Kung and Khoe are two major language families whose languages are spoken by the San people of Angola. A small section of the population of Angola speaks Arabic and are mostly of Lebanese descent. The country also has a Chinese speaking community of about , individuals. The official language of Angola is Portuguese. Oishimaya Sen Nag August 1 in Society. The Portuguese language arrived with settlers in the s and remained there until Cape Verde finally gained official independence in While Portuguese is the official language of Cape Verde, it is rarely a first language—in fact, Ethnologue does not even have a number estimate of speakers.
Crioulo also called Kabuverdianu , a Portuguese creole, is more often a native language. Listen to what Portuguese sounds like in Cape Verde and learn a bit about life in the country on YouTube.
When the Portuguese discovered the islands in the s, they were uninhabited but Portugal soon sent settlers. These countries do not list Portuguese as an official language, but they have a significantly large population of Portuguese speakers, so they are worth a mention here. While the vast majority of people in Uruguay speak Spanish and it is the official language, around 24, Uruguayans speak Portuguese.
Not too surprisingly, you are most likely to encounter the Portuguese language along the border with Brazil. Spain has a population of nearly 50 million. While Castilian Spanish is an official language nationwide, there are also many languages that are official in specific regions. Aside from that, Portuguese itself is fairly widespread in Spain, with an estimated , speakers.
Goa is a state in India which was once a Portuguese colony. For a time, Portuguese was used among the elite and for administrative purposes. While Konkani, Marathi and English are now more common in the region, a significant number of people still speak Portuguese and you may notice some Portuguese names.
You might not expect it, but Japan is home to a significant population of Brazilians, who brought the Portuguese language with them. How did this happen? Well, it all boils down to immigration patterns. Throughout the s, many Japanese citizens immigrated to Brazil. You can read more about it on the Oxford Research Encyclopedias website.
Due to immigration, many European countries have fairly large numbers of Portuguese speakers. Luxembourg has around 75, speakers, Andorra has nearly 12, speakers and France has an estimated , speakers.
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This site uses cookies. On the other side of the coin, the Portuguese language has had a very dark past in the country, having been imposed by force in schools during the Portuguese dictatorship and humiliating children who spoke any other language. It is also often criticized for creating a divide between the rich and the poor, as the Portuguese spoken by the elites and the government is not the same version of Portuguese spoken on the streets.
All things considered, Angolan Portuguese is a dialect in its own right, but its existence cannot be mentioned without also including other national languages that have impacted its vocabulary, accent and ways of expression. To the casual foreign ear, Angolan Portuguese will sound like European Portuguese in staccato— short, perky sounds and clear diction, sometimes clearly influenced by Brazilian Portuguese as well.
However, Angolan language identity goes much deeper than this first impression that it could be just a dialect that stands between two other dialects. Its very distinct musicality, playfulness and elegance are contagious. It borrows several words from regional Angolan languages, a breath of fresh air for any Portuguese learner. For instance:. Spoken Angolan Portuguese is also characterized by stronger consonants. Secondly, Angolan Portuguese will often simplify combinations of two vowels.
This is mostly common when speaking. Another major difference that has much in common with Brazilian Portuguese is the regular placement of pronouns before the verb rather than afterwards, as happens in Portugal and in the English language.
Angolan Portuguese is so catchy and practical that the Portuguese themselves have adopted words brought in by Angolan immigrants. My grandparents would not be able to recognize these words or what they mean. Nor would Brazilians, as these particular words are not used at all on the other side of the Atlantic. Brazil itself was not immune to the influence of Angolan Portuguese. This truly says something about the growing influence of Angolan Portuguese, and that it is not contained within strict borders.
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