Critical Specifics Concerning Learning To Speak Portuguese

Before learning any language, it is a good idea to get the facts. At the very least you should know what countries officially speak your language of choice. If you have decided to learn Portuguese, you should know that there are many countries other than Portugal who have Portuguese as their official language. First of all, learning Portuguese is a great idea because it is the 5th most spoken language in the world. Chances are, knowing how to speak Portuguese will come in handy.

Brazil is the country that is home to the most speakers of Portuguese. It is common for people to assume that Spanish is the official language of Brazil because it is surrounded by Spanish speaking countries such as Argentina and Paraguay. Brazil was colonized by Portugal and has long since established its independence but Portuguese remains the official language.

One important thing to know about Portuguese is that there are two different standards of Portuguese. The Portuguese spoken in Portugal and the Portuguese spoken in Brazil are drastically different. Not only do the two standards sound different in terms of pronunciation, their grammatical structure and vocabulary differ greatly as well.

They are so different, in fact, that Brazilians often have to use Brazilian Portuguese subtitles when watching movies made in Portugal. Learning one of the standards does not mean that you will automatically understand the other. Brazilian Portuguese has been strongly affected by African influence (from the time of slavery) and indigenous languages (native of the Brazilian Amazon).

Portuguese is spoken across four different continents: South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Many people would not expect a Latin American language to be the official language of countries in Africa; certainly not Asia. However, due to Portugal's vast and widespread colonization, Portuguese is a widely spoken language. In states like California, Florida and New York, there are huge Portuguese speaking immigrant populations.

Learning a language is a great resource because it opens you up to so many traveling opportunities. Decide on the country you want to travel to and start taking some introductory language courses. You do not have to be fluent in a language before traveling. You can learn while you are there.

If you are dead set on traveling to Brazil or Portugal, try finding a beginner's Portuguese language school in your area. Chances are you will find a language course that focuses on European Portuguese. However, if you have already decided you want to travel to Brazil, it would be in your best interest to find a course that focuses on Brazilian Portuguese.

There are tons of ways you can help yourself portuguese language courses. Consider using books on your own and grammar lessons to get the fastest results. If you are teaching yourself the language, make sure you have a resource that lets you hear the language being spoken so you can become accustomed to the sound of it.