Chapter · Brazil · Language
Two books for one language
A phrasebook of 1578 and a Jesuit grammar of 1595
The language of the whole Brazilian coast was written down twice in the sixteenth century: by a traveller who wanted to trade, and by a Jesuit who wanted to preach. Neither studied it for itself, and yet it is through them that we know it. This path reads both books together.
Context first
A lesson to read before the others, to set the scene.
- The place
- The era
- The people
The lessons in this chapter
- 1Counting to five, then showing fingersThe 1578 dialogue records five number-words, then explains that beyond them you count on your fingers and your neighbours'. That is not a limit: it is another way of counting.9 min
- 2A big oysterIn his phrasebook, Léry introduces himself by his Tupi name: Lery-oussou, a big oyster. The host language had remade his name, and he printed it as it stood.9 min
- 3The colour of a ringdoveThe longest list in the 1578 phrasebook is of cloth colours, one of which is called the colour of a ringdove. A script of arrival records what will really need to be discussed.9 min
How these lessons are written
Each lesson starts from first-hand sources: Wikisource, Gallica, Persée, archives, museums and institutes. A fact without a source does not get written, and every lesson lists its own as direct links.
The rhythm
A lesson is five minutes of cards and four questions. Those questions then come back the next day, then at 3, 7, 21 and 60 days, and that return is what makes it stick. One a day is enough, and you can do several in a row.