Languages are the doorway to the regional cultural and local tapestries stretched over millennia. Meaning, the best way to learn about the local and colloquial traditions and customs of a specific region involves building familiarity with the native language. In marketing, this concept is adopted to appeal to the target audiences in the most familiar way possible. Globalization of businesses instigated healthy competition in how to approach social media marketing, ads, websites, applications, etc. so that the brand voice would resonate with the linguistic nuances and the cultural preferences of the target locals. If the language is diverse, it involves more dynamic factors related to cultural and linguistic diversities.
Today we will delve into the intricacies of the Portuguese language. Portuguese is among the most-spoken languages in the world. Moreover, it is the second most popular language in the North American region. The Romance language (Portuguese) currently has the status of an official language in many countries and independent regions: Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, East Timor, Macau, Guinea, Principe, and Cape Verda. Brazil. But the important thing about every country/region is its distinct features of the Portuguese language. For example, the European Portuguese differs from the Brazilian Portuguese on many levels.
Historical Progression of the Portuguese Language
The Portuguese language is a part of the romantic languages like French and Spanish. The early traces of the Portuguese language go back to more than two thousand years ago. Similarly to other romantic languages, it evolved from ancient Latin with the influence of other Germanic languages. Furthermore, modern Portuguese was influenced by Arabic and still has a bulk of Arabic-origin words. The era of Arabic influence spans from the ninth century to the end of the fourteenth century. A few Portuguese words with Arabic origins are mentioned below.
- Portuguese: Genio (Al-Jinn)
- Portuguese: Bairro (Al-Barri)
- Portuguese: Alcool (Al-Kuhul)
- Portuguese:Acucar (As-Suqar)
- Portuguese:Assassino (Hashashim)
Portuguese Language As A Continental Lingua Franca
The most important factor in the development of Portuguese is that, after the fifteenth century, Portuguese colonizers, traders, and other immigrants took the language in the regions of Africa, Asia, America, and Europe. Additionally, there are also traces of Portuguese culture and architecture present in the countries of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and India. Interestingly, there was a time when the Portuguese language became the modern standard of communication from the Indian Ocean to the far east of Europe.
Interestingly, around the same time, in the Indonesian region, Portuguese was used as a lingua franca for trade and left its influence on the Indonesian language. The modern Indonesian language has many words and phrases of Portuguese origin. That is why if you want to target 230 million Indonesian speakers, a professional Indonesian translation company will help you mitigate linguistic and cultural barriers.
Global Portuguese Speakers
The global Portuguese-speaking population is estimated to be more than 258 million. Whereas, the number of native Portuguese speakers is around 220 million. Moreover, Portuguese is the 5th most spoken language in the world.
Portuguese Speakers Around the Globe
Interestingly, over the past few centuries, the Portuguese-speaking people of Portugal spread all over Europe. Brazil hosts the largest Portuguese-speaking population (210 million plus) but there is also a significant number of Portuguese-speaking populations in Canada (693,000), in the South American countries: Argentina(58,000), Angola (18 million), Paraguay (235,000), Mozambique (around 13 million), Uruguay (30,600), Guinea-Bissau (100,000), South Africa (100,000), France (959,000), (Germany Switzerland, and Spain (200,000), UK (135,000), and Venezuela (254,000).
So when it comes to Portuguese speakers it is not a matter of one or two countries. That is why if you want to expand your business/brand into the American region, African countries, or European countries, getting the services of a Portuguese translation company is a prerequisite for executing result-oriented expansion strategies. Whether it is marketing materials, websites, user guides, legal compliance, regulatory documentation, or intellectual property-related matters, translation of the related material in the language of the target region can potentially decrease the language barrier, build trust, foster loyalty in the target client base, and increase the ROI of your business.
European Portuguese Speaking Population
Portugal is a European country with more than 10 million speakers. But this does not mean that Portugal hosts a huge Portuguese-speaking population in Europe. To put things in perspective: the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo hosts more than 12 million native Portuguese. Let’s explore some of the key differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese.
Differences Between European and Brazilian Portuguese
- Colloquial Context: Differences in formal and informal use of the Portuguese word “You”,(Portugal: tu, Brazil: voce)
- Dialectical: People often argue that European and Brazilian Portuguese can be classified as the two dialects of the same language.
- Pronunciation: There is a range of sounds, letters, and consonants, that are pronounced differently depending on the location of the speaker.
- Grammatical: Brazilian and European Portuguese have different spellings and different grammatical structures (in some cases).
Contact Professional Portuguese Translation Company Today
Portuguese is a diverse language with a variety of regional dialects, strong historical influences, and cultural richness. When any business needs to target a Portuguese-speaking region, it is always better to opt for a professional LSP for seamless translation.