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Community Of Portuguese Language Countries

Community of Portuguese Language Countries

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Portuguese: Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa or CPLP) is a multilateral forum for mutual friendship between the lusophone nations across the world where Portuguese is an official language.

The formation and member states

lusophoneCPLP was formed in 1996 with seven countries: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe. East Timor joined the community in 2002 after regaining independence from Indonesia. Brazil, East Timor, and the five African member countries are all former colonial possessions of Portugal. The CPLP is a bloc in the process of construction and the societies of the eight member nations have little knowledge of each other. One of the unique features of the CPLP is that its members are linked by a common language and shared cultural features, which form a bridge between countries separated by great distances and different continents.

Members

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Observers

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The importance of CPLP

The Portuguese-speaking countries are home to more than 223 million people located across the globe but having similar cultures and a shared history. The CPLP nations have a combined area of about 10,742,000 km,² which is larger than Canada. Since its formation, the CPLP has helped to solve problems in São Tomé and Príncipe and in Guinea-Bissau, because of coups d'etat in those countries. These two problems were solved, and in fact, have helped these two countries to take economic reforms (in the case of São Tomé) and democratic ones (in the case of Guinea-Bissau). The leaders of CPLP believe that peace in Angola and Mozambique as well as East Timor's independence will favour the further development of the CPLP and a strengthening of multilateral cooperation.

CPLP System

The Organization’s Executive Secretariat is responsible for designing and implementing CPLP´s projects and initiatives. It is located in Lisbon, Portugal. The Executive Secretary has a two-year mandate, and can be re-elected only once. CPLP´s guidelines and priorities are established by biannual Conference of Heads of State and the Organization’s plan of action is approved by the Council of Foreign Ministers, which meets every year. There are also monthly meetings of the Permanent Steering Committee that follow specific initiatives and projects. The CPLP is mainly financed by its eight member states. The CPLP flag has now eight wings not seven.

Executive Secretaries

Main initiatives

- CPLP´s HIV-Aids Program – designed to help the 5 African member states
- Center for the Development of Entrepreneurial Skills – being established in Luanda, Angola
- Center for the Development of Public Administration – being established in Maputo, Mozambique
- Center for East-Timorese Official Languages
- Conference on Malaria – to be held in São Tomé and Príncipe
- Portuguese Language Census
- Digital School and University
- Electoral Mission to Guinea-Bissau (East Timor’s Foreign Minister, the Nobel Prize laureate, José Ramos-Horta is CPLP´s Representative to the Electoral Process)
- Emergency Project for the Support of Institution Rebuilding in Guinea-Bissau
- Rebuilding East Timor’s Justice and Public Administration
- Combating Poverty and Starvation

Free Movement of People

The eight Portuguese-speaking nations signed agreements to facilitate the cross-border circulation of their citizens, including multiple-entry visas for businesspeople and others who travel frequently, a streamlining of the requisites and fees paid for short visits, and the right to medical treatment and residency permits for all CPLP citizens in every one of the member countries. However, a proposal for the adoption of common citizenship failed because Angola and Mozambique opposed. The statute, which is already in force between Brazil and Portugal, would provide equal civil and political rights for the citizens of any nation of CPLP. However the main obstacle to this proposal is the fear of large scale immigration to Portugal, a member state of the European Union. Free movement among CPLP countries could jeopardize the duties of Portugal within EU.

Other countries and territories

Some Galicians want the autonomous region of Galicia (Galiza) in Spain to take part in this Union, because their language, Galego, is closely related to Portuguese (in fact many consider one to be a dialect of the other). The two languages have a common origin in Galicia and northern Portugal. A similar case happened with East Timor. But before independence East Timor had the status of Observer, although the exiled government of East Timor tried to gain full member status before independence. When the CPLP was formed, Equatorial Guinea also asked for observer status. Equatorial Guinea has some territories where Portuguese Creole is spoken and cultural connections with São Tomé and Príncipe and Portugal are felt. Also, the country has recently cooperated with Portuguese-speaking African countries and Brazil at an educational level. At the CPLP summit of July 2004, in São Tomé and Príncipe, the member states agreed to change the statutes of the community to accept Equatorial Guinea as an observer. Morocco also became interested in an observer status. The Instituto Internacional de Macau, from Macao, has observer status in the community as well. Its aim is to introduce Macanese youngsters to the CPLP nations and culture, in order to help assure the distinct identity of the territory within China.

