O Guardião das Palavras
O último guardião de uma tradição oral de montanha escolhe um jovem imigrante como seu sucessor para preservar as histórias do seu povo.
preservar—to preserveRead this in the PortuStories app
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Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation
Na aldeia de Pitões das Júnias, no alto do Gerês, vive o velho Jerónimo. Tem noventa e dois anos e é o último Guardião das Palavras — o depositário de uma tradição oral que remonta a séculos antes da fundação de Portugal. São histórias de pastores, de lobos e de plantas medicinais, contadas sempre da mesma forma, com as mesmas palavras, transmitidas de guardião em guardião. Quando Jerónimo morrer, as palavras morrem com ele.
In the village of Pitões das Júnias, high in the Gerês mountains, lives old Jerónimo. He is ninety-two years old and is the last Guardian of Words — the keeper of an oral tradition that goes back centuries before the founding of Portugal. These are stories of shepherds, wolves and medicinal plants, always told in the same way, with the same words, passed from guardian to guardian. When Jerónimo dies, the words will die with him.
O problema é que não há sucessor. Os jovens da aldeia emigraram. Os que ficaram não têm interesse. O filho de Jerónimo vive no Porto há quarenta anos e nunca quis saber das histórias. Durante décadas, Jerónimo esperou. Agora, sabe que o tempo acabou.
The problem is that there is no successor. The young people from the village have emigrated. Those who stayed have no interest. Jerónimo's son has lived in Porto for forty years and never wanted to know about the stories. For decades, Jerónimo waited. Now, he knows that time has run out.
The remaining 4 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| aldeia | village |
| alto | top, high point; high |
| vive | lives (3rd person singular, present of viver) |
| viver | to live |
| velho | old (man); old |
| tem | has (3rd person singular, present of ter) |
| ter | to have |
| noventa | ninety |
| dois | two |
| anos | years |
| é | is (3rd person singular, present of ser) |
| ser | to be (permanent/essential) |
| último | last, final |
| guardião | guardian, keeper |
| palavras | words |
| depositário | keeper, custodian |
| tradição oral | oral tradition |
| tradição | tradition |
| remontar | to go back to, to date from |
| remonta | goes back to (3rd person singular, present of remontar) |
| séculos | centuries |
| antes | before |
| fundação | founding, foundation |
| histórias | stories; histories |
| pastores | shepherds |
| lobos | wolves |
| plantas medicinais | medicinal plants |
| plantas | plants |
| medicinais | medicinal |
| contadas | told (feminine plural past participle of contar) |
| contar | to tell, to count |
| sempre | always |
| mesma | same (feminine singular) |
| mesmas | same (feminine plural) |
| forma | way, form, manner |
| transmitidas | passed on, transmitted (feminine plural past participle) |
| transmitir | to transmit, to pass on |
| morrer | to die |
| morrem | die (3rd person plural, present of morrer) |
| problema | problem |
| não | not, no |
| há | there is/are; ago (with time expressions) |
| sucessor | successor |
| jovens | young people; young |
| emigraram | emigrated (3rd person plural, pretérito perfeito of emigrar) |
| emigrar | to emigrate |
| ficaram | stayed (3rd person plural, pretérito perfeito of ficar) |
| ficar | to stay, to remain |
| têm | have (3rd person plural, present of ter) |
| interesse | interest |
| filho | son |
| quarenta | forty |
| nunca | never |
| quis | wanted (3rd person singular, pretérito perfeito of querer) |
| querer | to want |
| saber | to know; to find out |
| nunca quis saber | never cared about, never wanted to know |
| durante | during, for (a period of time) |
| décadas | decades |
| esperou | waited (3rd person singular, pretérito perfeito of esperar) |
| esperar | to wait; to hope |
| agora | now |
| sabe | knows (3rd person singular, present of saber) |
| tempo | time; weather |
| acabou | ended, ran out (3rd person singular, pretérito perfeito of acabar) |
| acabar | to end, to finish, to run out |
| transmite | transmits, passes on (3rd person singular, present of transmitir) |
| todas | all (feminine plural) |
| grava | records (3rd person singular, present of gravar) |
| gravar | to record |
| áudio | audio |
| transcreve | transcribes (3rd person singular, present of transcrever) |
| transcrever | to transcribe |
| transcrito | transcribed |
| estuda | studies (3rd person singular, present of estudar) |
| estudar | to study |
| estudasse | studied (3rd person singular, imperfect subjunctive of estudar) |
| como se | as if |
| texto | text |
| sagrado | sacred, holy |
| aprende | learns (3rd person singular, present of aprender) |
| aprender | to learn |
| arcaico | archaic |
| arcaicas | archaic (feminine plural) |
| nomes | names |
| extintas | extinct (feminine plural) |
| mortos | dead (masculine plural) |
| cem | one hundred |
| tinham contado | had told (3rd person plural, pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto) |
| trabalho | work, task |
| arqueologia da memória | archaeology of memory |
| morre | dies (3rd person singular, present of morrer) |
| reconhecido | recognised, acknowledged |
| reconhecer | to recognise, to acknowledge |
| sem | without |
| cerimónia | ceremony |
| título | title |
| novo | new |
| seja | is/be (3rd person singular, present subjunctive of ser) |
| lá | there |
| diz | says (3rd person singular, present of dizer) |
| dizer | to say, to tell |
| ritmo | rhythm |
| certo | right, correct |
| única | only, sole (feminine) |
| condição | condition, requirement |
| improvável | unlikely |
| escutar | to truly listen (with attention) |
| preservar | to preserve, to safeguard |
| preservamos | we preserve (1st person plural, present of preservar) |
| preservaste | you preserved (2nd person singular, pretérito perfeito of preservar) |
| preservámos | we preserved (1st person plural, pretérito perfeito of preservar) |
| preservaram | they preserved (3rd person plural, pretérito perfeito of preservar) |
| preservarei | I will preserve (1st person singular, future of preservar) |
| preservarás | you will preserve (2nd person singular, future of preservar) |
| preservará | he/she will preserve (3rd person singular, future of preservar) |
| preservaremos | we will preserve (1st person plural, future of preservar) |
| preservarão | they will preserve (3rd person plural, future of preservar) |
| preservando | preserving (gerund of preservar) |
| preservado | preserved (past participle of preservar) |
| escolhe | chooses (3rd person singular, present of escolher) |
| escolher | to choose |
| neto | grandson |
| seu | his, her, its; your (formal) |
| ouvir | to hear, to listen |
| gosto | I like; taste, pleasure |
| falar | to speak, to talk |
| percebo | I understand (1st person singular, present of perceber) |
| perceber | to understand, to grasp |
| metade | half |
| bonito | beautiful, pretty |
| oral | oral, spoken |
| só | only; alone |
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