Portuguese-speaking countries: learn about linguistic variations

Do you know which countries speak Portuguese?

Language is much more than a means of communication; it is a living reflection of the cultures and identities that shape it over time.

With roots stretching back centuries, the Portuguese language has flourished in different corners of the globe, driven by Portugal's colonial influence and complex interaction with local cultures.

According to research by IPOL, the Institute for Research and Development in Linguistic Policy, Portuguese is a language with more than 260,000,000 speakers, that is, more than two hundred and sixty million speakers.

Today, it is the official language of ten countries, which are on four different continents, each of them bringing their own history, traditions and unique characteristics to the language.

Regardless of whether it is Portuguese from Portugal or Brazil, these countries ended up adopting the language as official.

Each of these countries has contributed to the richness of the Portuguese language in a unique way, resulting in a fascinating and constantly evolving linguistic tapestry.

This is because depending on the region they may have accents, customs and grammatical variations different, such as Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese from Portugal.

Portuguese from Portugal and Brazil

With two countries that speak a language that has the same name, Portuguese, but that are different. This is because it is a linguistic variation of the Portuguese language.

And one of the main differences between the two 'Portuguese' is the vocabulary, saying a word in Portugal is not the same as saying it in Brazil, they may not have the same meaning.

For example, in Portugal 'balloon' does not have the same meaning for us, there it means 'ball'.

In Brazil, pronunciation can be softer and some final consonants of words are often dropped, especially in some regions. The phenomenon known as the "Carioca accent" is an example of this.

While some grammatical constructions in Portugal may be different from those used in Brazil, for example, the imperfect subjunctive form is used more frequently in Portugal than in Brazil.

These are just some of the notable differences between Portuguese from Portugal and Portuguese from Brazil.

It is important to emphasize that both varieties are equally valid and rich in their linguistic expression, and the differences should not be seen as better or worse, just different.

Which countries speak Portuguese?

According to the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), there are nine members from countries that have Portuguese as their official language and one of them is an independent entity.

And each of them has different grammatical variations, differences that can be influenced by the accent and even the continent in which it is located.

These countries are:

• Cape Verde.
• Guinea-Bissau;
• Angola;
• Equatorial Guinea;
• Portugal;
• East Timor;
• Sao Tome and Principe;
• Brazil;
• Mozambique;
• Macao.

Including Macau, which is an independent entity, let's now learn more about them:

Cape Verde

Cape Verde is an African country, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, they were an overseas department of Portugal until their independence in 1975.

As it is a department of a country that already speaks Portuguese, the language ended up becoming popular until it became the official language.

Guinea Bissau

Guinea-Bissau is a West African country with a population of approximately 2 million people. Although Portuguese is the official language used by the government, it is only spoken by approximately 60% of the population.

And even these speakers often have Portuguese as a second language, as more than 90% of the population speaks Kriol, a creole language that is based on Portuguese.

Angola

Approximately 70% of the population of this African country speaks Portuguese, and this is mainly because the country was a colony of Portugal for many years, until gaining its independence in 1970.

In addition to Portuguese, in Angola they also speak Shona, Tsonga, and Shona, which many know and prefer.

Equatorial Guinea

In 1471, Equatorial Guinea was colonized by Portugal, and some time later, in 1778, it became a colony of Spain, but it only became independent in 1968.

Because of this, Portuguese is the country's official language, but it is not the only one, we also have Spanish and French.

Portugal

Portugal is the home nation of the Portuguese language and has a rich and diverse history of influence on language and culture.

Portuguese from Portugal is the standard variety of the language and is known for its distinct pronunciation and specific grammatical rules.

East Timor

East Timor is a country in Southeast Asia that shares a history of colonization with Portugal.

After independence, Portuguese was reintroduced as one of the official languages, alongside Tetum. Portuguese is used in administration, education and everyday life.

Sao Tome and Principe

In this country the official language is Portuguese, but São Tomé Creole is widely used in everyday communication. The Portuguese language plays a fundamental role in the education and administration of the country.

Brazil

Our country is one of the most populous when it comes to Portuguese speakers, and is also one of the countries with the most grammatical variations, accents and slang of all Portuguese speakers.

Mozambique

Mozambique is an African country where Portuguese is the official language. As in Angola, Mozambican Portuguese has its linguistic influences from the local population and has regional variations.

Macao

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of China, where Portuguese is one of the official languages, alongside Chinese.

Macau has a Portuguese colonial heritage and Portuguese is used in some official and commercial contexts, but the majority of the population is of Chinese origin.

Many of these Portuguese-speaking countries carry their own histories, which mainly involve colonization, overcoming and independence.

The diversity of Portuguese is just a sample of the ability of the language and populations to adapt and evolve over time and across borders.

In each country, we find peculiar accents, distinct vocabularies and even unique grammatical influences.

Vim or vir? What is the correct way to use the verb?