Sâo Paulo, Rio De Janeiro, Salvador...they sound so exotic and tropical to us non-Brazilians. But as soon as you have a basic grasp of the Portuguese language, then you realise that actually these names are really mundane and boring. So here's my guide to boring Brazilian place names:
Sâo Paulo - St. Paul
Rio De Janeiro - January River
Salvador - Saviour
Santos - Saints
Recife - Reef
Belo Horizonte - Nice horizon
Rio Preto - Black river
Rio Branco - White river
Ouro Preto - Black gold
Natal - Christmas
Fortaleza - Fort
Porto Alegre - Happy port
Campo Grande - Big field
Boa Vista - Good view
Sâo José Do Rio Preto - St. Jose of the black river
Brasília - Britain-chester
So what do we learn from this? Well not a lot, obviously. Just because January River is such a tedious name doesn't stop Rio from being lovely. I suppose it does show us that the Portuguese settlers were very unimaginative folks, and that, despite it's faults, Woodingdean is a very exotically named place to have grown up.
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6 comments:
I really like January River as a place name, it sounds like a film title from way back, an unfinished Capra film or something.
My mum lives in a place called Peterlee. Ian at work still thinks I'm making it up and it doesn't exist.
But January's the dullest month of the year. You have to go back to work after all the Christmas and new year fun, which has left you penniless and with no holiday in sight, meanwhile the the lousiest weather of the year is outside the window, during the few hours of daylight there are.
But I suppose here in Brazil, the opposite is true, it's the best time of year, so that might explain it.
Peterlee is actually named after someone called Peter Lee, isn't it? Man, that's unimaginative. What's wrong with Peterton, Leeville etc?
My birthday is in January, and Heath Ledger was inconsiderate enough to pop his clogs on the very same day.
Peterlee is a post war town, with a big industrial estate and lots of asbestos. Other ploaces of note in the north east include Pity Me, and No Place.
How are they for imaginative?
Peterham Leespur?
Grosse Peter Blanklee?
..I can't think of anymore right now.
To me, English placenames generally sound quite quaint and Ealing comedy-esque. Coz I grew up with anglicised versions of Irish names, which usually kept the pronunciation but spelled it more phonetically.
Portuguese and Spanish placenames make me think of Westerns.
Yeah, but about all the Indian names? Itaquaquecetuba is my favourite, and Ubatuba's not bad either.
There's a town in Wyoming called Bill, apparently because there were a few men called Bill in the area when the town was created.
Okay, I admit that Ubatuba is a fantastic name, but I chose to ignore it because it messes up my admittedly weak point. I must visit though...
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