What is the official language in Brazil? Official language of Brazil: general description. Why Portuguese? The reason why this country's language is spoken in Brazil

Brazil- one of the few countries characterized by multilingualism. But it stands out among the rest in that the languages ​​used here are not 2-3, but as many as 175. And this is far from the limit, because in the past, when the state’s population was larger, about 1000 different dialects were spoken here. 120 of them disappeared within 50 recent years. What languages ​​are spoken in the country now, and which of them is the state language?

Historical preconditions for the formation of multilingualism in Brazil

Why is Brazil a multilingual country? Initially, its territory was inhabited by Indian tribes, each of which had its own dialect. According to scientists, at that time there were 270-1078 different languages. After the colonization of the country by Europeans, who ousted most of the tribes from their inhabited territories, Portuguese was spoken in the country.

Over time, Europeans began to transport African slaves to Brazil, who brought their own dialects. This was followed by the colonization of the country by France, Spain, Holland, and England. Each of these nationalities left its mark in the formation linguistic culture Brazil.

And as a result of further immigration of populations from Europe and Asia, the number of languages ​​in the country increased even more. But gradually, under the influence of geo-, demo- and political factors, it decreased to 175.

State language of the country

Among such multilingualism, only one language has the status of a state language in Brazil - Portuguese. This despite the fact that almost all South America speaks Spanish. What explains this phenomenon?

The fact is that in 1500 the country was colonized by Portugal. Since Spain controlled the adjacent territories, between these European states was signed Treaty of Tordisillar on the delimitation of possessions. Therefore, most Latin American countries speak Spanish, and only Brazil speaks Portuguese.

After colonization, Brazil was gradually populated by settlers from Europe who arrived by ship. As a result of mixing their language (Portuguese) with the local dialect, Língua Geral was formed. This dialect was used before mid-17th century century, when by decision of the Marquis of Pompala it was banned, and Portuguese was declared the official language.

Officially, its status was enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil in 1988. Today, the Portuguese language is used by almost the entire population of the country (99%) - in government agencies, schools, and on television.

But individual administrative units of Brazil have several official languages. So in the municipality Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, part of the Amazon state, the languages ​​of Indian tribes are still actively used to this day - tucano, baniwa, Nyengatu. According to the program to support the country's ethnic population, they, along with the Portuguese, have state status.

Brazilian Portuguese

The modern Portuguese language used in Brazil differs significantly from the European language. Under the influence of local dialects, it has changed greatly lexically and phonetically, and over 10 of its dialects have appeared. This is why this version of Portuguese is called Brazilian.

So the most common varieties of Portuguese in Brazil are dialects Rio de Janeiro And Sao Paulo. Even special dictionaries have been created containing words used exclusively in these areas.

In 2015, Brazil switched to a new, more common spelling standard. This greatly simplified Internet searches in Portuguese and avoided inaccuracies in the interpretation of various official documents.

How to communicate as tourists in Brazil

In Latin American countries there is a developed tourism, and Brazil is no exception. Therefore, those wishing to visit the state have a question about what language to speak here.

In addition to the state Portuguese and a number of Indian dialects, the local population uses about 30 languages ​​in everyday life, belonging to the Germanic, Romance, Slavic and even Asian groups.

Of the European dialects in Brazil, Portuguese, which is the state language, Spanish (in border areas), German, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian are actively used. The last two can most often be heard in the gringo (white settlers) neighborhoods - Sao Paulo, Vila Olympia, Santa Cruz. Among the Asian languages ​​in the country, you can hear Japanese (the most widespread), Chinese (several of its dialects have been preserved, including endangered ones), and Korean. Sometimes even local residents they cannot always determine what language their neighbors speak.

Thus, there is no single answer to the question of what language is spoken in Brazil. He is a complex and varied phenomenon here. During the existence of the country, the peoples inhabiting it mixed culture, language and traditions. They borrowed some words, expressions, phrases, and intonations from each other. The speech of immigrants gradually transformed, acquiring characteristic “Brazilian” features. And now it has mixed so much that representatives of different nationalities find in it something of their own, dear. This makes Brazil a unique country, bringing together people from hundreds of different countries.

Brazil is a multinational country with a distinct culture. Lives on its territory large number different nations, whose linguistic tradition is equally diverse. What language do Brazilians speak?

