Tetum/Introduction

Introduction

Tetum is one of the two official languages of East Timor (Timor L'este), the other one being Portuguese. It is worth noting that a significant number of people also speak Indonesian, English, Cantonese, or one of 15 other indigenous languages.

For several centuries, East Timor was a Portuguese colony, and Tetum has many similarities to the language. Eventually East Timor became a territory of Indonesia, then voted to become independent, and became the first democracy of the new millennium.