Get ready for your next trip: Learn the Real Portuguese from Lisbon

Find out more about Brais

• 1) Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I am native speaker of Spanish and Portuguese. I was born and raised in Spain and have spent a lot of time in Portugal throughout my life. Because my family is originally from Latin America, I am able to teach and transition seamlessly from Spanish and Latin American varieties.

• 2) Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  Frida Kahlo, the noted painter from Mexico, is a representative and hugely inspirational figure. Her talent as a painter, her ability to challenge gender roles and conceptions about disability, and her willingness to reflect on her life through her work make her an unrivalled representative of the sophistication, boldness, and inventiveness of Latin American culture.

• 3) Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like?

  In Spanish, "tener calle" is used to refer to someone that has been around the block and is rich in life experiences. It means literally "to have street." In Portuguese, "saudades" means the missing of something or the longing for something that one doesn't have. It is also used for homesickness.
  
  I have a weakness for the traditions of Flamenco and Tango in Spain and Argentina, respectively. The intensity of the music and the dance is unrivaled.

• 4) Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  For me, Spanish and Portuguese are two of my 3 mother tongues and, obviously, they are an integral component of my cultural identity and of who I am as an individual. Each of the languages I speak are also lenses through which I relate to the world and I experience it cognitively and emotionally. I firmly believe that speaking a variety of languages expands your view of the world.

• 5) What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  The irregularity of the grammar and syntax of romance languages can be sometimes overwhelming. The way to address this issue is by creating a very structured learning process based on oral and written expression in which the grammar is addressed in a very systematic way. First, one has to consolidate the rules and make sure the student understands the regular forms, to then move on to address the irregular forms.

• 6) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  While I was learning German, I started saying the word "Eigentlich" as a filler (a word that you repeat a lot even when it doesn't make sense but that provides you time to think about the actual content or grammar of what you want to express). They started calling me "Mr. Eigentlich" (it means "in fact," "really"). It took me a couple of years to get off that habit but I managed: the bottom line is that in language acquisition, dropping bad habits can take a long time and it is crucial to learn things the right way from the beginning.

• 7) How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  Since Spanish and Portuguese are my mother tongues, traveling for me has been a way of increasing my exposure to different varieties and accents. In that process I have expanded dramatically my understanding of the language. Also, being an academic in New York City that is constantly interacting with Spanish from all over Latin America, has allowed me to develop a very standard Latin American Spanish that can be used in all different countries without any problems.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I speak multiple languages. Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician are my mother tongues. I have a near-native level of English and a proficient level of German. My level of French is lower-intermediate. This variety of language experiences has allowed me to really develop a great ability to explain in a succinct way aspects of grammar that might seem difficult, otherwise.
  
  In addition, as a Yale-educated scholar with a publishing record and research agenda on Latin American cultural history, I have a level of intellectual and cultural awareness and knowledge that is difficult to find.