External link

- [http://www.cplp.org Official site of CPLP] (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.seminariocplp.org Seminário da CPLP] – Culture and Development of CPLP (in Portuguese) Category:Portuguese language ja:ポルトガル語諸国共同体

Portuguese language

Portuguese (Português) is a Romance language predominantly spoken in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Macao Special Administrative Region of China, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Many linguists consider that Portuguese and Galician (the native language of Galicia, Spain) are actually varieties of the same language, but with Galician being strongly influenced by Spanish. With more than 200 million native speakers, Portuguese is one of the few languages spoken in such widely-distributed parts of the world, and is the fifth or sixth most-spoken first language in the world. Because Brazil, with 184 million inhabitants, constitutes about 51% of South America's population, Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in South America and it is also one of the key languages in Africa. The language was spread worldwide in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as Portugal created the first and the longest lived modern-world colonial and commercial empire (1415–1975), spanning from Brazil in the Americas to Macao in China. As a result, Portuguese is now the official language of several independent countries and is widely spoken or studied as a second language in many others. There are also various Portuguese Creole languages spread all over the world. It is an important minority language in Andorra, Luxembourg, Namibia, and Paraguay. The Portuguese language is nicknamed A língua de Camões ("The language of Camões", after Luís de Camões, the author of The Lusiads); A última flor do Lácio ("The last flower of Latium", by Olavo Bilac) or The sweet language (by Cervantes). Portuguese language speakers are known as a Lusophone, after the Roman name for the province of Lusitania.

History

Portuguese developed in the Western Iberian Peninsula from the spoken Latin language brought there by Roman soldiers and colonists starting in the 3rd century BC. The language began to differentiate itself from other Romance languages after the fall of the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasions in the 5th century. It started to be used in written documents around the 9th century, and by the 15th century it had become a mature language with a rich literature. Arriving on the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC, the Romans brought with them the Roman people's language, Vulgar Latin, from which all Romance languages (also known as "New Latin Languages") descend. Already in the 2nd century BC southern Lusitania was Romanized. Strabo, a 1st-century Greek geographer, comments in one of the books of his Geographia "encyclopedia": "they have adopted the Roman customs, and they no longer remember their own language." The language was spread by arriving Roman soldiers, settlers and merchants, who built Roman cities mostly near previous civilizations' settlements. Between 409 A.D. and 711, as the Roman Empire was collapsing, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by peoples of Germanic origin, known to the Romans as Barbarians. The Barbarians (mainly Suevi and Visigoths) largely absorbed the Roman culture and language of the peninsula; however, Lusitania's language and culture were free to evolve on their own during the Early Middle Ages, due to the lack of Roman schools and administration, Lusitania's relative isolation from the rest of Europe, and changes in the political boundaries of the Iberian peninsula. These changes led to the formation of what is now called "Lusitanian Romance". From 711, with the Moorish invasion of the Peninsula, Arabic was adopted as the administrative language in the conquered regions. However, the population continued to speak their Romance dialects so that when the Moors were overthrown, the influence that they had exerted on the language was small. Its main effect was in the lexicon. The earliest surviving records of a distinctively Portuguese language are administrative documents from the ninth century, still interspersed with many phrases in Latin. Today this phase is known as "Proto-Portuguese" (spoken in the period between the 9th to the 12th century). Portugal was formally recognized by the Kingdom of Leon as an independent country in 1143, with King Afonso Henriques. In the first period of "Old Portuguese" - Portuguese-Galician Period (from the 12th to the 14th century) - the language gradually came into general use. Previously it had mostly been used on the Christian Iberian Peninsula as a language for poetry. In 1290, king Denis created the first Portuguese University in Lisbon (the Estudo Geral) and decreed that Portuguese, then simply called the "Vulgar language" should be known as the Portuguese language and should be officially used. In the second period of "Old Portuguese", from the 14th to the 16th century, with the Portuguese discoveries, the Portuguese language spread to many regions of Asia, Africa and The Americas (nowadays, most of the Portuguese speakers live in Brazil, in South America). By the 16th century it had become a lingua franca in Asia and Africa, used not only for colonial administration and trade but also for communication between local officials and Europeans of all nationalities. The spreading of the language was helped by mixed marriages between Portuguese and local people (also very common in other areas of the world) and its association with the Catholic missionary efforts, which led to it being called Cristão ("Christian") in many places in Asia. The Nippo jisho, a Japanese-Portuguese dictionary written in 1603, was a product of Jesuit missionary activity in Japan. The language continued to be popular in parts of Asia until the 19th century. Some Portuguese-speaking Christian communities in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia preserved their language even after they were isolated from Portugal. The language has largely changed in these communities and has evolved through the centuries into several Portuguese creoles, some still existing today, after hundreds of years of isolation. A considerable number of words of Portuguese origin are also found in Tetum. Portuguese words entered the lexicons of many other languages, such as Japanese, Indonesian, Malay, or Swahili. The end of "Old Portuguese" was marked by the publication of the Cancioneiro Geral de Garcia de Resende, in 1516. The period of "Modern Portuguese" (spanning from the 16th century to present day) saw an increase in the number of words of Classical Latin origin and erudite words of Greek origin borrowed into Portuguese during the Renaissance, which augmented the complexity of the language.

