The trilingual (Chinese, Portuguese and English) “Patuá for everyone – A self-study guide” and “Memórias de Macau: Homenagens em Lisboa à três notáveis figuras da nossa literatura” (Memories of Macau: Homage in Lisbon to three notable figures of our literature) are set to be launched during the Macanese Evening event at the International Institute of Macau’s (IIM) headquarters on Rua de Berlim (栢林街).
Aimed at beginners, “Patuá for everyone – A self-study guide”, according to a recent IIM statement, is a didactic and illustrated self-study book that features easy-to-understand applications and exercises on the Portuguese-Asian Creole language, as well as information on Macanese culture. It was written by Macanese culture researcher and “Unchinho de Língu Maquista: Patuá bit by bit – Flashcard book” author Elisabela Larrea and language teacher and linguistics researcher Carolina Nogueira, both of whom are Macanese and members of the Macanese Culture Research Association (MACRA), which organises “Patuá pa Vôs” (“Patuá for You”) seminars aimed at igniting interest in Patuá* and enhancing understanding of Macau’s cultural characteristics.
“Unchinho di Língua Maquista” is Patuá for “A Bit of the Macanese Language”.
Both authors will be at the upcoming event to introduce the self-study guide, with IIM Secretary-General António Monteiro as the moderator.
Regarding Memories of Macau, the statement said that tribute sessions under IIM’s initiative were organised in Lisbon in October to “honour three distinguished personalities from or related to Macau who stood out in the field of literature”.
They are researcher and writer António Aresta, who has a number of works published on Macau, Chinese culture, and the presence of Portugal and the Portuguese in the Far East; late lawyer, teacher and Macanese writer Henrique de Senna Fernandes, on the centenary of his birth; and J.J. Monteiro, who the statement described as “the greatest Portuguese popular poet of Macau”, with the presentation of his last and posthumous book, “Vulgaridades Chinesas [‘Chinese Vulgarities’]”.
Testimonials and presentations recorded by Celina Veiga de Oliveira, José Rocha Diniz, Ana Cristina Alves, António Aresta, José Joaquim Monteiro Júnior, and a preface by Jorge Rangel are also featured in this edition.
The event is slated to start from 6:30 p.m., with the statement adding that it is also open to members of the public.
* Patuá is Macau’s highly endangered Portuguese-Asian Creole, nowadays spoken by just a few dozen people in Macau and a number of hundreds overseas, in California in particular.
This poster recently provided by the International Institute of Macau (IIM) promotes the upcoming launch of “Patuá for everyone – A self-study guide” (right) and “Memories of Macau: Homage in Lisbon to three notable figures of our literature”.
