Every year on May 5th, World Portuguese Language Day highlights the important role this language plays in maintaining human civilization and culture. All around the world, Portuguese is one of the world’s most spoken and widespread language. It is the most widely spoken language in the Southern hemisphere.
Origin of the Portuguese Language
There are many English words that have their origin in their origins in the Portuguese language. Some of these words include banana, embarrass, acai, breeze, coconut, macaw, monsoon, molasses, mango, maraca, samba, zebra, and cobra. Mosquito is also a Portuguese word, which means little fly. The Portuguese language is not only one of the most widespread languages in the world, with more than 265 million speakers spread throughout, but it is also the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. Today, Portuguese remains a major language of international communication and a language with a strong geographical projection, destined to increase. This makes Portuguese the 9th most spoken language in the world. It is also true that Portuguese speakers are responsible for the initial wave of globalization
Someone who speaks this language is called a Lusophone. A majority of Lusophones live in Brazil. In addition, Portuguese is considered a Romance language, taking its origins from Latin. The date of May 5th was officially established in 2009 as ‘World Portuguese Language Day’ by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries – an intergovernmental organization that has been in official partnership with UNESCO since 2000, and which brings together peoples with the Portuguese language as one of the foundations of their specific identity – to celebrate the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures, with mission of bringing together the communities and countries around the world where the Portuguese language is spoken. The Portuguese language, considered the language of the first wave of globalization, is recognized today as a working language by the European Union, the Mercosul (Southern Common Market), the African Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and the Organization of American States, among other world organizations.
As part of the celebrations of World Portuguese Language Day 2022, Portuguese language is seen as a global platform for the learning and understanding between students and schools from different regions, countries and cultures where Portuguese is spoken and taught.