Sofrimento

Cultures tend to develop a special relationship with part of their vocabulary. Indeed, it is relatively straightforward to identify words which in spite of existing in other languages, carry nevertheless much more significance in one particular language. Whenever you detect them, the part of your brain in charge of speech recognition lights up, while less obvious parts of your brain get busy on the ‘special meanings section’, something that can be overwhelming to the inexperienced, and a reason why some advantages exist to being a grown up. By hearing it more times, you get more used to the confusion it causes, and wisely choose to allot a special and deeper meaning to it all. Allow me to exemplify with saudade in Portugal, and, well, probably ‘pancake’ in Sweden. In Angola, one such word is sofrimento. It can be loosely translated as ‘suffering’. It is probably special over here because there’s so much of it, or because it comes in so many shapes and forms. It’s a very common experience to hear it being said. You can even see people smiling while saying it, using it in songs, or writing it in big bold letters in the rear window of their cars. The first time I realized it was a special word was curiously through a Dutch, in my first outing, by a grill, on the beach. He said to me, knowing I had been here only shortly, “So what do you think about Angola? (…) This is what Angola is to me. The rest is sofrimento”. It struck me as the kind of thing I wasn’t expecting to hear, in my first outing by a grill on the beach. But deep and wise nonetheless. On my own share of sofrimento, I can add that my girlfriend was supposed to be flying this very minute to come and visit me. Her flight was cancelled. It seems the Angolan government forbid British Airways from landing in Angola. Retaliation?