Portuguese ( português (help·info) or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (namely the Gallaeci, the Lusitanians, the Celtici and the Conii) around 2000 years ago. It spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th centuries as Portugal established a colonial and commercial empire (1415–1999) which spanned from Brazil in the Americas to Goa and other parts of India, Macau in China and Timor (north of Australia). It was used as the exclusive lingua franca on the island of Sri Lanka for almost 350 years. During that time, many creole languages based on Portuguese also appeared around the world, especially in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Today it is one of the world's major languages, ranked 6th according to number of native speakers (between 191 and 230 million). It is the language of about half of South America's population, even though Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. It is also a major lingua franca in Portugal's former colonial possessions in Africa. It is an official language in nine countries (see the table on the right), also being co-official with Cantonese Chinese in Macau and Tetum in East Timor. There are sizeable communities of Portuguese speakers in various regions of North America, notably in the United States (New Jersey, New England, California and south Florida) and in Ontario, Canada.
In various aspects, the system of sounds in Portuguese is more similar to the phonologies of Catalan or French than, say, those of Spanish or Italian. Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes once called Portuguese "the sweet language",[7] Lope de Vega referred to it as "suave" [8] while Brazilian writer Olavo Bilac poetically described it as a última flor do Lácio, inculta e bela: "the last flower of Latium, wild and beautiful". Portuguese is also termed "the language of Camões," after one of Portugal's best known literary figures, Luís Vaz de Camões.
Contents |
|
Examiner.com
The Portuguese - language commercial shows the silhouette of everything from an alien to a trapeze artist taking a leak in all sorts of showers. ...
and more »
475px x 361px | 41.40kB
[source page]
available in 2007 23 Euro sold on Ebay in 2007 27 Euro List Price 55 $ Sadly in the twentieth century the delicate ecosystems of the Niger Delta have suffered greatly as a result of the modern drilling technology employed by Western oil companies While garnering huge profits these firms have undermined the environment and deprived the Delta s inhabitants of basic necessities such as fresh fish and potable water Despite these depredations the people of the Delta persevere and the incredibly beautiful and varied works of art that appear in this volume are a testament to their history of inventiveness adaptability and courage An intricate maze of rivers and islands cuts across southern Nigeria s Niger Delta a region subject to floods tides and tropical downpours that continually alter its geography While these waterways serve to separate the many ethnic groups dwelling in this aqueous environment each with its own unique cultural traditions and often its language the…
ISP Team
ue, 29 Sep 2009 17:12:00 GM
Opened on 2006, the Museu da Lingua Portuguesa (Museum of the . Portuguese language. ) was already visited by millions of people and currently is one of the most visited museums in Brazil and South America. ...
