Inglês como Segunda Língua · a copa se desdobra
The Principia Orthogona was written to be read in Portuguese and English simultaneously — not translated, but parallel. The same ideas live in both languages at once. This workshop uses the bilingual text as a language-learning tool: you read in the language you know, and the other language teaches itself through proximity.
Below is an excerpt from the book in both languages side by side. Read it in your stronger language first, then try the other one. Notice which words you can guess.
The cajueiro does not plan the forest. It becomes one. The aerial root reaches, touches the ground, re-roots, becomes a new trunk. It does not stop being part of the first tree. It becomes more of it.
O cajueiro não planeja a floresta. Ele se torna uma. A raiz aérea alcança, toca o chão, re-enraíza, torna-se um novo tronco. Não deixa de ser parte da primeira árvore. Torna-se mais dela.
"From Latin insignare, to point out, to mark. Ensinar is not authority — it is a finger pointing."
Taiye Selasi's 2014 TED talk reframes the question we always ask immigrants wrong. Instead of "where are you from?" — which demands a single root — she asks "where are you local?" This is the U operator in action: unfolding, expanding, the canopy.
As you watch, write down 3 places where you are local — places where you have rituals, relationships, and restrictions (her three Rs). Bring that list Thursday.
What language do you think in? What language do you dream in? Does the answer change depending on what you're thinking or dreaming about?
Em que idioma você pensa? Em que idioma você sonha?
The book uses the word camará for the reader — companion in the circle. What word in your language describes the feeling of being welcomed into a group you didn't know before?
Que palavra no seu idioma descreve a sensação de ser acolhido num grupo que você não conhecia?
Academic English can feel like a locked door. What is the one sentence, phrase, or word in English that unlocked something for you — that made you feel you belonged in this language?
Qual frase ou palavra em inglês abriu uma porta para você?
Signups are closed until dates are set. To be told when they are, write to g6llc@proton.me.
Free and open to all. This session especially welcomes people at any English level — beginners, intermediate, advanced. The mix is the point. Bring a friend at a different level than you.