The common belief about the same root origin of the language that people speak and where they live is, in general, quite true. In Russia they speak Russian, in China they speak Chinese, in France they also speak their native language. When asked "What language do they speak in Brazil?" The answer immediately comes to mind - in Brazilian. No, that's wrong. This country is a former colony, which means that many things are different here than in other countries.

The presence of their own language, native to countless generations of inhabitants, applies to a greater extent to those countries whose history goes back a thousand years or more, where their territory was not completely captured and foreign tribes and peoples remained forever with their absolutely alien culture and speech. How did this happen, for example, in one of the oldest states on the planet - ancient Egypt, which remembered the pharaohs, military leaders and emperors of Rome, and eventually turned into an Arab republic. Now, of their own free will, with songs and dances of tolerant citizens at demonstrations, ritual rituals, politicians who sold their souls to who knows who, politicians in the stands, a united Europe is striving for this with leaps and bounds, but that is another story...

Probably only completely illiterate people don’t know that it is Portuguese. And the reason for this on the surface is the miracle-bogatyrs, seafarers from the enlightened medieval Europe, blessed by the Pope and other adherents of the Western Church, who drove the local population into the fold with sword and fire catholic church, forcing them to speak exclusively in their native Spanish, Portuguese, as well as English, Dutch, and French.

As a result of their geographical discoveries A huge number of colonies appeared on the world map, where the native dialects of the conquerors became the official languages ​​in which all state document circulation was conducted:

In addition to the former metropolis and Brazil itself, Portuguese is mostly spoken in 10 countries, including Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea. Up to 240 million people recognize him as family.

Linguistic scientists consider it to be closely related to Spanish, which, interestingly, is spoken by many more people in the world than English - 427 million versus 339 million people, according to 2016 statistics.

Another interesting fact: Brazil is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is spoken.

And a lot of things:

For those who were firmly confident in their knowledge of what language they speak in Brazil, or learned by reading this article, it may be of interest that since 1996 there has been an international organization - the Commonwealth of Portuguese-speaking Countries, and since 2005 - May 5 declared the Day of Portuguese Language and Culture.

Brazil is a country located in South America, occupying the eastern part of this tropical continent. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. The full original name of the language is língua portuguesa. It is a Western Romance language spoken by more than two hundred million people in the territory South America and Europe. This article is dedicated to the official language of the country Brazil.

Brazilian language

Which is the official language, the Variant of Portuguese is a set of dialects of Portuguese used primarily in Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the country's 200 million inhabitants. It is widespread in the Brazilian diaspora, which currently consists of about two million people who have emigrated to other countries.

This variety of Portuguese differs, especially in phonetics and word stress, from the varieties spoken in Portugal and Lusophone African countries. In African countries it tends to be more closely related to modern European Portuguese, partly because Portuguese colonial rule ended much later in them than in Brazil. Despite these differences between spoken varieties, Brazilian and European Portuguese differ little in formal writing. This phenomenon is in many ways similar to the differences between American and British English.

Portuguese language reform

In 1990, the Community of Lusophone Countries, which included representatives of all countries whose official language was Portuguese, reached an agreement on spelling reform to unify the two standards that were then used by Brazil, on the one hand, and the rest of the Lusophone countries, on the other. . This spelling reform came into effect in Brazil on January 1, 2009. In Portugal, the reform was signed by the President on July 21, 2008, and included a six-year adaptation period during which both spellings coexisted. All countries of this community signed the text of this document. In Brazil, this reform has been in effect since January 2016. Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries also began using the new orthography.

Regional varieties of Brazilian Portuguese, while remaining mutually intelligible, may differ from each other in matters such as vowel pronunciation and speech intonation.

variant of Portuguese

The question is often asked: what is the official language in Brazil? Because Brazilian language does not exist, Brazilians speak their own version of Portuguese.

The use of Portuguese in Brazil is a legacy of the colonization of the Americas. The first wave of Portuguese-speaking immigrants settled in Brazil in the 16th century, but the language was not widely used then. For a time, the Portuguese coexisted with a lingua franca called Lingua Geral, based on the Amerindian languages ​​used by Jesuit missionaries, as well as various African languages ​​spoken by millions of slaves brought to the country between the 16th and 19th centuries. By the end of the eighteenth century, Portuguese had established itself as the national language. One of the main factors contributing to this rapid change was the spread of colonization into the Brazilian interior and the increase in the number of Portuguese settlers who brought their language and became the most important ethnic group in Brazil.

