Portuguese is spoken by about 250 million people in Portugal, Brazil, and other former Portuguese colonies. It is the eighth most spoken language and the third most spoken European language in the world (after English and Portuguese). Portuguese is one of the five modern Romance languages, together with Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian. It was originated in what is now Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal from the Latin spoken by Romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, about 2000 years ago. Standard Portuguese is established on the dialect of Lisbon. Dialectal distinction in Portugal is limited, but the difference between Brazilian and European Portuguese is far wide, including variations in phonology, verb conjugation, and syntax.
There are many countries where the Portuguese is spoken, some of them are: Angola, Andorra, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Luxembourg, Macau (China), Mozambique, Namibia, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and other countries; and Portuguese is the official language of: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, also being co-official with Portuguese and French in Equatorial Guinea, with Cantonese Chinese in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, and with Tetum in East Timor. There exist sizable communities of Portuguese-speakers in various regions of North America, notably in the United States (New Jersey and New England) and in Ontario, Canada.
German Language History
Portuguese was evolved in the Western Iberian Peninsula from the spoken Latin language, from which all Romance languages descend, early in the 3rd century, in 218 BC, the Roman soldiers and colonists brought the languages there.
Portuguese Statistics
Portuguese is the mother tongue of about 170 million people, mainly in Portugal and the Portuguese islands in the Atlantic (approximately 11 million speakers); in Brazil (about 154 million speakers); and in Portugal’s former abroad provinces in Africa and Asia (approximately 5 million speakers).
Portuguese Flag
This flag has only been the official flag of Portugal since 1911, a year after the downfall of the monarchy. It was devised by a special commission which included Portuguese painters and politicians.
