Como falo em inglês: Esse ator está em toda parte

By Ana | Podcast Inglês Online

Mar 25
Como falo em inglês Esse ator está em toda parte

Hello, everyone. No episódio de hoje, eu falo sobre duas expressões muito bacanas e bastante usadas do inglês.

Transcrição

Hi, all. How are you guys? Today we have a new episode of the Inglesonline podcast. Please subscribe to this podcast using the Podcasts app for iPhone or iPad, or listen to the episodes using the Inglesonline Android app. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.

Inglês: Star WarsSo I was listening to a podcast this morning and this sentence came up: “Star Wars is such a ubiquitous, cross-generational thing”. What? OK, let’s break this down. For those of you who don’t know, Star Wars is the more general name of the sci-fi trilogy from the late 70’s that tells the story of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo, among other characters. It’s made history; it’s pretty famous and well-known and more recently another Star Wars trilogy was made that was supposed to be the prequel – which means, it’s about what happened before the original trilogy.

OK, now that you’re all caught up – listen to that sentence from the podcast again: “Star Wars is such a ubiquitous, cross-generational thing”. Here’s the word I’d like to focus on right now: ubiquitous. What does that mean? Well, it’s related to what I just said a minute ago: that Star Wars is pretty well-known… all over the world, really. The podcaster was saying that Star Wars is ubiquitous. If something, or someone is ubiquitous, that means they’re everywhere, or that everyone talks about them, or maybe everyone is aware of  them. That thing is ubiquitous in conversations, or in people’s minds or maybe on television. I feel like some actors become ubiquitous and everywhere you turn there’s a movie with them in it. That was my impression about this actress Rachel McAdams a while ago. It seemed like she was in all the new releases. She was ubiquitous!

Listen to this word again: ubiquitous. Now, it may sound like a super sophisticated word, but… it is relatively common in conversation. You probably won’t hear it from teenagers that speak really informal English full of slang and so on, but you will hear it from people who speak English just on a slightly higher level. I’m not even talking about professors or intellectuals; I’m talking about people with all sorts of backgrounds that speak fairly good English in everyday situations. Such as the podcast I was listening to.

Can you think of an actor or actress that seems to be ubiquitous on Brazilian TV? This person seems to be everywhere: they’re on a soapopera, commercials, a new movie that’s just been released. You fire up your Internet browser and there they are on some advertisement or a newspiece. Who’s the most ubiquitous celebrity in Brazil today? I wanna know what you think: please leave your answer in a comment.

And the second term used by the podcaster is quite interesting as well: cross-generational. “Star Wars is such a ubiquitous, cross-generational thing”. When something is cross-generational, it involves multiple generations. Maybe it’s popular with people from different generations, like people in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and so on. Maybe all these people want to participate in that thing, they like it, they know about it, and that’s what makes it cross-generational. Maybe it affects different generations equally. A cross-generational thing makes its way across multiple generations, it affects them in some way. So Star Wars, in the words of the podcaster, is such a ubiquitous, cross-generational thing.

And I agree with that. I like Star Wars, I know a fair amount about it; and there are kids and teenagers who were born years after that trilogy was made, and they like it and know a lot about it as well. What is your opinion? Is Star Wars a cross-generational thing? What’s an example in Brazil? I’d say soapoperas, our novelas, are a cross-generational past-time. Let us know in the comments, as always, and talk to you next time!

 

Keywords

  • ubiquitous
  • cross-generational

 

Glossary

let’s break this down = vamos examinar melhor cada parte

it’s (it has) made history = fez história

prequel = a história que precede o primeiro filme ou livro

you’re all caught up = vocês estão sabendo de tudo, atualizados, por dentro

Ana
Jennifer 31/03/2014

I just arrived from São Paulo.March,28 ,There was a Guns ‘n Roses performance.I call tell you that this band is cross-generation, because was there every age people, and what called my attencion at most was a old lady, almost 70 years old,wachting the show .She was next some teenagers girls and there’s no words to describe that.Amazing, at least.Bye, Ana!