Official language of the country

Portuguese is national language of this state. It is recognized at the official level. It is taught in schools in almost every corner of Brazil.

The population of this state is more than 191 million people. All of them know the official language, but many of them also communicate in their native languages ​​and dialects.

Brazil borders countries where it is customary to speak Spanish and English. But Portuguese is considered the official state language only here. It is not spoken in other South American countries.

The Portuguese also communicate in their native language. But the difference between the two pronunciations in these countries is comparable to the differences between British and American English.

Interesting! " All who speak this language are called Lusophones. This word is borrowed from Latin language, and translated it sounds like “Luisitania”. This was the name given to the province of the Romans on the territory of modern Portugal. Therefore, the lands where Portuguese is spoken are conditionally united into the region of Lusophonia. Although their versions of Portuguese have many differences, both in grammar and pronunciation».

In general, Brazil is recognized as a multilingual country. Since its population has a very heterogeneous ethnic group.

Other languages ​​in Brazil

Immigrant and native lexical variations are represented in 175 different languages. The most famous aboriginal dialect is the Nyengatu language. It is recognized as the second official language in the state of Amazonas.

Before the colonization of Brazil, Indian tribes lived in its territories, whose languages ​​belonged to 17 linguistic groups. Today, the right of Indian tribes to their dialects is enshrined in the Brazilian Constitution.

European languages ​​in Brazil belong to the following groups:

• German;
• Romanskaya;
• Slavic.

Asian linguistic group is also represented in this state in the widest format. There are also New Aramaic languages ​​in the country. The Aramaic Christians brought them with them.

Why do people speak Portuguese in Brazil?

For a long period, Brazil was suppressed by the colonial oppression of Portugal. During this time, the local population managed to get used to the Portuguese language. Then the Portuguese lost power over their colony several times, but their language took root quite well among the local population.

In addition, Portuguese in Brazil is enriched with words from other indigenous languages. This is why its differences with the language in Portugal are so obvious.

The original Portuguese language of Brazil is gaining more and more popularity every year. different countries. After all, this country is actively establishing economic and political ties with the whole world.

The Portuguese language of Brazilians has Romance roots, and its origins lie where Latin reigns. The population of Brazil speaks their language very fluently. But learning Portuguese is not difficult. In addition to the state version, most Brazilians' children study other languages ​​in schools and colleges.

Brazil is a country where the population actively uses different languages and adverbs.

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According to some estimates, in everyday life Residents of the country speak about 175 languages. But this does not mean that everyone locality or the province speaks its own.

Radio, television, various organizations and institutions use the official national language of Brazil.

A little history

Historians do not agree on when the first people appeared on the territory of modern Brazil.

Some call the period about 17 thousand years BC. e., others claim that this happened much later, around 6 thousand years BC. e.

But be that as it may, by the time the Portuguese colonialists arrived in the country, it was already inhabited by about 7 million people.

The discovery of Brazil occurred on April 24, 1500, by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral.

But Portuguese colonization began a little later - in 1533. It was then that the first Europeans began to arrive in the country and the creation of colonies began.

During its development, Brazil became one of the most important exporters, first of various decorative wood, and then of sugar cane and coffee.

The country also had significant reserves of gold, which was quite actively mined by representatives of the colonial power.

As labor force Slaves were initially actively used in Brazil.

Initially, local Indians were used as them, but since 1550 the Portuguese also began to massively import blacks and slaves from Africa as slaves.

The ban on turning local Indians into slaves began in Brazil in 1574.

But black slavery continued for more than three centuries, and was only abolished in 1888, shortly before the proclamation of the republic.

The country declared independence from Portugal in 1822 and initially became an empire.

However, the Brazilian Empire did not last long. Already in 1889, the military staged a coup and a republic was proclaimed. It was officially called the United States of Brazil.

IN late XIX— at the beginning of the 20th century, immigrants from the most different parts Sveta. Mainly they were Europeans and Japanese.

Currently, the country is also home to a significant number of citizens or former citizens of other countries who have arrived for permanent residence.

Which one is recognized as official?

When the Portuguese arrived in the territory of modern Brazil, they were quite actively in contact with the local population.

This eventually led to the emergence of Língua Geral. This is the so-called common language. It was a mixture of Portuguese and some borrowings from local dialects.

