Despite the large number of people with native fluency in Portuguese around the world, it is not commonly studied as a second language. Certainly, this beautiful tongue has an immense and underestimated value, as there are several significant and intelligent reasons to decide to learn it. Below, I will present 5 very valid reasons to start learning Portuguese:
- Portuguese is one of the most spoken languages in the world
With more than 250 million speakers worldwide, Portuguese is in the top 10 most spoken languages (with a majority of 222 million being native speakers). As incredible as it may seem, this tongue has more native speakers than French and German (both with only around 76 million), which are very commonly studied as a second language. This is because, contrary to common belief, Portuguese is not only spoken natively in Brazil and Portugal, but also in Angola, Timor-Leste, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Saint Tomé and Prince, Mozambique and Equatorial Guinea. When compared to other languages, it is possible to see the respectable relevance of Portuguese worldwide.
Illustration by Victoria Fernandez.
- Portuguese is a great “base” language and it is even easier to learn it if you are already fluent in another Romance language
Known worldwide as romance languages, this family of dialects includes Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Provencal and Romansh. Despite the name, they are not called that because they are romantic, even though they share quite loving characteristics in their compositions and words. Actually, the reason why they are named this way is because these languages are direct descendants of Latin, spoken in the times of the Roman empire. For this reason, all of them have several very similar words and grammatical structures. Therefore, if you already speak one of these languages, you will have an initial advantage in your learning. On the other hand, if you are not fluent in any of the Romance dialects, the similarities between them still make your studies in Portuguese worthwhile. If you decide to learn and become fluent in Portuguese, your starting point for learning any of the other languages in this family will be far easier (which is wonderful, as there are more than 825 million Romance language speakers in the world).
- You will have a competitive advantage when looking for jobs
When compared to English, German and French, for example, the number of Portuguese speakers as a second language is small. However, considering the numbers of natives speakers of Portuguese in the world and the constant growth, despite the setbacks in some countries, of the economies of places that speak this language, the uniqueness that learning Portuguese brings to your curriculum is undeniable. Brazil, for example, is in the top 10 of the largest economies in the world and the demand for foreign workers has never been higher. So, without a doubt, learning Portuguese is a wonderful decision for anyone’s career.
- The culture of Portuguese-speaking countries is unique and fascinating
Brazil, for example, is a country with one of the richest and most different cultures in the world. For historical reasons, our country has been influenced by immigrants and colonizers from all over the globe. Therefore, the celebration of diversity is what fuels the existence of Brazilian culture. It is essentially impossible to summarize the customs of Brazil in a few words, but the music, cuisine, parties, literature and art in general have unique characteristics that can only be felt, not described. There is no better way to connect with a culture than to learn its language and visit it.
- Portuguese is one of the most beautiful languages in the world
Although beauty is a subjective concept, Portuguese is known worldwide for being one of the most beautiful languages. Its sweet and harmonic characteristics may even go unnoticed by the natives, but, without a doubt, when a foreigner takes classes, the phonology will fascinate him. The way in which certain words receive more emphasis when speaking, especially in Brazilian Portuguese, is completely different from English or other languages. In addition to the word “saudade”, which is known for being beautiful and exclusive to the Brazilian language, there are dozens of terms that the rich vocabulary of Portuguese possesses, such as “cafuné, carinho, cadê, calorento and friorento”.
Since 1997, NetLinguae has been working with Portuguese courses for foreigners and offering training aimed at people who come from other countries to work and settle in our country. The Portuguese for Foreigners Course focuses on reading, speaking and writing skills in both social and professional situations. The course follows a methodology focused on personalization and flexibility, to guarantee the best results for our students.
Did you like this content and are you interested in one of our Portuguese courses for foreigners? Talk to one of our collaborators or visit our online courses website!
