Porra as a marker of information management

By Antonio Fernandes de Carvalho When a foreign visitor just arrived in Brazil, certainly he/she will hear the word porra. The term is used in all cities, but it is in Salvador city, the capital of Bahia, where it attains the highest set of uses and meanings. In one way, it is definitively a four-letter word, nevertheless, because of frequency in which is used, the classification of porra as a word of insult is at least a result of imprecise evaluation. The word has a very ancient origin, and it was used in texts and poems by Gregrio de Matos e Guerra ( 17th century), the first writer to produce literature that can be named Brazilian literature. The original meaning to the expression was stick, and then penis, and finally sperm. It is Interesting to note that the meaning of porra as sperm, cum, come, is almost unknown by the majority of Brazilian people. The word porra works like noun, adjective, adverb, interjections; it takes the place of the abbreviation etc and can be used to signalize pause. With so many functions, porra is to be considered a signalizer of information. It is not merely a base language word.

Analysis of the linguistic functions of the word porra.

Porra as word of insult, offence, scold and swear:

Porra! Fuck! V pra porra! Go to Hell!, Fuck you! Seu filho de uma porra! Your son of a bitch! V tomar na sua porra! Fuck you! Vai embora, porra! Go away, ........! Ele um porra-louca. He is a nutball.

Porra expressing rage, fury:

Porra! What a Hell! Ele est com a porra! He is pissed off! Ele est virado na porra! He is furious!

Porra as a substitute to the abbreviature etc:

Ela compra saias, camisas e as porra. She buys skirts, shirts etc. Ns bebemos Coca-Cola, cerveja, vinho e as porra. We drink Coca-Cola, beer, wine, etc.

Porra used to indicate pauses (comma function):

Eu estava ali e vi porra vi aquele negcio que eu no sei o nome... I was there and I saw, I saw such a thing that I dont know the name

Porra as adjective function with indefinite meaning:

Eu vi uma mulher bonita que s a porra em um carro bonito pra porra! Mas o motorista era feio pra porra! I saw a very beautiful woman in a very beautiful car! But the driver was so ugly!

Porra with the meaning of near or far:

o cinema longe que s a porra. The movie is so far away from here. Sara vive perto pra porra de minha casa. Sara lives very near to my home.

The interjection function of the word Porra:

Porra! Why! What a surprise!

Porra as indefinite noun (thing, something, somebody, anybody, etc):

Ela compra todas as porras. She buys all the things. Alguma porra est fedendo aqui... Something stinks Esta porra com voc! Its up to you!

Porra expressing joy or jubilous:

Essa porra funciona! It works!!! Pooooorra!!!! (celebration after a goal in a football game)

Implicit porra:

P! Fu(ck)! Pouuuuura! Fuck! Pourrrrrrra! ( with retroflex r) Shit!

Porra suggesting an indefinite or very far place:

l na casa da porra Its there in the back of beyond...

Porra as an expression of gratitude:

Porra, amigo, muito obrigado! Wow , my friend, thank you! Valeu, porra! Thank you! Eu te amo, porra! (Thank you), I love you!

The greeting function of porra:

Col, porra! Wassup? E a, porra? Wassup?

Como vai essa porra a? How are you?

Porra as indication of irony:

Grande porra! A fabulous thing!

Degree variation and gender omission in the use of the word porra.
Ele no faz porrssima nenhuma coisa. He makes nothing at all Porra, isto uma porrinha de nada! Come on, its a little thing! Isso uma grande porrona Its big stuff

The word Porra in the Internet

Brazilian internet-users are adapting the use of porra to this new tool of communication. The two most common forms of its use are: VPP (V pra porra!) GTH (Go to Hell!) Poha ( Porra!) (Phok!)

References: Serpa, Oswaldo Ferreira. Dicionrio de Expresses Idiomticas Ingls - Portugus, Portugus - Ingls, 2 ed. Rio de Janeiro, Fename, 1976. The Thesaurus Presented by Time 1978, by G&C, Merrian Co. Dicionrio Michaelis - Editora Melhoramentos, Rio de janeiro, 2001. Douglas Harper Etymological Dictionary Online: www.etymonline.com Cambridge Dictionary Online: www.cambridge.dictionary.com