Lusophone

Lusophones (Portuguese: Lusófonos) are peoples and nations that comprise an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign states and territories that recognize Portuguese as an official language. This area, known as Lusofonia or the Lusophone world (Mundo Lusófono), is the corresponding community of Lusophone nations which exist in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

Places where Portuguese is spoken.

Native language

Official and administrative language

Cultural or secondary language

Portuguese speaking minorities

Portuguese-based creole

The history of the Lusophone world is intrinsically linked with the history of the Portuguese Empire, although the Portuguese diaspora, the Brazilian diaspora and the Cape Verdean diaspora communities have also played a role in spreading the Portuguese language and Lusophone culture. Today, Portuguese-speaking nations of the world come together for cooperation in politics, culture, and the economy, through the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth.

Etymology

The term Lusophone is a classical compound, wherein the combining form "Luso-" derives from the Latin term for an area roughly corresponding to modern Portugal, called Lusitania.[1] The suffix "-phone" derives from the Ancient Greek word φωνή (phōnē), meaning "voice". The use of the term Lusophone mirrors similar terms such as Anglophone for English speakers, Francophone for French speakers, Hispanophone for Spanish speakers, and Sinophone for Chinese speakers. The term is sometimes used in reference to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, similarly to the Francophonie.

Officially Lusophone countries


Nation	Population	More information	Status
Brazil	212,559,409	Portuguese in Brazil	Spoken by the vast majority as a native language
Angola	32,866,268	Portuguese in Angola	Spoken by a significant majority as a native language
Mozambique	31,255,435	Portuguese in Mozambique	Spoken by a significant minority as a native language
Portugal	10,305,564	Portuguese in Portugal	Spoken by the vast majority as a native language
Guinea-Bissau	1,967,998	Portuguese in Guinea-Bissau	Spoken by a significant minority as a native language
Equatorial Guinea^A	1,402,985	Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea	Spoken by a small minority as a second language
East Timor	1,318,442	Portuguese in East Timor	Spoken by a significant minority as a second language
Macau^B	649,342	Portuguese in Macau	Spoken by a small minority as a native language
Cape Verde	555,988	Portuguese in Cape Verde	Spoken by the majority as a second language
São Tomé and Príncipe	219,161	Portuguese in São Tomé and Príncipe	Spoken by the vast majority as a native language
Total	c. 293 million	Community of Portuguese Language Countries

Notes

^A Equatorial Guinea adopted Portuguese as one of its official languages in 2007, being admitted to CPLP in 2014. The use of the Portuguese language in this country is limited. However, a Portuguese-based creole language, Annobonese Creole, is used, mainly on islands of Annobón and Bioko.

^B Macau is not a sovereign nation. It is one of the two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China (the other being Anglophone Hong Kong, a former British colony).

Further Lusophone territories

During the Portuguese rule of Goa from 1505 to 1961, Portuguese was the official language. The Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Act, 1987 made Konkani in the Devanagari script the sole official language of Goa.[2] Goa is thus not included here.
15% of Uruguay's population speaks Portuguese (in the northern regions near Brazil) as a native language, though it is not an official language.[3] This makes Portuguese the second-most-spoken language of the country. A number of Uruguayans living near the Brazilian border also speak a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese called Portuñol.[4] A similar blending of Portuguese, Spanish, and Guarani (Jopara) occurs along the border with Paraguay.
Linguists such as Lindley Cintra and Teixeira de Pascoaes argue that Galician, spoken in Galicia, is merely a dialect of Portuguese rather than an independent language; this would make northwestern Spain a part of the Portuguese-speaking world.

References

"lusophone, adj". OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
"Goanet :: Where Goans connect". 24 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
The Portuguese Dialect of Uruguay (DPU) is spoken by circa 15% of the Uruguayan population according Juan Pedro Mir, director of education of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the country. pgl.gal (19 August 2017)
O dialeto fronteiriço do Uruguai: origens, investigações e oportunidades Archived 27 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Espaço acadêmico. Retrieved 17 December 2010

External links

Words Without Borders explores Lusophone literature in translation
Flavours of Lusophony (in Portuguese)

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[1] "lusophone, adj". OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.

[goacom2049-2] "Goanet :: Where Goans connect". 24 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2020.

[3] The Portuguese Dialect of Uruguay (DPU) is spoken by circa 15% of the Uruguayan population according Juan Pedro Mir, director of education of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the country. pgl.gal (19 August 2017)

[4] O dialeto fronteiriço do Uruguai: origens, investigações e oportunidades Archived 27 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Espaço acadêmico. Retrieved 17 December 2010

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