Classification and related languages

Indo-European - Italic - Romance - Italo-Western - Western - Gallo-Iberian - Ibero-Romance - West-Iberian - Portuguese-Galician Portuguese is orthographically similar in many ways to Spanish, but it has a very distinctive phonology. A speaker of one of these languages may require some practice to effectively understand a speaker of the other (although generally it is easier for a Portuguese native speaker to understand Spanish than the other way around). Compare, for example: :Ela fecha sempre a janela antes de jantar. (Portuguese) :Ella cierra siempre la ventana antes de cenar. (Spanish) Some less common phrasings and word choices have closer cognates in Spanish because Portuguese has managed to retain a much larger vocabulary, with stronger Latin heritage: :Ela cerra sempre a janela antes de cear. (less common Portuguese) (Which translates as "She always closes the window before having dinner.") In some places, Spanish and Portuguese are spoken almost interchangeably. Portuguese speakers are generally able to read Spanish, and Spanish speakers are generally able to read Portuguese, even if they cannot understand the spoken language. Portuguese also has significant similarities with Mirandese, Catalan, Italian, French and with other Romance languages. Phonetically, Portuguese sometimes appears closer to French and Catalan than Spanish does. The sound set of Portuguese is very similar to the French one, due to the occurrence of nasalization and some palatalization in both languages, and due to certain sound changes (for example, diphthongization of low-mid stressed vowels, aspiration of /f/, devoicing of sibilants, and change of intervocalic [ʎ] to [ʒ]) that set off Spanish from the others. In lexicon, Portuguese bom (masculine word for good) and French or Catalan bon are very similar, while Spanish bueno is somewhat different, and Portuguese filha, French fille and Catalan filla are opposed to Spanish hija. European Portuguese came under additional French influence as a result of the Napoleonic dominion in Lisbon from 1807-1812, and cultural influences after that. Speakers of other Romance languages may find a peculiarity in the conjugating of certain apparently infinitive verbs and of some real infinitives. When constructing a future tense or conditional tense clause involving an indirect object pronoun, the pronoun can be placed between the verb stem and the verb ending. This phenomenon is called mesoclisis, because the clitic is neither before nor after, but in the middle. For example, Dupondt said trazer-vos-emos o vosso ceptro. Translating as literally as possible, this is "bring (stem)-to you (formal)-we (future) the your scepter". In English we would say, "We will bring you your scepter." The form Nós vos traremos o vosso ceptro. is a regionalism used in most Portuguese speaking countries, as well as Portugal.

