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Politeness20

  • Bom diaGood morningis said /bonn DI-a/
  • Boa tardeGood afternoonis said /bo-a TARD/
  • Boa noiteGood evening, good nightis said /bo-a NOÏT/

Directions10

  • Onde é...?Where is...?is said /ONND é/
  • Onde fica a paragem?Where is the bus stop?is said /ONND FI-ka a pa-RA-jenn/
  • Quanto tempo demora?How long does it take?is said /KOUAN-tou TEN-pou de-MO-ra/

At the restaurant12

  • Uma mesa para dois, por favorA table for two, pleaseis said /OU-ma MÉ-za PA-ra DOÏCH/
  • A ementa, por favorThe menu, pleaseis said /a i-MENN-ta/
  • O que recomenda?What do you recommend?is said /ou ke re-kou-MENN-da/

Money6

  • Quanto custa?How much is it?is said /KOUAN-tou KOUCH-ta/
  • É muito caroIt is too expensiveis said /é MOUÏN-tou KA-rou/
  • Levo esteI'll take this oneis said /LÉ-vou ÉCHT/

Transport7

  • Um bilhete, por favorOne ticket, pleaseis said /oun bi-LYÉT/
  • Ida e voltaReturn ticketis said /I-da i VOL-ta/
  • A que horas parte?What time does it leave?is said /a ke O-rach PART/

Trails7

  • O percurso está aberto?Is the trail open?is said /ou per-KOUR-sou ech-TA a-BÈR-tou/
  • É difícil?Is it hard?is said /é di-FI-sil/
  • Quantos quilómetros são?How many kilometres is it?is said /KOUAN-touch ki-LO-me-trouch SAON/

Health6

  • Preciso de ajudaI need helpis said /pre-SI-zou de a-JOU-da/
  • Preciso de um médicoI need a doctoris said /pre-SI-zou de oun MÉ-di-kou/
  • Onde é a farmácia?Where is the chemist?is said /ONND é a far-MA-si-a/

Stay5

  • Tenho uma reservaI have a bookingis said /TÉ-gnou OU-ma re-ZÈR-va/
  • Qual é a senha do wi-fi?What is the wi-fi password?is said /koual é a SÉ-gna dou ouaï-faï/
  • A que horas é o pequeno-almoço?What time is breakfast?is said /a ke O-rach é ou pe-KÉ-nou al-MÔ-sou/

Numbers5

  • um, dois, três, quatro, cincoone, two, three, four, fiveis said /oun, doïch, trêch, KOUA-trou, SINN-kou/
  • seis, sete, oito, nove, dezsix, seven, eight, nine, tenis said /séïch, SÉT, OÏ-tou, NOV, DÉCH/
  • hoje / amanhã / ontemtoday / tomorrow / yesterdayis said /OJ / a-ma-GNAN / ONN-tenn/

Palavras de Porto Santo30

Thirty words heard on the island and nowhere else: levada, vereda, salão, escarpiada, lambecas…

Island words

  • levadaAn open irrigation channel. On Porto Santo the Levada do Pico do Castelo, dug in the first half of the twentieth century, collected rainwater. The word is never translated.
  • veredaA mountain path. The Vereda do Pico Branco is an old mule track; the one up Pico do Facho is unmarked.
  • picoA peak. The island's picos are old volcanic vents, harder than the rest of the volcano; Pico do Facho, 517 m, is the highest.
  • sítioA named place. The island has a single parish, and addresses go by sítio: Campo de Baixo, Camacha, Serra de Fora…

Dishes

  • bolo do cacoA round bread baked on the caco, a heated slab. On Porto Santo it is taller, wider and made without sweet potato.
  • escarpiadaA thin maize-flour flatbread, eaten all year with gaiado or chicharros.
  • gaiado secoSkipjack salted and sun-dried, grilled or pickled.
  • lapasLimpets grilled with garlic butter. Gathering is regulated: minimum size, closed from December to March, banned when diving in the reserve.

Drinks

  • ponchaCane spirit, honey or sugar and lemon, beaten with the mexelote, the wooden muddler.
  • Listrão e CaracolThe two white grape varieties of the vines planted in the calcareous sand behind croché walls; a 1770 royal charter revived them.

Feasts

  • barracaA festival stall. The barracas of the Alameda are leased each spring for the six days of São João.
  • arraialA village feast around a saint. On Porto Santo, the pilgrimage and arraial of Nossa Senhora da Graça, 14 to 16 August, at the Pico do Castelo chapel.
  • Marchas PopularesThe danced parade of the night of 23 June, during the Festas de São João, the island's main festival.
  • Baile da Meia-VoltaPorto Santo's own dance, carried by the island's folklore group.

Sea

  • ilhéuAn islet. The island has six, all in the 2008 Marine Protected Areas Network; you land on them only with the IFCN's authorisation.
  • psamoterapiaHot-sand baths for the locomotor system: 20 minutes in a tub at 40–42 °C, or in the open.
  • calhauA pebble, and by extension a pebble beach: Calhau da Serra de Dentro, on the north-east coast.

Home

  • salãoThe green clay of Serra de Dentro, unique in Portugal, that roofed the casas de salão: cool in summer, watertight in winter.
  • fontanárioA public fountain in cut stone. People waited two to three hours for water there, time enough to talk and embroider; the Fontinha dates from 1844.
  • matamorraA hiding hole dug in the ground, about 2 m deep, where islanders took refuge during corsair raids.

Crafts

  • cantariaCut stone: red cantaria at the centre of the fountains, white Porto Santo cantaria on the edges; the stonecutters carved their mark in it, being paid by the piece.

The voice is your browser's (European Portuguese when available); without a voice, the written pronunciation remains.