World Portuguese Language Day is set for the 5th of May. The observance was first established on July 20th, 2009. The date of 5th May was set to coincide with the date of the first meeting of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLC) in 2005. In 2019, the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference decided to officially proclaim the date as World Portuguese Language Day, to be celebrated every year from then.
Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world, with more than 265 million speakers spread through all continents. It is also the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. The day brings together Portuguese speakers in preserving their culture and identity and creating links with other Portuguese speakers around the globe.
Portuguese has its roots in Galician, which was a native language of a group who lived in the north of Portugal and the northwest of Spain. It was a mix of local dialects and common Latin, and after years of evolution Portuguese emerged as the descendant language around the 14th century. There are many variations of modern Portuguese spoken around the globe, such as in Brazil, where the majority of Lusophones (people who speak Portuguese) live.
Feliz dia mundial da lingua portuguesa!
Join the discussion
0 people are already talking about this, why not let us know what you think?