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Languages - Portuguese
Portuguese is a Romance language. It is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Portuguese has co-official status (alongside the indigenous language) in Macau in East Asia, East Timor in South East Asia and in Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa; Portuguese speakers are also found in Goa, Daman and Diu in India.
With approximately 280 million speakers, Portuguese is the 5th or 6th most spoken language in the world, the 3rd most spoken language in the western hemisphere, and the most spoken language in the southern hemisphere.*
My knowledge of Portuguese
My knowledge of Portuguese is strongly linked to my Romance background. My first contact with Latin was in high school, when I was 13 years old. I studied Latin for a total of five years. Then, with the age of 17, followed French lessons of five hours per week for three years. This was followed by one year of Italian classes. In 2000, when I began my university education at the School of Applied Linguistics and Cultural Studies of Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz (FASK Germersheim), I chose Spanish as a secondary language.
Thanks to this long and intense Romance background, I could learn Portuguese rather quickly once I had had my first contact with the language. My history with Portuguese was like love at first sight. To me, Brazilian Portuguese is one of the most beautiful languages. I try to visit Brazil at least once per year.
*Quoted from Wikipedia.