What languages are spoken by the population and what is the official language in Brazil. Do you know what language they speak in Brazil? People speak Spanish in Brazil

Brazil is a country whose population uses about 175 languages in everyday life. 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 decisive 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, but 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 makes the official language in Brazil 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, there is not just one native language of Brazil - there are dozens of them, and each Indian tribe preserves 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

Of the 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, the leading positions were occupied by two dialects of the German language - Pomeranian and Hunsrich. But in 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 is the most famous representative of the 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 a more active spread of the Chinese language in 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 an 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. In this case, we are talking about both 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 a wonderful country. We all know about her success in football and remember the bright flag. This country can hardly leave anyone indifferent. I would like to get to know the culture of Brazil better. And, naturally, we should start with the language. So what is the language in Brazil?

Official language

Brazil is a country in South America. The only official language in Brazil is Portuguese. Moreover, Brazil is considered the only Portuguese-speaking state in America. It is easy to guess that Portugal used to be a metropolis in relation to Brazil. We can talk about the use of a specific Brazilian version of the Portuguese language.

According to one version, even the name of the country is associated with the Portuguese language. Allegedly, the Portuguese discovered trees on the coast, and the wood began to be exported in large quantities to Europe. This tree was named "pau brazil" by the Portuguese, meaning "brazil tree". The word "brasil" comes from the Portuguese "brasa". And it in turn means “heat” or “hot coals”. The Portuguese thought they had found a place where the commercially valuable brazil tree grew, which the Arabs traded. This tree produced valuable redwood, which was used to make paints, furniture and musical instruments. However, they were mistaken - Arab traders brought a tree related to this species, but a different one. But the name, nevertheless, could perhaps stick.

Aboriginal and immigrant languages

However, Brazil can be considered a multilingual country. There are now 175 languages spoken, including both Aboriginal and immigrant languages. It is stated that there were another 120 languages that were once spoken, but they have disappeared. True, less than 1 percent speak an unofficial language. There are indigenous Indian languages in Brazil: Nyengatu, Tukano, and Boniva. They are notable for having become the second official languages of one of the municipalities in the state of Amazonas. There are also a huge number of Indian languages. Also spoken in Brazil are European and Asian languages, which were brought with them by immigrants from these countries.

By learning Portuguese, you can feel at home in Brazil, “where there are a lot of wild monkeys in the forests,” according to Aunt Charlie in the movie Hello, I’m Your Aunt! Ah, this bright country of Brazil! Now you know what language they speak there.

History of the development of the Brazilian version of Portuguese

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?

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.

On March 15, 2015, the country switched to a new unified spelling standard, although an 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.

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, there is not just one native language of Brazil - there are dozens of them, and each Indian tribe preserves 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

Transformation of European languages in Brazil

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

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

Talian is the most famous representative of the 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.

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

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

“What language do they speak in Brazil?” is a topic as difficult for me as “What do Brazilian girls look like”, because I really love the Portuguese language (and in Brazil they speak Portuguese) and am ready to talk about it for hours. I will try to convey the information without any special lyrical digressions :)

If three years ago you had asked me what my favorite language was, I would have answered without hesitation that it was Spanish. Now, it is very difficult for me to answer this question, I still love Spanish very much, but my growing love for Portuguese, as well as thoughts of staying in Brazil for a long time, do not allow me to give a definite answer.

Official language in Brazil

So, as I said, the official language in Brazil is Portuguese. It is often said with the qualifier “Brazilian Portuguese” (but not just “Brazilian”), because the Brazilian version and the European version of Portuguese have quite a lot of differences. In general, Portuguese is a unique language. The first thing you pay attention to is the so-called “melody” of the language. When I first came to Brazil, I had the feeling that people around me were not talking, but reading poetry. Because despite the fact that Portuguese does not have tones like Asian languages (for example, Chinese or Thai), native speakers speak with great expression, pausing and emphasizing the main points of speech with their tone. It's hard to explain in words, it's better to just hear:

As they say in different states of Brazil

The second unusual thing about Portuguese is its informality. Informality lies in the fact that there are no clear rules “how to speak.” There is simply “that’s how it is,” “that’s what they say,” and that’s enough. Moreover, how “accepted” depends on the place - the same word (or rather, even the same letter) is spoken differently in different states.

For example, in Rio Da Janeiro, one of the distinctive features of the sotaque carioca (Carioca accent) is the use of the letter “sh” instead of “s”. If in São Paulo Paulista they say “DOIS HEAYS, eStra, MayS, eStarno, inStragram”, then in Carioca they say “DOIS HeaiS, eStra, MayS, eStarno, Instagram”. Maybe in writing this doesn’t seem like a big difference, but in reality, at first it seems like they are speaking some other language. In the south of the country, for example, in Porto Alegre, the letter R is pronounced differently. If in Sao Paulo and Rio it is more like an “X” than a “P” (“reais” is read as “heais”), then in Porto Alegre it is pure R - “Reis”, “porta”. Or, for example, the particle “te” at the end of a word, almost all of Brazil reads it as “che”, for example in the word “noite” - “noyche”, if you ask, “why “che” and not “te” (noite )?”, they will answer “well, that’s just what they say.” There is also a funny moment with words ending with some consonants, to which for some reason the letter “i” is added, hence the strange “Facebooks”, “hip-hopi” and “funki” appear, and it doesn’t really matter which word is added to For example, I have a friend named Patrick, whom everyone calls Patrick. If you put all these differences together, you really get a separate, “Brazilian language.”