Beginning in the early 18th century, the Portuguese government made efforts to expand the use of the Portuguese language throughout the colony. Particularly because its use in Brazil could guarantee to Portugal lands claimed by the Spanish (according to various treaties signed in the 18th century, these lands could be given to the people who actually occupied them). Under the leadership of the Marquis of Pombal (1750-1777), Brazilians began to favor the Portuguese language as he expelled the Jesuit missionaries who taught Lingua Geral and prohibited the use of other local dialects.

Failed attempts at colonization by the French of the city of Rio de Janeiro in the 16th century and by the Dutch of the northeast of the country in the 17th century had little impact on Portuguese. Substantial waves of settlers who did not speak Portuguese in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (mostly from Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Japan and Lebanon) were linguistically integrated into the Portuguese-speaking majority within a few generations, with the exception of some regions from three southern states(Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul). What is the official language spoken in Brazil? Of course, this is Portuguese, which is spoken by 97 percent of the country's population.

Current position of the language

Currently, the vast majority of Brazilians speak Portuguese as their first language, with the exception of small island communities of descendants of European (German, Polish, Ukrainian, Italian) and Japanese immigrants - mainly in the south and southeast of the country, as well as villages and reservations , inhabited by Native Americans. And even these groups of the population use Portuguese to communicate with strangers, watch and listen to television and radio programs in it. In addition, there is a community of Brazilian sign language users, which experts estimate number as many as 3 million.

Where do they speak Portuguese?

As a result of territorial expansion during the period of colonial conquest, speakers of Portuguese and mixed creole languages ​​are found in Goa, Daman and Diu in India, in Batticaloa on the east coast of Sri Lanka; on the Indonesian island of Flores; in the Malacca state of Malaysia, an island in the Caribbean where creole languages ​​based on Portuguese are spoken. Cape Verde is the most widely known Portuguese Creole. Portuguese-speaking individuals are commonly referred to as lusophones in English and Portuguese.

Influence

Portuguese is part of the Ibero-Romance group, which developed from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval kingdom of Galicia and retained some phonetic and lexical features of the Celtic languages. This is a general description of the official language of Brazil.

Portuguese is the mother tongue of approximately 215-220 million people. Total number carriers is 260 million. This language is the sixth largest speaker in the world, the third most widespread European and one of the main Southern Hemisphere. It is also one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in South America and the second most spoken language in Latin America after Spanish. It is the official language of the European Union and the African Union.

Portuguese is a rapidly developing language

According to UNESCO, Portuguese is the fastest growing European language after English. According to The Portugal News, which published UNESCO data, it has the highest potential for growth as an international destination in southern Africa and South America. Portuguese is a global language, officially spoken on five continents.

Since 1991, when Brazil joined the Mercosur economic community with other South American countries, namely Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Portuguese has been compulsory or taught in schools in these South American countries.

IN beginning of XXI century, after Macau was handed over to China and Brazilian immigration to Japan slowed, the use of Portuguese in Asia declined. It is again becoming the language of opportunity there mainly due to the expansion of diplomatic and financial ties with the economically powerful Portuguese-speaking countries (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, etc.) in the world.

Number of media

Official language How many native speakers does Brazil have? In July 2017, the total number of Portuguese speakers was estimated at 279 million. This number does not include the Lusophone diaspora, which is estimated at approximately 10 million people (including 4.5 million Portuguese, 3 million Brazilians and half a million Creoles, etc.). It is difficult to give an official exact number of Portuguese speakers, since a large proportion of these people are naturalized citizens born outside the territory of Brazil and Portugal, and children of immigrants may have only a basic knowledge of the language. It is also important to note that a significant part of the diaspora is part of the already counted population of Portuguese-speaking countries and territories.

Therefore, the Portuguese language is used daily by more than 250 million people who have direct or indirect, legal and social contact with it. Portuguese may be the only language of communication, or it may be used only for certain purposes: for education, communication with local or international administration, for trading and purchasing various services.

Portuguese vocabulary

Most words in Portuguese come from Latin. Either this was a direct borrowing or Latin terms came through other Romance languages. However, due to its original Celtic heritage and then Portugal's involvement in the Age of Discovery, it has some Celtic words and has also borrowed vocabulary from around the world.

