With 240 Million Speakers Portuguese Wishes to Become a Global Language

[Harold Schiffman]

With 240 Million Speakers Portuguese Wishes to Become a Global Language

Written by Newsroom
Sunday, 03 August 2008

 Gathered in Lisbon, capital of Portugal, on July 25, the heads of the
Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) agreed to share
policies and create common programs for the "globalization" of the
Portuguese language, through the promotion of its cultural and
economic value. In a statement about the Portuguese language, approved
at the 7th summit of the countries in the ", the heads of state and of
government of the CPLP pointed out the importance of supporting the
introduction of Portuguese into international and regional "s and
specialized agencies, making it into a "global language".

The objective also includes common programs for the teaching of
Portuguese as a foreign language, which will be boosted through the
creation of "a network of certified teachers in the CPLP member
countries". The Portuguese-speaking leaders also agreed to "coordinate
programs that prove, in the international scenery, the cultural and
economic value of Portuguese, through common projects supported by
information and communications technologies". Apart from Portuguese
teaching policies, with the training of specialized teachers, the
heads of state and government also plan to bet on the training of
translators and interpreters.

The governors of the CPLP have also engaged in developing programs
"allowing the permanent connection of the Diasporas with the cultures
of their countries of origin as well as integration in the countries
that receive them," due to the fact that "Portuguese is a factor that
unites them". Considering the future enactment of the spelling
agreement. which has already been ratified by some countries - Brazil,
Cape Verde, Portugal and São Tomé e Príncipe -, the
Portuguese-speaking countries plan to share experiences and cooperate
for practical application of the agreement.

The heads of state and of government of the CPLP also stated their
faith in the International Portuguese Language Institute (IILP), which
has not worked over the 12 years in which the Portuguese-speaking
community has been in existence due to the lack of funds.
In the statement, the heads forecasted a "growing affirmation of
Portuguese in international dialogue", having in mind its "multiple
geopolitical matrices" as it is spoken in countries on four
continents, also showing the part played by languages "in the creation
of markets and business opportunities and in social and economic
integration."

The promotion and spreading of Portuguese is a priority of Portugal as
the head of the CPLP. The country has just taken on the presidency of
the " for a term of two years. Last week, the government of Portugal
approved a new policy for the language and the creation of a fund for
projects in the area, with an initial capital of 30 million euros (US$
47 million), but open to the contribution of other countries. There
are around 240 million Portuguese speakers around the world. According
to forecasts based on the demographic evolution of the eight countries
that have Portuguese as their official language, the number of
speakers may reach 335 million by 2050.

http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/9689/1/

-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************