Portuguese is the official language of Brazil. And not only

The former Portuguese colony, which occupies almost half of South America, Brazil is the largest state in Latin America, not only in area but also in population. More than 200 million people live here. The country is a former Portuguese colony, which gained independence in 1822, becoming first a Brazilian empire, and subsequently - a republic. So the official language of Brazil, of course, Portuguese. By the way, this is the only country in South America and one of the few countries in the world in which the Portuguese language has the status of a state language.

It is with the Portuguese language that one of the most popular versions of the origin of the name of this South American country is associated. It is believed that Brazil was called Brazil because of the type of tree growing on the coast, the wood of which in large quantities was exported to Europe and called the Portuguese "wood bore" from the Portuguese "brasa" (hot coals, heat).

The closest relative of the Portuguese language is Spanish, which is spoken in neighboring countries of Brazil. Therefore, knowing any of these languages is quite possible to understand what is at stake. Nevertheless, the official language of Brazil and the one spoken in its former metropolis are not exactly the same. The Brazilian version is less guttural than the original Portuguese. The existing differences in the pronunciation of the same letters sometimes create certain difficulties in understanding not only for those who seem to speak the same language, but also for professional translators. Especially it concerns the translation of names of own and geographical names, let alone the presence of a large number of words and phrases, used only in Brazil. In addition, the language of Brazil has two dialects - northern and southern.

It should be noted that Brazil, whose official language is Portuguese, is in fact a multilingual state. Currently, 175 languages are spoken in the country, both immigrant and aboriginal. Since the Indians lived in the country prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, the Indian languages are widely used in the country. In the Brazilian state of Amazonas, the local language of nyengata is even recognized as the second official language. Of the European languages, the most widely modified is German, and Slavic - Ukrainian and Russian. Immigrants from Asia living in their neighborhoods communicate in their native languages (mainly in Chinese). The number of speakers in other languages does not exceed 1%, and therefore in the press, on television, in office work, etc. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese.

In summer 2 014 in Brazil will host the next World Cup, and in 2016 Rio de Janeiro will become the capital of the Summer Olympic Games. This will significantly increase the influx of tourists into the country, which, naturally, will need to somehow communicate with the local population. Of course, when you visit Brazil, you can find people who speak English fluently. Basically, these are workers in the tourism sector, young people and people with higher education. But most people have only the official language of Brazil, and therefore, when going to this South American country, it is worthwhile to learn at least a few Portuguese phrases.