The development of the Portuguese language in Brazil (and therefore in the rest of the areas where it is spoken) was influenced by other languages ​​with which it came into contact, mainly in vocabulary: first the Indian dialects of the indigenous people, then the various African ones spoken slaves, and finally the languages ​​of later European and Asian immigrants. Although the vocabulary is still predominantly Portuguese, influences from other languages ​​are evident in the Brazilian lexicon, which today includes, for example:

Words borrowed from the Tupi Indian language are especially common in place names (place names). Portuguese also adopted the names of most plants and animals found in Brazil in this language. Most official animal names in Portuguese-speaking countries are also Amerindian in origin. However, many Tupi-Guaraní place names are not directly derived from Amerindian expressions, but were in fact coined by European settlers and Jesuit missionaries who made extensive use of the Gueral lingua in the early centuries of colonization. Many of American words entered the Portuguese lexicon as early as the 16th century, and some of them were eventually adopted into other European languages.

Between the ninth and early thirteenth centuries, the Portuguese acquired almost 800 words from Arabic under the influence of Moorish Iberia. They are often recognized by the original Arabic article "al". This category of words includes many common terms such as village, olive oil, hotel. Thus, the official language of Brazil contains many loanwords.

Languages ​​of South America

In fact, two languages ​​are used in South America - Spanish and Portuguese, which are closely related. Doesn't have Spanish official status in Brazil. However, it is widely studied in schools and universities across the country. There is close linguistic interaction. Thus, Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil. Venezuela and Peru use Spanish as their official language. The number of speakers of these languages ​​in South America is approximately equal.

Unlike Spanish, Portuguese retains older speech forms on the one hand, and on the other contains a huge number of sound innovations of uncertain (most likely Celtic) origin. The set of vowel sounds, the specificity of the pronunciation of certain sounds, the change in the open-closedness of vowels make it close to French and Catalan. However, the vocabulary of Portuguese, as well as the grammatical system, is closer to Spanish. Moreover, due to the specific pronunciation of vowel sounds, Portuguese speakers understand spoken Spanish better than vice versa.

In areas of strong Spanish influence, such as southern Brazil, Portuguese speakers understand almost all Spanish. In the nearby territories of Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, a mixed Portuguese-Spanish language, Portuñol, emerged. Speakers of Classical Castilian do not understand spoken Portuguese very well, although written Portuguese is usually understood at ninety percent.

7th grade students who have contour maps in geography, there is the following assignment: “Sign the official languages ​​of Brazil, Venezuela and Peru,” it should be borne in mind that these are Spanish and Portuguese.

Brazil is a country whose population uses everyday life about 175 languages. In the past, their number was much higher – close to a thousand! But they all “fell” under the onslaught of the Portuguese language, which penetrated into the country along with the colonialists in the 16th century. This played a determining role in what official language was adopted in Brazil in the future. Today, only a few local dialects can compare with Portuguese in terms of active use.

History of the development of the Brazilian version of Portuguese

The first speakers of Portuguese appeared in Brazil at the very beginning of the 16th century. Portuguese colonialists developed the territory of the country on the basis of the Treaty of Tordesillas, concluded with Spain in 1494. According to this treaty, all lands east of a line stretching 400 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands remained with Portugal, and those located west of them remained with Spain. This is why the people of Brazil speak Portuguese and not Spanish or any other language.

In 1530, the first colonies of Portuguese settlers began to appear in Brazil. Their contacts with the local population led to the formation of Língua Geral ( common language) - a mixture of Portuguese and borrowings from local dialects. It was actively used until the middle of the 18th century. And on August 17, 1758, the Marquis de Pombal banned Língua Geral and proclaimed Portuguese the state language of Brazil. His decision was never challenged. That is why in Brazil they speak Portuguese in all government institutions, on radio and television.

Currently, Brazilian Portuguese, which has significant phonetic and lexical differences from the European version, has over ten dialects.

Which language has the status of state (official) in Brazil?

Portuguese has the status of the state language throughout the country. This is enshrined in Article 13 of the 1988 Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. According to statistics, it is spoken by 99% of the country's population.

It is Portuguese, being the official language in Brazil, that is used as the language of instruction in schools and office work in government agencies.

However, numerous borrowings from local dialects changed European Portuguese so much that it was separated into a special version - Brazilian. Currently, it successfully exists along with Asian and African. The Brazilian version has minor grammatical differences from the European original, much more in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary. This is confirmed by the lexical differences that exist between the main dialects of Brazilian Portuguese. The most influential of these are the dialects of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Even a special dictionary of karyokisms has been published - words used in the Rio de Janeiro version. However, the São Paulo dialect is considered more prestigious. All this does state language in Brazil is not a monolithic, but a diverse and rather complex phenomenon.