Geographic distribution

ceptro Portuguese is the first language in Angola, Brazil, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, and the most widely used language in Mozambique. Portuguese is also one of the official languages of East Timor (with Tetum) and Macao S.A.R. of China (with Chinese). It is widely spoken, but not official, in Andorra, Luxembourg, Namibia and Paraguay. Portuguese Creoles are the mother tongue of Cape Verde and part of Guinea-Bissau's population. In Cape Verde most also speak standard Portuguese and have a native level language usage. Large Portuguese-speaking immigrant communities exist in many cities around the world, including Montreal and Toronto in Canada; Paris in France; Asunción in Paraguay; and Boston, New Bedford, Cape Cod, Providence, Newark, New York City, Miami, Sacramento, Honolulu and Houston in the United States. Portuguese is spoken by about 187 million people in South America, 17 million Africans, 12 million Europeans, 2 million in North America and 0.34 million in Asia. The CPLP or Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries is an international organization consisting of the eight independent countries which have Portuguese as an official language. Portuguese is also an official language of the European Union, Mercosul and the African Union (one of the working languages) and one of the official languages of other organizations. The Portuguese language is gaining popularity in Africa, Asia, and South America as a second language for study. Portuguese is with Spanish the fastest growing western language, and, following estimates by UNESCO it is the language with the higher potentiality of growth as an international communication language in Africa (south) and South America. The Portuguese speaking African countries are expected to have a combined population of 83 million by 2050. The language is also starting to gain popularity in Asia, mostly due to East Timor's boost in the number of speakers in the last five years, and Macau is becoming the Chinese Mecca for learning Portuguese, where in early 21st century, the language use was in decline, today it is growing as it became a language for opportunity due to Chinese strategical cooperation with the Portuguese speaking countries.

Dialects

Portuguese is a very rich language in terms of dialects, each with its particularity. Most of the differentiation between them are the pronunciation of certain vowels. Between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese, there are differences in vocabulary, pronunciation and syntax, especially in popular varieties. The dialect of Piauí, in northeastern Brazil is the closest dialect to European Portuguese in Brazil. Other very close dialects are the ones of Belém and Rio de Janeiro. There are several similarities in pronunciation, syntax and simplification in grammar use between vernacular Brazilian Portuguese and vernacular Angolan Portuguese. But there are no differences between standard European and Angolan Portuguese. Coimbra Portuguese is considered the most standardized Portuguese dialect. Some apparent differences between the two varieties in lexicon are not really differences. In Brazil, the common term for carpet is tapete, while in Portugal it's alcatifa. However, many dialectal zones in Portugal use tapete and other areas in Brazil use alcatifa. This applies in several such apparent differences, except in the new terms, such as ônibus in Brazil, which is autocarro in Portugal. A conversation between an Angolan, a Brazilian and a Portuguese from very rural areas flows very easily. The most exotic Portuguese dialect is vernacular São Tomean Portuguese, because of the interaction with local Portuguese Creoles, but even with this one there are no difficulties when talking to a person from another country. Examples of words that are different in Portuguese dialects from three different continents Angola (Africa), Portugal (Europe) and Brazil (South America). Bus
- Angola: machimbombo
- Brazil: ônibus
- Portugal: autocarro slum quarter
- Angola: musseque
- Brazil: favela
- Portugal: bairro de lata or ilha Go away
- Angola: bazar, ir embora
- Brazil: ir embora, (or vazar as a slang - Portuguese "to leak");
- Portugal: ir embora, (or bazar as a slang - from Kimbundu kubaza - to break, leave with rush); Major Portuguese dialects: Brazil Coimbra Brazil # Caipira — Countryside of São Paulo ( Piraquara — caipira from Vale do Paraíba - São Paulo (state) / Minas Gerais) # Cearense — Ceará # Baiano — Region of Bahia # Fluminense — States of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo (the city of Rio de Janeiro has a particular way of speaking) # Gaúcho — Rio Grande do Sul # Mineiro — Minas Gerais # Nordestino — northeastern states of Brazil (the countryside and Recife have particular ways of speaking) # Nortista — Amazon Basin states # Paulistano — city of São Paulo # Sertanejo — States of Goiás and Mato Grosso # Sulista — south of Brazil (the city of Curitiba has a particular way of speaking) Curitiba Portugal # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som69.html Açoreano] — Azores (São Miguel Island and Terceira Island have particular ways of speaking) # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som40.html Alentejano] — Alentejo # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som44.html Algarvio] — Algarve (there is a particular small dialect in the western area) # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som1.html Alto-Minhoto] — North of Braga (interior) # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som49.html Baixo-Beirão; Alto-Alentejano] — Central Portugal (interior) # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som9.html Beirão] — central Portugal # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som22.html Estremenho] — Regions of Coimbra and Lisbon (can be subdivided in Lisbon Portuguese and Coimbra Portuguese) # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som60.html Madeirense] — Madeira # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som14.html Nortenho] — Regions of Braga and Porto # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som6.html Transmontano] — Trás-os-Montes Angola # Benguelense — Benguela province # image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som85.html Luandense] — Luanda province # Sulista — South of Angola Luanda Other areas
- image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som87.html Caboverdiano] — Cape Verde
- image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som88.html Guineense] — Guinea-Bissau
- image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som92.html Macaense] — Macau, China
- image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som89.html Moçambicano] — Mozambique
- image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som83.html Santomense] — São Tomé and Principe
- image:Loudspeaker.png [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/hlp/geografia/som84.html Timorense] — East Timor
- Damaense — Daman, India
- Goês — State of Goa, India