It was this that was actively used by the Portuguese living in the colonies, and by local residents before mid-18th century century.

In 1758, the Marquis de Pombal, who by that time had already become viceroy, single-handedly banned the use of Língua Geral and proclaimed Portuguese as the only state language. Decision made no one subsequently disputed this.

As a result, to this day Portuguese is the official language in Brazil.

.

Although Brazilian Portuguese has significant differences from the language used in Portugal itself.

Even the dictators who came to power in Brazil did not violate accepted norms and left Portuguese as the state language.

Indian dialects

The indigenous population of Brazil are Indians. Currently, from 500 to 750 thousand people consider themselves to be among them.

A significant part of them completely switched to using Portuguese language, but about 250 thousand people continue to preserve the language of their ancestors.

By different estimates The inhabitants of the country use from 145 to 175 different Indian languages ​​and dialects.

The country's constitution, which was adopted in 1988, recognizes the right of Indians to use their languages.

In 2003 three Indian languages they even received official status along with Portuguese, however, only in the territory of the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

Colloquial speech of language groups

Currently, representatives of a wide variety of peoples and nationalities live in Brazil.

You can quite easily meet Germans, Japanese, Russians and even Arabs in the country.

They all speak more often in their own own languages, only in official documents and institutions using Portuguese whenever possible.

Let's consider what kind of speech language groups most often heard in the territory of modern Brazil:

Speech in Japanese is also quite common in Brazil. But Creole has already become extinct.

Video: information about the country

Native dialect

Today, only less than 1% of the country's population speaks a language other than Portuguese.

Usually these are representatives of certain tribes who inhabit certain territories of the country and use their native dialects for communication. The most common of these is the Metses language.

Its representatives often do not even teach their children Portuguese. And only those who, due to work or other reasons, are forced to encounter other residents of Brazil know it.

On April 22, 1500, the Portuguese Pedro Alvarez Cabral first landed on the Brazilian coast and took possession of it. To get ahead of the Spaniards and French, King João III of Portugal, starting in 1531, accelerated the colonization of the country. The indigenous population - Indians who did not die in battles or from infectious diseases, were turned into slaves or forced into the interior of the country. Since 1574, black slaves were imported to work on the plantations where cotton and sugar cane were grown.
In 1822, Brazil achieved independence from Portugal and became an independent empire. In 1850, slavery was outlawed. And in 1889, the monarchical form of government ceased to exist in Brazil. In accordance with the Constitution adopted on February 24, 1891, Brazil became federal republic. Currently, it includes 26 states and 1 federal (capital) district. Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, covering an area of ​​8,515,770 km2 and having (as of 2017 estimates) 207,350,000 inhabitants.
The population of Brazil is 47.73% white, 43.13% mestizo, 7.61% black and 1.5% Indian and Asian. Indian indigenous people mixed with the Portuguese who arrived there first, and then the blacks and representatives of other peoples who arrived in Brazil over the course of five centuries.

The Portuguese language of Brazil and Portugal has certain differences in spelling, pronunciation, syntax and vocabulary, which are explained, on the one hand, by geographical distance, and on the other hand, by special ethnic composition population of Brazil. Thus, from the language of the most important groups of the Tupi-Guarani Indian indigenous population, thousands of words passed into the Brazilian version of the Portuguese language. First of all, this applies to words denoting the names of persons, places, certain trees, plants, animals, objects, dishes and diseases. In a similar way, words were also borrowed from the language of African blacks brought to Brazil.
Linguistic scientists believe that the Brazilian Portuguese language has some syntactic constructions and pronunciation norms that were previously used equally in both Portugal and Brazil. However, over time they received a different development in Portugal. On the other hand, in Brazilian romantic literature there was a tendency against the conservative adherence to Portuguese grammatical norms and a mixture of the norms of the traditional solemn (high) style in the language was advocated. various forms colloquial speech and expressions from vernacular all regions of Brazil. In the 20th century, Brazilian writers sought to avoid significant differences between literary and spoken language. IN literary works and in the speech of all segments of the Brazilian population there are usages that are a clear example of non-compliance literary norms Portuguese language in Portugal. In the Portuguese languages ​​of Portugal and Brazil, there are sometimes two completely different words for the same thing, for example:
tram: braz. bond m.r., port. electric m.r.; bus: braz. Onibus m.r., port. autocarro m.r.; train: braz. trem m.r., port. comboio m.r.; stewardess: braz. aeromoca zh.r., port. hospedeira w.r.