There are other differences, for example, in the state of Bahia, people speak noticeably faster, and in Manaus, they use forms of verb conjugation that are more typical of European Portuguese than Brazilian. The differences also concern the words used: in some places they say “menino” more often, in others “garoto” (boy), or when addressing a friend in some states they say more “mano” in others “cara”.

Carioca vs Paulista

It’s funny that despite all these differences, everyone understands each other, and no one tries to reeducate anyone (although Paulistas and Cariocas say about each other that “eles falam estranyo”, “eles falam estranyo” (they speak strangely)).

Take this video where a Carioca and a Paulista joke about each other’s habits and manner of speaking.

That is, if you speak some Portuguese, you don’t have to adapt to the local accent, they will understand you, everything becomes more difficult if you don’t know Portuguese. In this case, it will be quite difficult in Brazil.

Do they speak English in Brazil?

One of the main questions that arises among tourists planning to visit Brazil is “Do Brazilians speak English?” If I give a clear answer without going into too much detail, I would rather say no than yes. No, of course, you can find those who know English (especially among young people and in tourist areas), but in general, the situation and chance of success are approximately the same if you tried to buy a train ticket at the train station in Perm using only English tongue. This is roughly what you can expect if you use English in Brazil.

In addition, it is important to note the following point: if in Russia the first reaction of a person who does not know English, when asked something in an unfamiliar language, will be stupor and a search for options on how to get out of the current situation with minimal losses, then in Brazil (as I already wrote in the article “27 things that will surprise you in Brazil”), they will calmly answer you in the tone as they would answer a native speaker

I would like a cup of tea please.

Eu não entendi. O que voce quer? Voce gostaria o cafe? Pode repetir?

Tea, tea, please

Aaa, tá bom, agora entendi. Voce quer um cha. Copa grande, media ou pequena? Quente? Frio? Com leite?

Do they understand Spanish in Brazil?

If we talk about what language can help out in Brazil if you don’t know Portuguese, then it’s definitely Spanish. For me, the closest analogy is always when you (like me, for example), without knowing the Ukrainian language, try to read something in it. It would never have occurred to me to call the composition “warehouse” and the year “rick”, but reading it, you can understand the general meaning. And in general, this analogy persists even in everyday life; on most goods (as in Russia), the inscriptions are duplicated in two languages.

Do Brazilians speak Russian?

If we talk about the language in Brazil, it is worth noting an interesting fact that among Brazilians there are also those who study Russian; I personally know several people who not only learn, but also have good success in this difficult task.

The main difficulties, of course, are grammar, I experienced this myself when I tried to explain how the form of a word changes depending on number, tense and case. But with pronunciation, oddly enough, everything is smooth, much better than that of English speakers (who have almost no soft sounds, and who can’t hear the difference between “love” and “lub”) and Asians. If you ask a Brazilian to repeat a phrase, then literally after 2-3 attempts, he will be able to say it, practically without an accent.

In general, of course, I don’t want to say that you shouldn’t go to Brazil without knowing Portuguese. I know people who survived here speaking only Russian, but to say that this will make life much more difficult is an understatement. A good help would be at least English and a basic Portuguese phrasebook. Even if they don’t understand you, Brazilians will still be pleased that you are trying to speak their language, they love it and will definitely appreciate it!

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

Brazil is the largest country on the southern American continent. It speaks 175 languages, but has only one official language. 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, Germans, Russians, Arabs, Japanese and other peoples live nearby, and they all speak their own languages.

What is the official language in Brazil?

The official language in Brazil is Portuguese. It is the only country in South America that recognizes this language as a common language for the entire country. Portuguese is spoken by 191 million people, out of 205 million people living in the country. But in educational institutions and schools, Spanish and English are compulsory to study.

The following language groups can most often be heard spoken on the streets of Brazil:

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 the fact that the Brazilian language exists is 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% of Spanish words, 4% of words from Indian and African African languages.

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

Video: Brazil. Interesting facts about Brazil

It might be useful to read:

What languages ​​are spoken by the population and what is the official language in Brazil. Do you know what language they speak in Brazil? People speak Spanish in Brazil

History of the development of the Brazilian version of Portuguese

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

Indian languages ​​in modern Brazil

Languages ​​brought to Brazil by immigrants

Transformation of European languages ​​in Brazil

Development of Asian languages ​​in Brazil

Myths about the existence of the Brazilian language

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

Portuguese in Brazil: Video

Official language

Aboriginal and immigrant languages

History of the development of the Brazilian version of Portuguese

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

Indian languages ​​in modern Brazil

Languages ​​brought to Brazil by immigrants

Transformation of European languages ​​in Brazil

Development of Asian languages ​​in Brazil

Myths about the existence of the Brazilian language

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

Official language in Brazil

As they say in different states of Brazil

Carioca vs Paulista

Do they speak English in Brazil?

Do they understand Spanish in Brazil?

Do Brazilians speak Russian?

What language is spoken in Brazil?

What is the official language in Brazil?

Is there a Brazilian language?

Video: Brazil. Interesting facts about Brazil

What languages are spoken by the population and what is the official language in Brazil. Do you know what language they speak in Brazil? People speak Spanish in Brazil

Indian languages in modern Brazil

Languages brought to Brazil by immigrants

Transformation of European languages in Brazil

Development of Asian languages in Brazil

Indian languages in modern Brazil

Languages brought to Brazil by immigrants

Transformation of European languages in Brazil

Development of Asian languages in Brazil