Monday, November 1, 2010

Facts about the Portuguese Language - Collection of Information




230 Million-people speak Portuguese as their native language, which is more than the French, German, Italian or Japanese languages.  Lusophones find it strange that some people consider their mother tongue a "minor" language and that their leading novelists, poets and songwriters are overlooked.  Camões, the 16th-century poet, whose seafaring epic "Os Lusiadas" is often compared with Homer and Dante, has been found by some scholars an influence on Shakespeare.  Yet, we still find people who believe Portuguese to be a dialect of Spanish!

Since 1986, when Portugal became a member of the European Union, Portuguese is one of its official languages.  Brazil is a member of Mercosul (the Southern Common Market).

BRAZIL LEADS RECOVERY OF AMERICA, announced The International Monetary Fund in 10/01/2009.  The IMF has raised its growth forecasts for Latin America and said recovery will be led by Brazil and stimulated by government stimulus measures adopted "in time". 

In 1996, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) was created bringing together countries where Portuguese is the official language to increase cooperation and cultural exchange between member countries in order to standardize and disseminate the Portuguese language.

As wide and geographically discontinued as it is spoken, Portuguese is presented like any other living language, with internally differentiated varieties regarding pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Such differences, however, do not compromise the unity of the language; despite the turbulent history of its expansion in Europe, and especially outside, the Portuguese language managed to maintain a high level of cohesion among its variations.

In 1996, Brazil and Portugal, joined by five African countries  Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Principe,  found the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries — CPLP.

Portuguese was recently designated an official language of the Organization of African Unity as a result of CPLP’s efforts; however, leaders believe that more can be done and the hope is that Brazil can lead the way.

When East Timor obtained its independence from Indonesia in 2002 and joined CPLP, it inspired an outpouring of sympathy, support and volunteers there and in other Portuguese speaking countries.  

The CPLP  recently granted observer  status to China and India where the language still enjoys official status in Macao, Goa, Damao and Diu, three other former Portuguese colonial outposts. 

Kindle & iPads, are we burning our books?

Is there anything more tangible in cultural heritage than books? I like to flip through old family books to find a dry flower in it, to think of its previous owners that I met or that I only know their history, browsing the very same pages and learning the very same things.

I like to get in a used  bookstore to find treasures and feel the smell of it. 
But maybe I'm not practical, just romantic.

 
"Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953 ... After all, it was not sci-fi!  See the first scene of the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9n98SXNGl8