Pronunciation of Portuguese in Brazil

The differences between the pronunciation of Portuguese in Portugal and in Brazil (where several regions of the country have their own local dialects) are not so great as to be a serious obstacle to understanding spoken language.

Attention! The information below is intended for those who have completed at least the first 5 lessons of this course.

Differences are observed in the following cases:

Unstressed vowels pronounced in Brazil clearer, so in general the difference between stressed and unstressed syllables is not as strong as in Portugal.

Nasal vowels And diphthongs in Brazil become more nasalized than in Portugal.

Features of vowel pronunciation:

Unstressed e V end of the word pronounced not as [(ə)], but as [i].

Example:
diss e[ˈdʒisi]

Unstressed e inside a word pronounced not as [(ə)], but as [e].

Example:
b e ber

Unstressed o V end of the word not pronounced as the obligatory [u] in Portugal, but as the [o] pronounced in some areas of Brazil.

Example:
grup o[ˈgrupo]

Unstressed o inside a word pronounced not as [u], but as [o].

Example:
rec o meçar

Features of pronunciation of diphthongs:

Diphthong [ɐj̃], in writing em, en or ãe, pronounced more closed in Brazil, namely as [ẽj̃].

Example:
ord em[ˈɔrdẽj̃]

Diphthong ei pronounced not as [ɐj], but as or as [e].

Example:
ters ei ro

Features of consonant pronunciation:

Before a vowel pronounced [i], d And t in Brazil they are pronounced not as [d] and [t], but as [ʤ] and as [ʧ].

Example:
vin t e [ˈvĩʧi]

At the end of a word and syllable l pronounced not as [l], but as a weak [u].

Example:
fina l mente

At the end of a word r pronounced either very weakly or not pronounced at all. In some areas of Brazil r pronounced as a back-lingual uvular [ʀ], and in some - as the common front-lingual in Portugal or even as [x], i.e. as a voiceless velar fricative.

Only in certain areas of Brazil s at the end of a word or syllable is pronounced as in Portugal, i.e. like [ʃ] or like [ʒ] (see Lesson 3). Much more often s pronounced as [s] or as [z].

Example:
bu s car

Before m And n vowels e,o And a always pronounced in Brazil closed.

Example:
quil ô metro instead of quil ó metro

Therefore, root vowels e or o and those following them m or n pronounced differently than in Portugal (see lesson 2), - in the 2nd person singular. numbers and in the 3rd person singular. and many more numbers - closed.

Example:
c o mes [ˈkomis] instead of c o mes [ˈkɔm(ə)ʃ]

While in Portugal verbs have -ar in 1st person plural numbers Presente And P.P.S. distinguish between open and closed pronunciation a before -mos, in Brazil in both cases they pronounce closed a.

Example:
in Portugal: cheg a mos [ʃ (ə) ˈgɐmuʃ] - cheg á mos [ʃ(ə)ˈgɐmuʃ]
in Brazil: cheg a mos [ʃ(ə)ˈgɐmos] - cheg a mos [ʃ(ə)ˈgɐmos]

Spelling of Portuguese in Brazil

In cases where in Portugal there is a vowel before m or n pronounced openly and placed above it in writing acento agudo, in Brazil this vowel is pronounced closed (see Lesson 5: accent marks) and is written above it acento circunflexo.

Examples:

in Portugal
quil ó metro
t é nis
ir ó nico

in Brazil
quil ô metro
t ê nis
ir ô nico

In Brazil, unlike Portugal, the letter c before s, ç or t written only when it must be pronounced. In many words c is omitted, despite the fact that in Portugal it is pronounced in these words.
This also applies to p before s, ç And t.

Examples:

in Portugal
a c tividade
arquite c to
dire cção
Egi p to
espe c tador
espe c táculo
eucali p to
exa c to
excel p to
fa c to

in Brazil
atividade
arquiteto
direção
Egito
espetador
espetáculo
eucalito
exato
exceto
fato

The only word in which two are written in Portugal n, connosco, in Brazil it is written with one n, i.e. conosco. In other cases, both in Portugal and Brazil, doubles can only be s or r.

