Dear Language Enthusiast, Welcome to the next edition of our Portuguese newsletter.   As fall approaches, we are all feeling the pull of the back to school season. Even if we do not have children boarding the bus, the smell in the air, the change of season and the end of summer vacation still remind us of school. That is why we have dedicated this issue to education. We thought you might be interested in learning about how Brazil differs in its approach to education. We believe that knowing about the culture gives you an insight into the language. We have also included a tip for PortugueseNow! users, news about our web site and a new product announcement. We hope you enjoy it. Sincerely, Transparent Language www.transparent.com Em português: A capoeira, uma combinação brasileira de artes marciais e dança, tem já há algum tempo sido parte da cultura do Brasil. Recentemente, tem se tornado uma importante ferramenta educacional para ambos crianças e adultos. Neste exemplar, você lerá a respeito da importância da capoeira no Brasil. A capoeira foi primeiramente praticada por escravos africanos no Estado da Bahia. Floresceu como uma tradição após a abolição da escravatura no Brasil em 1888. Muitos dos ex-escravos migraram para áreas urbanas, somente para descobrirem que não poderiam conseguir empregos. A capoeira não somente serviu como uma fuga da conseqüente pobreza, mas serviu também para expandir o conhecimento da cultura e identidade afro-brasileira, e manter uma forte comunidade dentre elas. Todavia, essa prática tornou-se um alvo de uma estrutura social brasileira ainda repressiva. Um comando policial especial foi criado para reforçar a proibição da capoeira. Uma virada interessante na história é que aquela polícia especial teve que aprender capoeira para que pudesse combatê-la. Todavia, em 1937, o Presidente Getúlio Vargas levantou um édito com o encorajamento do Mestre Bimba. Mestre Bimba é considerado um dos mestres mais influenciadores da capoeira no Brasil. Após de apresentar-se ao Presidente Vargas para convencê-lo a levantar o édito, ele abriu a primeira escola de capoeira no Brasil. Sendo um mecanismo de defesa, a capoeira também é considerada uma forma de entretenimento. O ato de apresentação é chamado "o jogo de capoeira." É apresentada num círculo entre dois parceiros, os quais trocam movimentos ofensivos e defensivos, enquanto movendo-se em volta do círculo. O ritmo do jogo é determinado pela música do "berimbau," um instrumento em forma de cuia. A capoeira tem sido freqüentemente mencionada como construtora de importantes habilidades vitais e sociais, tais como: confiança própria, vigilância e coragem. Por essa razão, muitas escolas ensinam a capoeira nas aulas de educação física para levar a educação a um nível que está relacionado com a realidade. O Projeto Axé é um programa que foi iniciado em Salvador, na Bahia, em 1990. O programa proporciona educação para as crianças de rua de Salvador. Há muitos projetos e programas que são oferecidos pelo Projeto Axé, incluindo o aprendizado dos direitos humanos e cidadania, a emissão de documentos legais pessoais, a provisão de moradia e mentores. Todavia, o maior aspecto dessa iniciativa é o uso da capoeira para educar as crianças. Em geral, as crianças são pobres e acostumadas com a violência das ruas do Brasil. O uso da capoeira, como uma ferramenta de aprendizagem, ajuda as crianças a controlarem seus comportamentos e ensina-as a reagirem de uma forma temperada. Em 1997, o Projeto Axé experimentou dificuldades financeiras e ia fechar suas portas. Desde então, um número de filantropistas dos Estados Unidos patrocinaram o programa e criaram intercâmbios com crianças do Harlem. O uso da capoeira no programa, foi uma das coisas que mais os impressionaram. In English: Capoeira, a Brazilian combination of martial arts and dance, has long been a part of Brazil's culture. More recently, it has become an important educational tool for both children and adults. In this issue of the newsletter, you will read about the role of Capoeira in Brazil. Capoeira was first practiced by African slaves in the state of Bahia. It flourished as a tradition after the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888. Many of the ex-slaves migrated to urban areas only to find that they could not get jobs. Capoeira not only served as an escape from the consequential poverty, but it served to increase the awareness of Afro-Brazilian culture and identity and maintain strong community among Afro-Brazilians. However, this practice soon became a target of the still repressive Brazilian social structure. A special police force was created to enforce the prohibition of Capoeira. An interesting twist to the history is that the special police had to learn Capoeira in order to combat it. However, in 1937, President Getulio Vargas lifted the ban with the encouragement of Mestre Bimba. Mestre Bimba is considered one of the most influential Capoeira masters in Brazil. After he performed for President Vargas in order to convince him to lift the ban, he opened the first Capoeira school in Brazil. As well as being a mechanism for defense, Capoeira is also considered a form of entertainment. The act of performing is called "the game of Capoeira." It is performed in a circle between two partners, who exchange offensive and defensive movements while moving around the circle. The rhythm of the game is determined by the music of the "berimbau," a bow-shaped instrument. Capoeira has often been cited as building important life and social skills, such as self-confidence, alertness and courage. For this reason, many schools teach Capoeira in physical education classes in order to bring education to a level that correlates to reality. Projeto Axé is a program that was started in Salvador, Bahia in 1990. The program provides education for the street children of Salvador. There are various projects and programs that are run by Projeto Axé, including human rights and citizenship education, the issuing of personal legal documents, provision of housing, and mentoring. However, the most unique aspect of this initiative is the use of Capoeira to educate the children. In general, the children are poor and accustomed to the violence of the streets of Brazil. The use of Capoeira as a learning tool helps the children control their behavior and teaches them to interact with others in a tempered manner. In 1997 Projeto Axé was experiencing financial difficulty and decided to close its doors. Since then, a number of philanthropists from the United States have funded the program and created exchanges with children from Harlem. The use of Capoeira in the program was one of the things that impressed them the most. Sources: www.acay.com.au www.cds.ufsc.br ourworld.compuserve.com www.bnbcomp.net www.brazil-brasil.com www.comminit.com Tips for PortugueseNow! Don't be overwhelmed by a Title! You don't have to work with all the text at once. Focus on a paragraph, a page, or even a single sentence - however you feel comfortable. For a quick summary and some background information about any Title, choose Help / Author Introduction while the Title is open. It's a good way to get an idea of what the text is about. Numbers are a handy thing to know in any language. Many Titles contain numbered lists. The sound for these numbers is recorded, just like any other word, so you can learn to count out loud in the foreign language by double-clicking on the numbers. 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