On March 15, 2020, the country made the transition to a new unified spelling standard, although the agreement between Brazil, Mozambique, Portugal, Angola, Sao Tome and Guinea-Bissau was signed back in 1990 (East Timor also joined them in 2004 ). Thanks to this solution, Internet searches in Portuguese were greatly simplified and possible discrepancies in the interpretation of official documents were eliminated.

And finally, the most interesting thing is the restriction of travel abroad for debtors. It is the status of the debtor that is easiest to “forget” when getting ready for your next vacation abroad. The reason may be overdue loans, unpaid housing and communal services receipts, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2018; we recommend finding out information about the presence of debt using the proven service nevylet.rf

In 2003, the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira in the state of Amazon adopted the Nyengatu, Baniwa and Tukano languages ​​along with Portuguese as official languages. Their speakers are about 800 representatives of local tribes, whose languages ​​are recognized as a way of ethnic self-identification. This decision became a significant support for the indigenous population at the country level. Thus, despite the fact that the official language in Brazil is Portuguese, three other languages ​​in the state of Amazon have the same status as it.

Indian languages ​​in modern Brazil

Initially, on the territory of what is now Brazil, there were over 1,000 Indian languages ​​belonging to 17 language families. Most of them have died out, the rest still remain poorly understood.

Only three Indian languages ​​- Baniwa, Nyengatu and Tukano - received official status in the Amazon state. They are well studied and actively used by the local population of the state.

Currently, the following Indian language families exist in Brazil:

• Arawakan (northwest Amazon, banks of the Yapura, Rio Negro and Putumayo rivers);
• Chapakur and Aravan, Maku-Puinava, Diapan, Tukanoan (western Amazonia);
• Caribbean and Yanomami (northern coast of the Amazon, eastern coast of the Rio Negro);
• Tupian (south of the Rio Negro);
• jee (Xingu-Tocantins and Tiete-Uruguay river basins);
• Mbaya-Guaycuru (along the border with Paraguay);
• Carian (northeast of the country);
• Murano and Nambiquar (central regions of the country);
• pano-tacanskaya (southern foothills of the Andes).

Each of these macrofamilies includes several languages. Thus, native language There is not just one Brazil - there are dozens of them, and each Indian tribe protects its own.

In the past, the most widely spoken language among the local population was Tupi. Now the pumpkin is in first place. Behind him come Makushi, Kayva, Tenetehara and others.

Languages ​​brought to Brazil by immigrants

In addition to the original Indian languages ​​and Portuguese, which has become the state language, the population of Brazil actively uses 30 languages ​​of the Romance, Slavic and Germanic groups, as well as some Asian ones. Modern peoples and languages ​​in Brazil often borrow words, speech patterns and intonations from each other. Thanks to this, the speech of emigrants acquires specific “Brazilian” features.

Transformation of European languages ​​in Brazil

From European languages in the territory of modern Brazil the following are most actively used:

• German;
• thalian;
• Spanish;
• Polish;
• Ukrainian;
• Russian.

It is quite difficult to determine which languages ​​are most spoken in Brazil. For a long time, two dialects occupied the leading positions German language– Pomeranian and Hunsrich. But for recent years the number of their speakers has almost halved.

Spanish, along with Portuguese, is used in schools in border areas, which contributes to its spread. Ukrainian, Russian and Polish can be heard everywhere, but mainly in the neighborhoods with the largest concentrations of gringos, as white settlers are called in Brazil. For example, in Sao Paulo these are Jardim Paulista, Vila Olimpia and Itaim Bibi. There is even an entire village of Santa Cruz, where Russian-speaking Old Believers live.

Talian - the most famous representative Romance group of languages ​​in Brazil.

Development of Asian languages ​​in Brazil

The following Asian languages ​​are represented on the territory of the Brazilian state:

• Chinese;
• Japanese;
• Korean;
• New Aramaic dialects.

And although they are not as widespread as European ones, some Brazilian cities have entire Asian neighborhoods. For example, in Sao Paulo it is Liberdade. The leading position is occupied by Japanese, the number of speakers of which in Brazil is more than 300 thousand people.

The situation with Chinese is complicated: there are Northern Chinese, Cantonese, and even the endangered Macaense. As for the latter, Brazil became a real salvation for him. It should be noted that the Brazilian government is focused on expanding bilateral relations with China, and this will certainly contribute to more active distribution Chinese language on the territory of Brazil.