The peculiarities of spoken pronunciation of Portuguese in Brazil are partially reflected in writing. So, in Brazil you can sometimes find the spelling pra instead of para. Verb forms estar sometimes written without initials es-, i.e. instead of está is written tá.

IN spoken language instead of calling Senhor often used Seu, if immediately followed by a surname or given name.

Grammatical features of the Portuguese language in Brazil

Gerund

The construction with the preposition, which has become very common in Portugal a and infinitive estar + a + infinitivo not typical for Brazil. Instead, the gerund is mainly used:
estar + gerúndio.

Use of the definite article

Unlike Portugal in Brazil definite article usually not used before possessive pronouns, before proper names, before names used to indicate position and degree of relationship. In Brazil, the definite article is omitted from speech more often than in Portugal.

Diminutive forms

Diminutive forms are used much more often in Brazil than in Portugal.

Appeal in Brazil

Contrary to Portuguese tradition (see Lesson 7), conversion in Brazil is greatly simplified. Respectful treatment is limited to words about senhor or a senhora, and also senhorita in relation to a young unmarried woman. Used as an informal address você, which corresponds to the Russian pronoun You. In the south of Brazil, the pronoun is partially used as such address tu. Unlike Portugal, in Brazil officials and honorary titles, as a rule, are not used. Despite the fact that every university graduate has the title of doctor, in Brazil this title is not given as much social significance as in Portugal. Teachers are addressed with the words professor or professora, regardless of whether they work in a school, gymnasium, institute or university, or whether they teach schoolchildren or students.

Prepositions

The use of a number of prepositions in combination with certain verbs in Brazil differs in some cases from their use in Portugal. Some stable prepositional combinations characteristic of Portugal do not exist in Brazil and vice versa. Here we will not give examples for each individual case, we will only say that where in Brazil the preposition is used with a verb denoting purposeful movement em, in Portugal the preposition would be used a or para(cm.

From this article you will learn what the official language is in Brazil.

Brazil is the most big country on the southern American continent. It speaks 175 languages, but state language one. What language is this? We'll find out in this article.

What language is spoken in Brazil?

Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro with a statue of Christ installed on the mountain

Until Europeans came to the American continent, the territory of modern Brazil was inhabited by Indian tribes. They spoke Indian languages, there were more than 1 thousand of them. Today, the number of Indians in this territory has decreased significantly, the languages ​​have also been forgotten, now 145 Indian languages ​​are known, spoken by 1% of the population of Brazil. The largest tribe of Indians is the Matses, living on the border with Peru.

The Portuguese began to settle in new lands in the mid-16th century. At the same time, ships with slaves from Africa began to arrive in South America. Later, the Portuguese had to fight for new colonies with the Spaniards, British, Dutch and Italians, some of them remained to live on these lands.

Now in Brazil there are Germans, Russians, Arabs, Japanese and other peoples living nearby, and they all speak their own languages.

What is the official language in Brazil?

The official language in Brazil is Portuguese. This is the only country in South America, which recognized this language as common to the entire country. Portuguese is spoken by 191 million people, out of 205 million people living in the country. But in educational institutions and school, Spanish and English language And.

On the streets of Brazil you can most often hear colloquial speech the following language groups:

• Germanic (Spanish, English, German)
• Romance (Talian language, spoken by some immigrants from Italy)
• Slavic (Polish, Russian, Ukrainian languages)
• Sino-Tibetan (Chinese)
• Japanese
• Creole language (now endangered)

Is there a Brazilian language?

Amazon River flowing through Brazil

Just as the English language in the UK and the US is different from each other, so the Portuguese language is different in America and Europe.

In Brazil, the Portuguese language differs from the language spoken in Portugal in phonetics, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The Brazilian analogue of the language is more melodic, soft, intelligible, it uses the letter “s” more, in Portugal “sh”. It is a kind of Brazilian dialect of Portuguese. And what exists Brazilian language- it's just a myth.

What is the Brazilian dialect? As you know, the Portuguese language originates from the Latin language. According to linguistic studies, in the Brazilian dialect, 80% of words are taken from Portuguese, 16% spanish words, 4% of words from the languages ​​of Indians and African blacks.

So, we learned that Brazil has one official language, and many languages ​​that are not prohibited from being spoken.

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