Portuguese is the sixth most popular language, with around 230 million native speakers worldwide. In addition, following Spanish and English, Portuguese is the 3rd most frequently spoken European language in Europe. Here are some amazing Facts About Portuguese Language for you to explore.
It was made among the languages officially recognized by the European Union in 1986. Let’s learn more about this language.
Facts About Portuguese Language
1. The Official Language of Portugal Since 1290.
Portuguese originated from Latin. It came into Portugal around 200 BC. However, Portuguese has not declared the official spoken language in Portugal until 1290, at which point the King Denis of Portugal declared it an official language in Portugal. It is also an official language in seven other countries, excluding Portugal that are Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guine-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome e Principe.
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2. Just 5% of Portuguese speakers live in Portugal
With over 200 million native Portuguese speakers, just about 10 million live in Portugal. While Portuguese is considered the state language in Portuguese, There are more Portuguese people in Brazil than in any other nation where Portuguese is spoken! Other than that, Portuguese is spoken in Europe, South America, and even Africa.
3. The language is widely spoken across four continents.
Portuguese is widely spoken across four continents: in Europe (Portugal along with Portuguese islands, Madeiras as well as the Azores) and South America (Brazil), Africa (Angola, Mocambique, Guine-Bissau Sao Tome, and Principe), and Asia (East Timor Macau, Goa).
4. The Addition of K, W and The Addition Of Y, W, And
Before 2009, the letters k, W, and y weren’t part of the Portuguese Alphabet, but due to the recent flood of loanwords borrowed from English, These letters were required to be added to the Alphabet in January 2009.
5. To Be or Not For Being!
There are two possible definitions of “to be” in Portuguese. This means that you need to be extremely cautious about the usage of this verb. “Ser” is “to become” as a reference to your being as your most fundamental characteristic “Estar” refers to “to be” in the context of temporary situations. For instance, “estar esquecido” is “to forget”; however, “ser esquecido” refers to “not to forget.” Another example would be – “estar morto,” which means to die, or dead “ser morto” is to die.
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6. One Of The Five Languages Of Romance
This is the fifth of five major Romance languages: French, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish. Romance languages are essentially modern languages that originated in Vulgar Latin between the sixth and ninth centuries.
7. Influence of various Languages
A plethora of words from the Portuguese language come from Arabic. It also has taken the words of Italian, French, and English. The most popular ones are the words televisao, estudante mapa, universidade, and bicicleta. English has also borrowed some words from Portuguese like a cobra, flamingo, Piranha, and the Brazilian cocktail called caipirinha.
8. The Longest Portuguese Word
The longest Portuguese word is otorrinolaringologista, meaning an ear, nose, and throat doctor. Oddly, the longest words in most languages come from the medical perspective.
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9. Very similar to Spanish
While the Portuguese language shares some similarities with Spanish, it is closer to Galician, which is spoken by about 3 million people living in the Northwest part of Spain. Portuguese speakers can comprehend Spanish effortlessly.
