and your university ID number.
• In the lower portion of the sheet, a final line will be added with the date you turn in your portfolio, everything justified.
• Attention: Please Do NOT staple your portfolio or your compositions; paperclips will do just fine!
• Before each composition and all its drafts (1st, 2nd, ..., and final), you’ll place another A4 sheet of paper (which will serve as cover to each composition) in which you will write: Composition # (1, 2, 3, 4 etc) and the title of the corresponding book chapter, all justified, right in the middle of the sheet.
• In the first portfolio, you will get to assemble the first two, three or four compositions plus all their drafts. In the second portfolio, you will have all the remaining compositions and all their respective drafts.
• The two portfolios will be the grades you will earn for this course, so be careful to follow these rules when time comes for you to assemble each one of the portfolios.

Ementa E.E. I

Os estudantes de Letras-Inglês são formalmente apresentados ao Process Writing e as suas várias técnicas e estratégias de funcionamento, e, a partir daí, desenvolvem suas ¬habilidades de escrita, partindo sempre de atividades mais simples para as mais complexas.

Objetivo Geral:

• Desenvolver a capacidade e a habilidade específica de redação em língua inglesa.

Objetivos Específicos:

• Aprender a aplicar as técnicas do Process Writing de acordo com o tipo de redação que se pede;
• Compreender o Process Writing como a maneira britânica, estadunidense etc de escrever textos (curtos e/ou mais longos);
• Diminuir progressivamente os erros ao escrever textos em Inglês.

Critérios e Formas de Avaliação

• As duas (ou três) notas desta disciplina serão as notas dos dois (ou três) porta-fólios.
• As redações serão corrigidas individualmente e revistas pelo professor, e a nota de cada porta-fólio será única e final.
• A assiduidade geral do aluno e também na entrega das redações e dos porta-fólios contam pontos preciosos para a nota final de cada porta-fólio.
• Os porta-fólios serão confeccionados conforme instruções na Apresentação da disciplina, no primeiro dia de aula – e também nas cópias em anexo, que todos os alunos devem ter em mãos para consulta sempre que necessário.

Bibliografia:

• BROOKS, A.; GRUNDY, P. Beginning to Write: Writing Activities for Elementary and Intermediate Learners. Cambridge: CUP, 1998. (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers, 19).
• MACLIN, A. Reference Guide to English: A Handbook of English as a Second Language. Washington, DC: Office of English Language Programs, 2001.
• PAGE, M.E.M. ESL Writing: Intermediate & Advanced. Piscataway: Research & Education Association, 2007.
• SPENCER, C.M.; ARBON, B. Foundations of Writing: Developing Research and Academic Writing Skills. Chicago: National Textbook Co., 1997.
• STRAUCH, A.O. Bridges to Academic Writing. Cambridge: CUP, 1998. [our textbook]

G e n e r a l   A d v i c e

• Your ideas must be expressed in a practical, reasonable, and consistent way;

• Do not misinterpret the subject of your composition, which would turn it into an inappropriate essay;

• Discard ideas that have little or no relation at all to the subject;

• Construct a plan which shows the topic of each paragraph and possibly a few ideas to be developed;

• The opening and closing paragraphs have their own importance. The opening paragraph is the first impression the reader gets, so it should aim to awaken immediate interest. The closing paragraph should bring your composition to an appropriate conclusion;

• Above all, avoid thinking in your own language and translating – doing this inevitably leads to ‘interference mistakes’ and to the kind of expression which might sound natural in your language, but would appear false and clumsy in plain English. Often, a student’s writing may be grammatically correct, but unacceptable because of interference from the native language in style, usage, or arrangement of ideas. So, it would be nice if you could and would avoid transferring the structure of your native language to the target language;

• Make full use of the vocabulary you know, and do not try out any new vocabulary you are not familiar with, unless you check it out in a good dictionary before using it;

• Unless there is some purpose in using it, slang is best avoided;

• Conversational and other verbal abbreviations are not normally used in a formal composition;

• Reread, that is, check spelling, punctuation, grammar (including verb tenses), word order and whether the ideas are logically set out and make sense;

• Learning to write is a step-by-step process where some mastery at one level is necessary before the student proceeds to the next level. The first step is learning the basic sentence patterns; the next step is learning how to amplify them; the last step involves developing cohesive paragraph and multiparagraph texts that adhere to English rhetorical rules.

Expressão Escrita II - Ementa

Ementa:

Os estudantes de Letras-Inglês darão continuidade ao estudo do Process Writing e suas várias técnicas e estratégias de funcionamento, para, a partir daí, desenvolver suas ¬habilidades de escrita, partindo sempre de atividades mais simples para as mais complexas.

Objetivo Geral:

• Desenvolver a capacidade e a habilidade específica de redação em língua inglesa.

Objetivos Específicos:

• Aprender a aplicar as técnicas do Process Writing de acordo com o tipo de redação que se pede;

• Compreender o Process Writing como a maneira britânica, estadunidense etc de aprender a escrever textos (curtos e/ou mais longos) em língua materna;

• Diminuir progressivamente os erros ao escrever textos em Inglês.

Critérios e Formas de Avaliação:

• As duas (ou três) notas desta disciplina serão as notas dos dois porta-fólios previstos para as datas acima.

• As redações serão corrigidas individualmente e revistas pelo professor, e a nota de cada porta-fólio será única e final.

• A assiduidade geral do aluno e também na entrega das redações e dos porta-fólios contam pontos preciosos para a nota final de cada porta-fólio.

• Os porta-fólios serão confeccionados conforme instruções na Apresentação da disciplina, no primeiro dia de aula – e também nas cópias em anexo, que todos os alunos devem ter em mãos para consulta sempre que necessário.

Bibliografia:

• BROOKS, A.; GRUNDY, P. Beginning to Write: Writing Activities for Elementary and Intermediate Learners. Cambridge: CUP, 1998. (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers, 19).

• MACLIN, A. Reference Guide to English: A Handbook of English as a Second Language. Washington, DC: Office of English Language Programs, 2001.

• PAGE, M.E.M. ESL Writing: Intermediate & Advanced. Piscataway: Research & Education Association, 2007.

• SPENCER, C.M.; ARBON, B. Foundations of Writing: Developing Research and Academic Writing Skills. Chicago: National Textbook Co., 1997.

• STRAUCH, A.O. Bridges to Academic Writing. Cambridge: CUP, 1998. [our textbook]