The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1911-11-16
VERBAL PITFALLS,
Traps That Await English Speak
lnc Tourists IN Portugal.
THERE ARE NO TOES THERE.

But, Then, One Has Twenty Fingers
70 Make Up tho Loss. Fingers Of the
Hand and Fingers Of the Foct--oddi-
ties Of the Verb 10 Wslkg
The EngIishman or American ~
Portugal who thinks IN bis own Ian
guage and tries to speak In the Ian
guage Of the country he Is visiting u
great smile producer.
For Instance, you never marry any
body In Portugal unless strange para
dox-you happen to be a priest You
marry with" your beloved Maria, and
The priest marries you both. In the
same way you never dream about any.
body, but always with them.
When the landlady at your boarding
house IL ladling out your soup you
ea.l out, Arrive" You are telling
her to arrive at the stopping point-in
sther words, that you don't want more
hnn she has put out. When you see
L child that you want to fondle at the
jther side Of the room you say TO her,
Arrive here" And the child prompt
y arrives"
In England when we speak Of walk
ne we refer to certain use Of the
egs. But the Portuguese verb ITO
walk" has many more Specifications.
In Portugal not only do the people
walk, but also the carts and cars walk,
he trains walk. balloon walks. and.
Il boat walks. Stranger still. the
hands Of clock walk round the facet
clock. BY the way, never goes; Il
works"
Unless you are very intimate or very
qlde you never say to your fair part
ner at dinner, '.Will you have some
sread r. etc. You inquire. "Wlll your
,xcellency have some bread2 or. VIII
he lady have some bread 2" the lady
meaning not some other lady, but your
salr partner herself
In spite OF winter you are never cold
IN Portugal unless You are q corpse.
You are Awith" cold In the same
way you are occasionally "with' heat.
with" headache. with" hunger or
with" thirst. when you have occa-
don 10 discuss the weather you say.
III makes cold. .If 'makes' fog"
tc. on your way home from an en-
ertainment you tell your companion
hat II makes dark.
II speaking OF her husband q wife
.ays he Is a ''tame" man She merely
4 faeans that he II man of peace and
Justice.
The word "houser means more than
With MS. Your buttons share your own
lIss..silege OF living in house. The
buttOnholes are called "h0uses OF
The buttons" The squares on chess
hoard are also houses. You don't
say. ~T'm going TO shave" You say.
I'm going to do the beard Neither
10 you say on the way to the bar.
hers. .I'm going to get my hair cut. ;"
hut you say, "I'm going TO cut my
9air."
When you are In Portugal you have
twenty fingers. but no toes. II you
want to make distinction you
ny fingers of the hand or
fingers Of the foot" Instead OF
clIing the servant to set the table
You tell her to .put" IT, When you
10 to the theater you "assist" You
lon't mean by that that you -come
M nor even that you do little scene
hitting. You mean that you are there.
Residents in Oats who mediate TAX
ng holiday In Portugal will be re-
eved to hear that no one plays the
plano there. They merely touch" IL
Neither do they ring bells They
touch" them also. But they "play"
stones, meaning that they throw
hem, and q ship at sea ''plays" when
/ pitches and tosses.
Be careful how you tell your land
ady thar you intend to dine out or
she may think. with a shrug OF the
.houlders. that you intend dining
"outside"--i. g.. in the garden. In an
ever to the kind Inquiries OF your
friends don't say that you are well;
say that you are good" Be careful
In your use OF words. Some words
similar In form are widely different in
meaning. as an American missionary
nee discovered to his cost when
preaching In Brazil. once Portuguese
olcny. His subject was "The Prodi-
gal Son" and he gravely Informed his
hearers that when the young man re-
ufned home his father killed for him
he fatted beetle! But be had merely
made q mistake ia one solitary vowel.
A sleeping" bridge means a bridge
that is immovabIe lnot a drawbridgel.
Stagnant water also sleeps" So do
trucks or trains that wait anywhere
turing the night. When they laugh In
] Portugal they ''untie themselves to
laugh aud when they cry they fun
make themselves In tears" A persist
entity unfortunate man says. Il am so
unlucky that Il fell on my back 1
should break my noseF London An
swers.