Wikijunior:Languages/Portuguese

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Contents 1 What writing system(s) does this language use? 2 How many people speak this language? 3 Where is this language spoken? 4 What is the history of this language? 5 Who are some famous authors or poets in this language? 6 What are some basic words in this language that I can learn? 7 What is a simple song/poem/story that I can learn in this language? 7.1 "Cai,Cai, Balão"

[edit] What writing system(s) does this language use?

The Portuguese language uses the Latin (Western) alphabet without the letters k, w and y. They use six different diacritics to change the sounds that the letters make in words. Here are the different letters that are changed by diacritics: á, â, ã, à, ç, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú, ü.

Diacritic - a mark added to a letter to change the way it is pronounced.

[edit] How many people speak this language?

More than two hundred million people speak Portuguese as their native language. It is the 6th most spoken language of the world. It is one of the official languages of the European Union and Mercosul.

[edit] Where is this language spoken?

Portuguese is spoken all over the world. Most people in Portugal and Brazil speak Portuguese as their first language. It is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe and Mozambique. A few hundred years ago Portugal colonized many regions around the world including Brazil, countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania. When they did this, settlers from Portugal went to the new colonies and took control of the government and business. Portuguese settlers in the new colonies continued to speak Portuguese and local people needed to learn Portuguese in order to be a part of the government or to be involved in business.

There are also large communities of Portuguese speaking people in other parts of the world such as the United States, Andorra, Luxembourg, Jersey, Namibia and Venezuela.

colonize - to send people to govern and live in another country.

[edit] What is the history of this language?

It is one of many descendents of Latin (Ibero-Roman group). All of these languages split from Latin long ago. During the middle ages the Latin in North Portugal and Galicia (northwestern Spain) slowly became a language called Galician-Portuguese. Galician-Portuguese was a mix of Latin and some of the local pré-Roman languages: Celt, Lusitanian. It also contained influences from the invaders of the Roman Empire: Vandals, Visigoths and later Arabic invaders from northern Africa (the Moors).

Portuguese in Brazil and in other former colonies of Portugal, is spoken with a local accent and many regional words.

[edit] Who are some famous authors or poets in this language?

• Luís de Camões (Portuguese, 1524 - 1580): considered by some the greatest poet of the Portuguese language.
• Machado de Assis (Brazilian, 1839 — 1908): widely regarded as the most important writer of Brazilian literature.
• Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese, 1888 — 1935): another great Portuguese poet.
• Cecília Meireles (Brazilian, 1901 - 1934): Modernist poet.
• José Saramago (Portuguese, 1922 - present): Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.
• Nélida Piñon (Brazilian, 1937 - present): First woman to win the prestigious Juan Rulfo literary prize, awarded annually to a leading Latin American, Caribbean or Iberian writer.
• Paulo Coelho (Brazilian, 1947 - present)

[edit] What are some basic words in this language that I can learn?

Português (Portuguese)	English (Inglês)
Sim	Yes
Não	No
Talvez	Maybe
Sempre	Always
Olá	Hello
Oi	Hi
Oi! Como vai?/Como estás?	Hi! How are you?
Bom dia	Good morning
Boa tarde	Good afternoon
Boa noite	Good night
(Que há?)or(O que foi?)or(Qual é?)	What's up?
Não muito.	Not much.
Agora não	Not now
Adeus.	Good-bye.
Até amanhã.	See you tomorrow.
Poderia dizer-me onde posso encontrar um banheiro (ou casa-de-banho)?	Could you tell me where I can find a bathroom?
Onde posso apanhar um táxi?	Where can I take a taxi?
Quanto custa?	How much does it cost?
Quero um copo de leite.	I want a glass of milk.
Gosto de você (de ti).	I like you.
Te amo (Amo-te).	I love you.
Obrigado (masc.) Obrigada (fem.)	Thank you.
Tenho saudades tuas	I miss you.
De nada or Não há de que	You are welcome.
Tchau/adeus	Goodbye.
Que horas são?	What time is it?.
Por favor	Please.
Desculpa/Desculpe-me	I'm sorry.
Você	You (singular, familiar)
O senhor (male), a senhora (female)	You (singular, formal).
Vocês	You (plural).
Nós	We.
Eles (male), elas (female)	They.
Você fala inglês?	Do you speak English?
Eu não falo português	I don’t speak Portuguese.
Eu não entendo.	I do not understand
Como se diz isso em português?	How do you say this in Portuguese?
Fale mais devagar, por favor.	Speak slower, please
Repita, por favor.	Say it again, please
Você tem ......?	Do you have ......?
Eu quero	I want .....
Eu não quero .....	I don’t want .....
Eu gostaria .....	I would like .....
Onde é ....?	Where is .....?
Onde posso trocar dinheiro?	Where can I change money?
Qual é a cotação do dólar?	What is the exchange rate for the dollar?
Eu gostaria de trocar cem dólares.	I would like to change $100.00.
Meu nome é.....	My name is .......
Como você se chama?	What is your name?
Prazer em conhecê-lo (male). Prazer em conhecê-la (female)	Nice to meet you.
Hoje	Today.
Ontem	Yesterday.
Amanhã	Tomorrow.

[edit] What is a simple song/poem/story that I can learn in this language?

[edit] "Cai,Cai, Balão"

Cai,Cai, Balão;
Cai,Cai, Balão;
Aqui na minha mão.;
Não cai, não;
Não cai, não;
Não cai, não;
Cai na rua do João.

in English....
"Fall, Fall, Balloon"
Fall, Fall, Balloon;
Fall, Fall, Balloon;
right here in my hand.
Please don't fall;
Please don't fall;
Please don't fall;
Fall on John's street.