Brazilian Portuguese Language and Culture

Where does it come from?
Portuguese is one of the large family of Indo-European languages.

How many people speak it?
Over 200 million people speak Portuguese throughout the world today.

In how many countries?
Apart from Portugal, it is the official language of seven countries, including Brazil, almost all of whose population of 172 million speak it. There are some variations in the pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary between the countries.

A spot of Culture
The Portuguese, the country's native Indians, the considerable African population and other settlers from Europe, the Middle East and Asia have all shaped Brazilian culture.

Music & Dance:
Brazilian music has always been characterised by great diversity and shaped by musical influences from around the world.

The Bumba-meu-boi is a traditional and dramatic dance that tells the story of the death and resurrection of an ox and originated at the end of the 18th century in the coastal sugar plantations and cattle ranches of North-Eastern Brazil. The samba (1930s mixture of Spanish bolero and African music), bossa nova (influenced by American jazz in the 1950s) and the lambada (influenced by Caribbean rhythms in the 1980s) are all associated with Brazil.

Carnival:
Every year, seven weeks before Easter, Brazil stops. It's Carnival time! This festivity was introduced in Brazil as entrudo, a Portuguese celebration in which people would dance along the streets. Today it's evolved into an overwhelming experience, with dazzling floats, outlandish costumes, and thousands of dancers who perform on the streets.

During carnival time Brazilians dress up in dramatic and extravagant costumes that are colourful, dazzling and include an abundance of feathers and sequins, ready for the large street parties.

Food & Drink
The Brazilian diet is largely based on white rice, black beans and manioc flour usually mixed with steak, chicken or fish. Moqueca (a seafood stew) and caruru (vegetables mixed with shrimps) are Brazilian specialities.

The traditional Brazilian dish is ?feijoada' - a combination of Indian, Portuguese and African influences. Today, feijoada is comprised of black beans with a lot of different types of meat all well seasoned with salt, garlic and onion. It is accompanied by white rice and collard green cut into fine strips, fried mandioc flour and pieces of orange.

Some of Brazil's Attractions
The River Amazon, the world's largest tropical rain forest, is home to thousands of plants and animals not found elsewhere, but the forests and their inhabitants are at risk from commercial development.

Other natural sights to see include The Pantanal - a vast area of wetlands in the West rich in wild life, the Iguacu Falls (3km wide and 80m high) on the border with Argentina and Paraguay, Parc Nacional da Serra da Chapada dos Veadeiros - in the Central West with its waterfalls and huge variety of wild life.

Rio de Janeiro: world famous city of 7 million inhabitants (known as Cariocas) in probably the most beautiful setting in the world and where visitors are greeted by the dominant statue of Christ the Redeemer on the peak of Corcovado. But it's a city where shanty-town favelas contrast with a wealthier lifestyle epitomised by the famous chic Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches. Rio is also home to the fantastic Carnaval.

Brasilia: Brazil's purpose built modern capital since 1960. However, some think it's a city designed more for cars than people and less good to live in than its planners intended.

Sao Paulo: the largest city in South America (20 million). An exciting city with a vibrant nightlife and a great deal of cultural diversity.

European Portugese Language and Culture

Where does it come from?
Portuguese is a member of the Romance group in the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European language family. Portuguese entered its modern phase in the 16th century.

Portuguese vocabulary is basically of Latin origin. A number of words have been absorbed from Arabic, French, and Italian, and also from some of the indigenous South American and African languages.

How many people speak it?
Over 200 million people throughout the world speak Portuguese.

In how many countries?
It is the mother tongue of about 11 million people in Portugal and its islands whence it was brought by Portuguese explorers and colonists to: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé, and the territories of Macao and East-Timor. Portuguese is eighth among the most spoken languages in the world.

A spot of Culture...

Portugal abounds with romarias (religious pilgrimages), festas (festivals) and feiras (fairs), which bring whole towns to a standstill. Carnival is one of the biggest events, featuring partying, parading and painted faces about six weeks before Easter.

Portugal's architecture is renowned for its Moorish and surrealist flourishes, culminating in the development during the 16th century of the Manueline style characterised by the extravagant use of twists, turns, spirals and nautical themes for decoration.

Music & Dance
The nation's best-known musical form is the melancholic fado (songs believed to have originated from the pinings of 16th-century sailors).

Food and drink
Classic Portuguese meals include sardinhas assadas (charcoal-grilled sardines), pastéis de bacalhau (cod fishcakes) and caldo verde (a soup of cabbage and potatoes). Seafood dishes such as linguado grelhado (grilled sole) and bife de atúm (tuna steak) are appetising staples.

Some Attractions
Lisbon
Lisbon (Lisboa), the country's capital, stands on the banks of the Rio Tejo. A clear choice for Lisbon's finest attraction is the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.

Sintra
The town of Sintra has a thickly wooded setting, romantic gardens and ramshackle glamour. Dominating the town are a number of palaces and ruins, including the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, an interesting amalgam of Manueline and Gothic architecture, and the Palácio Nacional da Pena.

Évora
The walled town of Évora is one of the architectural gems of Portugal. Situated in Alto Alentejo in a landscape of olive groves, vineyards, wheat fields and brilliant spring flowers, it's a charming town.