Portuguese: Learn a Romance language with a difference

Learning a second language has many benefits. First off, it allows you to communicate with more people. Secondly, it opens up a huge number of careers. As the world becomes increasingly globalised the need for staff that speak more than one language has become more acute. Finally, there is evidence that being bilingual can delay the onset of dementia. If there was ever a good reason to learn a language, that’s one!
But why Portuguese? That’s easy… read on.

Why do it?

Around 230 million people speak Portuguese. Brazil is the world’s largest Portuguese speaking nation, with a population of 190 million.

Portuguese is also the sixth most widely spoken language across the globe. You’ll find Portuguese speakers in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. It’s also the third most spoken European language – just after English and Spanish. Plus it is the one of fastest growing languages of Europe, along with Spanish. What’s more, there are 1.3 million native speakers of Portuguese live in the United States.

Portuguese is the official language of eight countries: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guine-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tome and Príncipe. It is also the working or official language of a number of international organisations. These include the African Union, the European Union and the Union of South American Nations.

Those are the facts and figures, but here are some rather poetic reasons. Portuguese is a beautiful language. The great Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes called it “the sweet and gracious language” while the Brazilian writer Olavo Bilac poetically described it as “”the last flower of Latium, rustic and beautiful.” Learning Portuguese also means you’ll be able to enjoy one of the world’s greatest poets, Luís de Camões.

What does it involve?

Learning to speak a language fluently is a long process. However, beginning to learn a language is a relatively easy task.

Beginners and elementary classes generally run for 10 to 12 weeks. They concentrate on conversational skills, but most courses will also cover aspects such as writing and reading.

At a glance

Portuguese is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. There are native speakers in four continents – Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia – and is one of the fastest growing languages in Europe.

Beginners classes generally last 10 to 12 weeks. These emphasise conversational skills, as well as cover topics such as reading and writing.