Actual Sayings on T-Shirts

As I've alluded to before, the shirts with English phrases are definitely amusing. (See the World-Class Customer Service post). To continue with this topic, I've provided some thematic examples.

There are the wannabe-funny ones:

• Don't drive and drive. You might spill your beer.
• I'm not gay, but my boyfriend is!

The bitchy ones:

• If nobody is perfect, I must be nobody.
• My life is gemstones
• Don't be impressed by me (don't worry)

The classy ones:

• More than ready
• You've been naughty...go straight to my room

And the ones for people who can't read English:

• Orange Juice - refresh drink
• The Up

American culture has a large influence on the entire the local landscape. Many shops and small businesses have English names, like Doctor Feet and HobbyStar Games. American music is prevalent, and Brazilians often attempt singing in English. American movies are extremely common - there are 3 movie channels on cable dedicated to American films. The only American movies that theaters feature, however, are the predictable Hollywood blockbusters produced for the largest possible audience. No wonder my friend said she doesn't like American movies.

While English titles and words might be spelled the same here, pronunciation is a different story. As a general rule for pronouncing English terms transferred to Portuguese, just an an "ee" sound at the end and you're good.

ping pong sounds like "pingey-pongey"
feedback = "feejebackey"

But then Coke, which already has an e, is said the same way. Go figure.