Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Desenrascanço?


Outra palavra (para além de saudade) sem tradução directa noutras línguas? Ora leiam o que diz na wikipedia!

"Desenrascanço (loosely translated as "disentanglement") is (..) a Portuguese word used to describe the capacity to improvise in the most extraordinary situations possible, against all odds, resulting in a hypothetical good-enough solution. (..) Used to express an ability to solve a problem without the adequate tools or proper technique to do so, and by use of sometimes imaginative resourcefulness when facing new situations. Most Portuguese people strongly believe it to be one of their most valued virtues and a living part of their culture. Obviously, they are aware that this subjective feature is not an exclusive of theirs..

However, some critics disagree with the association of desenrascanço to the Portuguese culture. They argue that this concept is related to the subjective evaluation of oneself, or of the Portuguese people, and that it belongs to the world of subjectivity and feeling. Some are of the opinion that the concept is related to the discoveries period and to student activities in the 15th century. But sceptics doubt there is any substantial proof of that relation.

Some say that in the 16th and 17th centuries it was very common for other exploring nations, such as the Dutch, to bring a Portuguese national along during the voyages, because the Portuguese were allegedly the most skilled and knowledgeable in the proper handling of the occasional emergency aboard the ship when the control of the vessel was given to them (what is known among the Portuguese as "desenrascanço"). Serious historians would disagree with the association between a 20th century idea and 17th century events. Apart from this myth, desenrascanço is in fact the opposite of planning: it's managing that any problem does not get completely out of hand and beyond solution."

Eu sei que existem almas ingénuas bem-intencionadas que querem continuar a acreditar que se trata de um atributo próprio do nosso povo, mas eu acho essa ideia simplesmente ridícula. Fruto talvez de um patriotismo volátil que se singra pelo maníaco-depressivo circunstancial. Enfim....
da autoria de Ledbetter e dum Blog de referência: Oblivion!

2 comments:

Ledbetter said...

De referência...eheheh!
Sem referências, queres tu dizer!
Abraço de um desenrascado (às vezes)!

Mac Adame said...

Claro que isto não é exclusivo de Portugal, se olharmos para o contexto mundial. Mas se olharmos só para a Europa, não sei se não será. E isto não é patriotismo. É a constatação do terceiro-mundismo português. Só os terceiro-mundistas precisam do desenrascanço como de pão para a boca.