As for the New Aramaic dialects, they are mainly used by small Kurdistan Christian settlers.

Thus, it is almost impossible to give a definite answer to the question of what language the people speak in Brazil.



Myths about the existence of the Brazilian language

Surprisingly, even knowing what language 90% of the Brazilian population speaks, many continue to believe in the existence of the mythical “Brazilian language”. This error arose from the use in everyday speech of the abbreviated expression “Brazilian” instead of the full version “Brazilian Portuguese”. Of course, there are differences between Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese, but they are still the same language. British and American English find themselves in a similar situation.

Another myth claims that the Brazilian language is a version of Spanish. However, this is not the case, although speakers of Brazilian Portuguese often emphasize their similarities. However, these are different languages.

As for the Língua Geral (common language) that existed in the past, it was never independent language and was, rather, a kind of artificial mixture of a number of local dialects based on the European version of Portuguese.

What do Russian immigrants think about the Brazilian version of Portuguese?

The blogs of Russian immigrants in Brazil are replete with curious examples of how they could not determine what language people nearby were speaking - Russian or Portuguese: someone mistook their neighbors in a cinema for speaking Russian in Portuguese, while others thought they were speaking Russian words in the chatter of Portuguese children outside the windows of the house.

And such situations are not fiction - they are quite real. Professional phonographers have long noticed that the language spoken in Brazil, namely Portuguese, is very similar in sound to Russian. At the same time we're talking about both about intonation and their tonality.

In addition, Russian-speaking immigrants note a special, “flirty” pronunciation characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese. They are surprised by the abundance of nasal sounds and the characteristic hoarse “r”. At the same time, immigrants who speak Spanish note some similarities with Portuguese, claiming that knowledge of its European counterpart helped them in learning the official language of Brazil.

Portuguese in Brazil: Video

Brazil is the largest country in South America. Its official name is the Federative Republic of Brazil. The country's population is about 200 million people as of 2014. Of these, 95% are Brazilians. By faith, the majority are Catholics.

The whole world knows about this state thanks to football, carnival, television series, the statue of Jesus Christ, the city of Rio de Janeiro, beautiful beaches and the Amazon River. However, not everyone can answer the question of what language is spoken in Brazil.

Official language in Brazil

In the country of carnivals, only one official language is Portuguese. It belongs to the Indo-European language family. In addition to this country, the following countries of the world speak it officially:

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

It’s clear what country’s language is in Brazil. However, it is important to know that there are two varieties of Portuguese - European and Brazilian. They have their differences, but are considered one common language.

Difference between Brazilian and European version

The main differences between both options exist at the level of vocabulary, phonetics, and, to a lesser extent, spelling and punctuation. The pronunciation in the Portuguese version is more closed with hissing sounds.

Such differences are due to the fact that by the time these lands were colonized by conquistadors from Portugal, local tribes were already living on them. In addition, in addition to the Portuguese, representatives of other European countries began to populate the lands. These include Italians, Dutch, Slavs.

However, many differences exist in the Brazilian dialect. Thus, in the south and north of the country, as well as in largest cities- Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo speak differently. Such differences are usually called language variability. Brazilian is considered a variant of Portuguese.

Among the states that speak this dialect, there is an agreement on uniform rules of the language, which they adhere to at the official level.

Myths about the Brazilian language

By understanding what language is spoken in Brazil, you can debunk many of the myths associated with it.

Myth 1. Since the Brazilian version is different from European Portuguese, we can say that there is a separate Brazilian language.

It was already mentioned above that this phenomenon is called variability. An example would be English. Its variants exist in the form of American, Canadian, Australian. They have their differences, however, they are considered English.

Myth 2. Most Brazilians speak and understand English perfectly.

On some sites you can find similar information. It's too exaggerated. It is already clear what language is spoken in Brazil. Residents of this country know only their Portuguese perfectly, and only a part of the population is familiar with English.

Myth 3. In the Brazilian version, the name Cristiano Ronaldo is pronounced Cristiano Ronaldo.

This misconception has spread among Russian sports commentators. In fact, it should be pronounced like in Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, since at the end the “o” sound becomes “u”, and the combination “ld” is pronounced firmly “ld”.

To call a famous Brazilian player after Ronaldo is to offend him because it is an option spanish pronunciation. It has nothing in common with the Brazilian one.

