Brazilian Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese is a form of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil. It is spoken by most of the 180 million inhabitants of Brazil. Standard Brazilian Portuguese is strongly influenced by the dialects of the many Brazilian regions. It is also spoken through immigrants and their descendants in Canada, United States, Portugal, and Japan — where it is spoken by Japanese-Brazilian migrants.

Borrowings and loan words

Many words of Brazilian origin (also used in other Portuguese-language countries) have also entered into English: samba, bossa nova, cruzeiro, milreis, capoeira. While originally Angolan, the words "capoeira" and "samba" only became worldwide famous because of their popularity in Brazil.

Related Topics:
English - Samba - Bossa nova - Cruzeiro - Milreis - Capoeira

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brazilian Portuguese has borrowed words from many sources. From South America, words deriving from the Tupi-Guaraní family of languages are particularly prevalent in place names (Itaquaquecetuba, Pindamonhangaba, Caruaru) and names of flora and fauna (abacaxi "pineapple", mandioca, "manioc"; jacaré "South American alligator", jaguar).

Related Topics:
South America - Tupi-Guaraní - Alligator

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are also borrowings from other European languages such as German and Italian, and, to a lesser extent, from Asian languages such as Japanese.

Related Topics:
Europe - German - Italian - Japanese

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Regardless of these borrowings, it must kept in mind that is not literally a Portuguese creole, since both grammar and vocabulary remain real Portuguese.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~