    Jennifer 31/03/2014

    I mean Can insted Call.

Marcelo 31/03/2014

The ubiquitous person in Brazil I believe that Neymar the soccer players be one them , in Brazil the famous person are the soccer players,singers , actresses and actors , for example, Ronaldo,Gustavo Lima, Tony Ramos and Glória Pires.
The some historical facts in Brazil I believe that can called cross-generation, as the military dictatorship .

Natália 30/03/2014

I agree with Joesmar. Gisele Bunchen is the most ubiquitous person in Brazil. Many years ago, I’d say Xuxa would be cross-generation, but now, I would say that our novels are.

Jonata fontela 28/03/2014

Hi Ana,I think in Brazil Anitta,the singer, is ubiquitous.everyone’s talking about her,everywhere I go there’s someone listening to her songs,she’s getting very popular.I don’t really like funk music,but I end up listening to her songs every once in a while :)
ps.I still can’t pronounce “ibiquitous” correctly.so hard hahahaha

    Ana Luiza 29/03/2014

    Wow, really? Didn’t know that.

I think Gisele Buchen is the most UBIQUITOUS person in Brazil today.
She seems to be everywhere: They’re on a soapopera, commercials, a movie, or in a advertisent on TV or in the internet browser, as well. She is really well-known internationally, as a model.

    Ana Luiza 29/03/2014

    Yep, Gisele, good one. She IS ubiquitous!

Wallace Rodrigo do N. Sousa 26/03/2014

Last week, a comedy co-worker of mine left my currently company after working there for three years. He has joked with many co-workers. Yesterday and today he was ubiquitous for all of my co-workers. He will miss them, for sure.

I agree with all collegues above about these people who are cross-generation in Brazil and I could mention another one who is a great and intelligent man. He is Jô Soares. He is very intelligent and many young people like him. He has been presenting his talk show for a long time crossing-generation.

Márcio 26/03/2014

Well, It’s so hard to think in a specific name here in brazilian television programme, but when I was a kid i used to watch Woody-WoodyPecker, and for long years it still running nowadays. I was a kind of a guy who spend all his money in the cinema. Here in São Paulo there was a theatre name Cinema Maraba and I guess it still alive. I stand in long line waiting to buy a ticket and another line to came in. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to watch Star wars on the movies. It was out of my generation. I was 13. A couple of years later, I was in a neighborhood next my home and then I watched the end oth this movies, I was so excitated but I couldn’t tell nothing because we were so close friend, I wait for almost 6 years to buy a VCR and then watched in my home. Star wars are the most exciting movies in the history. no doubt.

    Ana Luiza 27/03/2014

    I was around your age when Star Wars came out, Márcio. I’m a big fan.

Fátima Regina 26/03/2014

Good afternoon!

I agree with Adrian and Josué when they mencioned Chaves and Neymar. Chaves is really a cross generational person . But there are many others.
I want to mention “Silvio Santos”, I think that he made history here in Brazil and continues does for the new generation.

Thanks Ann!

Josué Santana 26/03/2014

Neymar is ubiquitous, and i agree with Adrian Dias, Chaves is a cross-generation :)

    Ana Luiza 27/03/2014

    Hi Josué,
    Oh Neymar! Is he on TV commercials as well?

Adrian Dias 25/03/2014

Despite the fact that Chaves is Mexican, is a cross-generation example here in your nostalgic Brazil. Also, Fábio Porchat is ubiquitous. He’s looking like God. You know, omnipresent haha.

    Ana Luiza 27/03/2014

    Chaves is a great example, Adrian. It is a cross-generational show indeed.

    Sônia Maria 09/04/2014

    So in Brazil an actres ubiquitos is Grazy Massafera, and un actor is Reinaldo Gianiquini. The example of a cross-generatio n is Francisco Cuoco, 74 years old, and your wife, 28 years old.

Comments are closed