Creole

Portugal in the period of discoveries and colonization created a linguistic contact with native languages and people of the discovered lands and thus pidgins were formed. Until the 18th century, these Portuguese pidgins were used as Lingua Franca in Asia and Africa. Later, the Portuguese pidgins were expanded grammatically and lexically, as it became a native language. About three million people worldwide speak a Portuguese Creole. These creoles are spoken, mostly, by inter-racial communities (Portuguese people with natives).
- Angolar Spoken in coastal areas of São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe.
- Annobonnese Language of the island of Annobón, Equatorial Guinea.
- Crioulo do Barlavento (Criol) Spoken in Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. Some divide it into several creoles: São Nicolau Crioulo, Sal Crioulo, Boavista Crioulo, and Santo Antão Crioulo. Some decreolization.
- Crioulo de São Vicente Language of São Vicente Island, Cape Verde. Semi-Creole. Some decreolization.
- Crioulo do Sotavento (Kriolu) Spoken in Sotavento islands of Cape Verde. Some divide it into several creoles: Santiago Crioulo (Bádiu), Maio Crioulo, Fogo Crioulo, and Brava Crioulo. Some decreolization.
- Daman Indo-Portuguese Spoken in Daman, India. Semi-Creole. Decreolization process occurred.
- Diu Indo-Portuguese Spoken in Diu, India. Almost extinct.
- Forro Spoken in São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe.
- Kristang Spoken in Malaysia.
- Kristi Language of the village of Korlay, India.
- Lunguyê Spoken in Príncipe Island, São Tomé and Príncipe. Almost extinct.
- Macanese Spoken in Macau and Hong Kong, the two special administrative regions of China. Decreolization process occurred.
- Papiamento Spoken in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Spanish influenced.
- Saramaccan Portuguese/English Creole. Spoken in Surinam.
- Sri Lanka Portuguese Creole Spoken in coastal cities of Sri Lanka.
- Upper Guinea Creole (Kriol) lingua franca of Guinea-Bissau, also spoken in Casamance, Senegal. In the past, Portuguese creoles were also spoken in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, possibly in Brazil and in other areas in India, Malaysia and China.

Sounds

As with French, Portuguese is often noted for its contrastive use of nasal vowels and the large number of dipthongs. Most dialects, including the standard languages of Portugal and Brazil, have several vowel phonemes that are distinguished by nasality. Most dialects have 14 vowel phonemes, five of which are nasals which combine to form 10 oral and 4 nasal diphtongs. There are 19 consonant phonemes, none of which are unique to the language. European Portuguese differs from the dialects spoken in Brazil and the former Portuguese colonies by a marked velarization that affects vowels as well as consonants. The vowels are generally lowered and centralized (approaching a schwa) and gives pronunciation a distinctly lax quality that is present in colloquial as well as formal speech and often results in complete reduction of vowels.

Consonants

/b, d, g/ are only pronounced as plosives when they occur at the beginning of the word. Following vowels, they are pronounced as the corresponding fricatives . a process which Portuguese shares with Catalan and Spanish. /l/ is markedly velarized, , which is very close to the standard American English /l/ in words such as "ball". In some Brazilian dialects, especially in the dialects spoken in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Bahia, /d/ and /t/ tend to become affricated before the unstressed phoneme /i/.

