Post submitted by Ella, one of our Student Experience Ambassadors
Portuguese is a Romance language that spread across the world during the 15th and 16th centuries through the Portuguese colonial empire. Although it is a language predominantly spoken in South America, the Portuguese language boasts around 200 million native speakers and is consequently ranked fifth among world languages in number of native speakers.
The Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries is the international organisation that unites the eight independent countries that have Portuguese as their official language. In 2009, the Community established the 5th May as a day to celebrate the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures. In 2019, UNESCO also recognised this day as World Portuguese Language Day.
The day is a vibrant occasion dedicated to the Portuguese language and culture, celebrating the rich linguistic and cultural heritage shared by Portuguese-speaking countries across the world.