Rio’s grammar hotline

My last post was about two guys who travelled around America correcting typos.

It appears they also have issues in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as the government has set up a “grammar hotline”. The hotline aims to help people who have difficulties using Portuguese, the official language of Brazil.

According to the BBC News article:

A senior member of the Rio de Janeiro state assembly, Colonel Jairo Souza Santos, said the hotline would provide a very useful service:

“The hotline will be a quick and efficient way of clearing up common doubts about the correct usage of the Portuguese language,” he said. “A good knowledge of the language is essential, whether in academic study or at work.”

The issue has been highlighted during the presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose frequent grammatical errors are considered a source of embarrassment by some Brazilians, although others consider it a source of pride that he was able to become head of state despite not learning to read until he was 10 years old.

Perhaps the Great Typo Hunters should consider a move south?