What is the official language in Brazil?

It is noteworthy that Brazil is the only country in South America where Portuguese is spoken. Other countries consider Spanish their official language.

Once you understand what language is spoken in Brazil, you can easily answer the question of which language is the official language. This is Portuguese.

A similar situation arose due to the colonial policies of European countries on this continent. Most territories Latin America captured spanish conquistadors, and the Portuguese got only one state. Thanks to them, the official language in Brazil is Portuguese.

Indigenous languages ​​of Brazil

Today, less than 1% of Brazilians speak a language other than Portuguese. Tribes have survived that communicate in their own dialects. They inhabit certain regions of the state and in some municipalities they use their language as a second state language.

Tribes that use their own dialects:

• matses;
• boniva;
• Nyengatu;
• tucano;
• kulina-pano;
• Kanamari;
• Marubo.

The largest group is the Matses Indians. They are distributed between Brazil and Peru. Representatives of this tribe are most often monolingual. This means that they teach their own children only their native dialect. Only those who, due to work or study, were connected to cities in Brazil know Portuguese.

Representatives of this tribe gained their popularity and fame due to the fact that their women decorate their faces with cat whiskers. Very often you can find the name “cat tribe”.

Immigrant languages

Brazil, like any other developed state, has among its residents representatives different nationalities. That is why here, in addition to the official dialect, you can hear other languages ​​of the world.

To mid-19th centuries, the bulk of the population consisted of Portuguese. Later, Italians, Germans, Russians, Spaniards, and Arabs began to come to the country.

Over the course of a hundred years (1850-1965), about 5 million immigrants entered the state. Most of them were from Italy, Lebanon, Germany.

After the end of World War II, the state was replenished with immigrants from Japan.

When learning what language is in Brazil, many people study Portuguese. In recent years, there has been a tendency to learn the Brazilian version. This is attributed to the large flow of tourists to this country, as well as the popularity of their TV series and culture.

Can the Brazilian language become its own language?

The answer to this question is quite simple. In order for the Brazilian Portuguese language to become independent, it is necessary for those who speak it to declare this. They must do this at the state level.

The procedure consists of the following steps:

• holding a referendum;
• voting of parliamentary representatives;
• carrying out language reform.

One day, the Brazilian language may truly come into its own. But this will only happen if the residents of Brazil declare it, and legislation enshrines their decision. From now on it will be considered state.

For now, this question does not bother them, so the official language in Brazil is Portuguese.

The main and official language of Brazil is Portuguese, as stated in Art. 13 of the State Constitution. Like some other languages, Portuguese has several language variants. Brazilian Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is spoken by more than 190 million people.

A small part of the Brazilian population speaks the indigenous languages ​​of their peoples, of which there are more than 170.

The Brazilian variant has its own characteristics in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and use of idiomatic expressions. Although these features are quite profound, they are not sufficient to consider them fundamentally different from the basic structure of the Portuguese language. Therefore, we can talk about the existence of a separate Brazilian language.

There are several main dialects spoken in different regions of Brazil. Reducing language differences is facilitated by the influence of means mass media, especially national television networks.

History of the development of the Portuguese language in Brazil

Several major events in the formation of the main language of Brazil. Its territory was discovered in 1500 by the Portuguese, after which they began to form colonies. Along with Portuguese, the Tupi language, spoken by the local population, was actively used in the colonies. Tupi was banned by royal decree in 1757, but it had already had an influence on Portuguese. The language includes numerous geographical names, names of local plants and animals.

In the period from 1549 to 1830. Millions of dark-skinned slaves were resettled in Brazil, and Portuguese acquired new words from many African languages. These are mainly words related to religion, cuisine, and family relationships.

After Brazil gained independence in 1822, immigrants from Europe and Asia flocked to the central and southern regions, bringing their cultures and languages. In the 20th century, the difference between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese widened further due to the emergence of new technical words. As a result, in different versions of the language the same words acquired different pronunciation and spelling forms.

Carrying out spelling reform

During the twentieth century, several attempts were made to bring the vocabulary of the Portuguese language to uniform standards to avoid confusion arising when using different words to describe the same objects. As a result of lengthy preparatory work, in 1990 in Lisbon, representatives of all Portuguese-speaking countries signed an international agreement on the reform of the spelling of the Portuguese language.

In Brazil, the Agreement officially entered into force in January 2009. Initially transition period for its implementation was set until December 31, 2012, but was later extended by presidential decree for another 3 years.