What a rare word for “sex” reveals about Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilians innovate by duplicating
THE SONG, a hit at Brazil’s carnival in 2014, starts like any other. A man wonders whether a woman will still love him after he loses his job, his house and his car. But then the chorus gets weird. If the woman stays, the singer belts over a thumping drum, it is because she likes his “lepo lepo”. Most Brazilians had no idea what “lepo lepo” meant.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Talk talk”
From the January 29th 2022 edition
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