There are rejections to the use of portar, which is opportune to know. Portar is a Gallicism in the sense of carrying, bringing with you (L. Victoria, Dictionary of Difficulties, Errors and Definitions of Portuguese, 1956). Instead of “He carried his documents in his pocket”, it would be more accurate to say: He brought his documents in his pocket.
The verb to carry, in the sense of carrying, “was invented by some writer of police facts, with the exclusive meaning of carrying a weapon (the policeman carried a Colt revolver). By the way, the abused of all times have started to use it in the sense of carrying whatever it is. This procedure only demonstrates the lack of knowledge on the part of the person who acts in this way, since he is proving that he is supposed to be a verb with a general meaning, when, in fact, it was created (taken from French) with the exclusive meaning of carrying a weapon” (Victoria , sd). The construction to behave well (or badly) was considered Gallicism by the purists who suggested, in its place, to have good (or bad) behavior (Houaiss, 2001).
For C. Góes, this meaning is true vernacular (Góes, Diccionario de Gallicismos, 1920). From the Latin portare, to transport, to carry, to bring, on the shoulders of people, animals, vehicles, ships, etc. (A. Ferreira, Dic. Latin-Portuguese, 1996). In Portuguese, it has the same meaning, that is, as the first meaning, as found in dictionaries.
The same event occurs in relation to the bearer noun, as an adjective or noun. Strictly speaking, it is an adjective. It means relative to the one who takes or brings something in the sense of transporting, carrying with him; As a noun, it indicates who or who carries the luggage; charger; who or who takes something to someone, at the behest or request of another person (Dic. Universal da Língua Port., 1999; Houaiss, 2009; A. Moreno, Dic. Complementar da Língua Port., 1996). For example, bacillus or bacteriophore means that it brings bacilli, which corresponds to the French expression “carrier of bacilli”, since a carrier is the one who consciously takes, who will deliver (Pinto 1958, p. 75).
In secondary, figurative senses or by extension, bearer is also given as someone who carries something inside himself, such as feelings, talents, information, as well as outside himself, such as academic titles, graduation and, in Medicine, illnesses, physical deformities , events that go beyond the meaning of carrying, transporting something from one place to another. In Medicine, it is common to say “patient with malaria” or other diseases.
Bearing in mind the very meaning of carrier, the expression “patient with cognitive deficit” becomes questionable in a scientific and technical context, since the materiality of the disorder does not exist as something that can be called a size. From Late Latin portatore, which carries, especially letters, already used in this sense in 1275 (J. Machado, Etymological Dictionary of the Portuguese Language, 1977).
Deviations from the proper meaning are facts of language in many other cases and it is no longer possible to condemn them. But, for those who prefer to avoid questions from language professionals about the use of galicisms, metonyms or metaphors instead of the exact or precise meaning, as also indicated by good authors regarding scientific writing – it is convenient not to use them frequently in formal situations , especially as technical or scientific names, when it is possible to use vocabulary resources free of disputes. For example, instead of “person with a disability”, you can say person with a disability. Other examples: Four patients had (had, suffered from) inflammatory bowel disease. Patient with (with) HIV. Of the 400 million carriers of (individuals with) the hepatitis B virus, about 5% are infected with the hepatitis D virus. of your anaemia. Patients with (patients of) chronic tophaceous gout. Patients with the syndrome were classified as suffering from a worse quality of life compared to those with (those who have, those who suffer from) other morbid conditions in question. It is added that the Houaiss (2009) gives bearer as Brazilian regionalism. It is observed that, in English, it is said carrier of the person with diseases and this name has been translated as carrier (Stedman, Dic. Médico, 1996), since to carry means to carry, to transport.
It is not a mistake to use a carrier of diseases if we consider that, in fact, the patient carries his illnesses, etc. But, in view of the reproaches in this regard, coming from people of good reputation, and as good authors on scientific methodology and technical and scientific writing proclaim in their books the use of precise or exact terms, it is noted that this is possible in almost a hundred percent of cases. Investing in improvement is undoubtedly more advantageous to avoid questions whenever possible.
DR. SIMONIDES BACELAR
Doctor – University Hospital of Brasília (DF)