When I was checking in for my flight from Rio to Curitiba, I read my confirmation code to an airline employee. As I read through the combination of letters and numbers, I couldn't help but notice that the airline representative was chuckling.
I paused and thought for a second what she would be laughing at. As I looked at the code again, I noticed that it had the letter Q.
I guess I just assumed that you pronounce the letter the same as you do in Spanish (Kew, rhymes with Jew). In Portuguese, the word "cu" means asshole. I asked her how I was supposed to pronounce that letters. She said it is pronounced "kay." Then we proceeded to crack up together.
Now I know the Portuguese alphabet and have a great story to explain how I learned it.
1 comment:
Love this story. I still struggle every day with the Indonesian alphabet, especially as I often speak to people in Indo-gris (mixed English and Indonesian). The mixed language means they are never sure which vowel I am referring to, so we do a lot of "eee for Eko or for India?", "eh for Alpha or eh for Eko". Spelling the address of my office Wisma Keiai can take an hour!
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