Vowels

Image:Portuguese_vowel_chart.png is by tradition transcribed as a high central vowel , but it's more accurately described as a somewhat centralized high back unrounded vowel, . for some /u/ occurs in the dialects of Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Algarve (Barlavento area) and São Miguel Island. [ø] occurs in São Miguel Island, for example in boi [bø] "ox".

Prosody

Portuguese features lexical stress which often is a distinguishing feature of minimal pairs. Mostly these are of different word classes, such as dúvida "doubt (noun)" and duvida "doubt (verb, third person singular)". Though rarer, there are occasionally words within the same word class that are distinguished only through stress, like [ˈtunel] túnel "tunnel" and [tuˈnel] tonel "wine cask". Stress is usually on the penultimate syllable, though it may vary between any of the three final syllables. A secondary stress falls on syllables with diphtongs when the primary stress is placed elswhere in a word. There are also several different types of intonation in the form of six separate dynamic tones that affect entire phrases, having their nucleus in the stressed syllables. These tones are used to indicate the mood and intention of the speaker such as implication, emphasis, reservation, etc.

Grammar

Portuguese makes a clear distinction between the different word classes, that include verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, articles, conjunctions and interjections. There are also some other determiners and particles. Verbs are divided into three conjugations, which can be identified by looking at the infinitive ending, one of "-ar", "-er", "-ir" and "-or", which is present in a small number of verbs ,like "pôr" (to put). Most verbs end with "-ar", such as cantar (to sing). All verbs with the same ending follow the same pattern, save irregulars. In Portuguese, verbs appear in distinct moods:
- Imperative, used to express wish, command or advice.
- Indicative, used in the main clauses of declarative sentences.
- Subjunctive (conjuntivo). Used to express the content of a wish, a possibility or, in subordinate clauses, something denied in the main clause.
- Conditional, which is described as a distinct mood in some grammars, mostly in Portugal, less frequently in Brazil. Along with moods, there are non-finite verb forms:
- Infinitive
- Gerund
- Past participle (or passive participle) There is no present or active participle in Portuguese, but many adjectives come from Latin present participles and carry more or less the same meaning. Some neologisms are created in the same pattern. Unlike English, these "present participles" are not identical in form with gerund. Portuguese subjunctive mood has almost as many tenses as the indicative, namely present, perfect, imperfect, pluperfect and future, not mentioning periphrastic structures. In regular verbs, subjunctive future, which is uncommon in Indo-European languages, is identical to personal infinitive, but not in irregular verbs. And its role is obviously very different. Portuguese conditional mood is often described as a tense, namely the "future of the preterite". It has two forms, that can be rendered as the "future of the (perfect or imperfect) past" (for instance iria, would go) and the "future of the pluperfect" (for instance teria ido, would have gone). Periphrastic structures provide other tenses. Conditional is found more often in formal than in informal speech, where it is commonly replaced by the imperfect tense. Another interesting feature of Portuguese verbs is the existence of two or three equivalent forms for some past tenses, either in the indicative or in the subjunctive, but something similar happens in French and Spanish perfect tenses. For instance, in the indicative pluperfect it is possible to use either the auxiliary verbs ter (from Latin tenere) and haver (from Latin habere) or a simple form. He had gone could be translated either as Ele tinha ido, Ele havia ido or Ele fora. The two latter options, however, are much less common in oral and informal languages. The simple form (fora) would be sometimes seen as archaic or literary. All Portuguese nouns have one of two genders: masculine or inclusive and feminine or exclusive. Most adjectives and pronouns, and all articles indicate the gender of the noun they reference. The feminine gender in adjectives is formed in a different way from that in nouns. Most adjectives ending in a consonant remain unchanged: homem superior (superior man), mulher superior (superior woman). This is also true for adjectives ending in "e": homem forte (strong man), mulher forte (strong woman). Except for this, the noun and the adjective must always be in agreement: homem alto (tall man), mulher alta (tall woman). See also: Portuguese pronouns, Portuguese verb conjugation

Vocabulary

The Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa, by Antônio Houaiss (1915 – 1999), son of Lebanese immigrants in Brazil and former Brazilian Minister of Culture, was created with the support of almost two hundred lexicographers from several countries and it is the most complete Portuguese dictionary to date (about 228,500 entries, 376,500 acceptations, 415,500 synonyms, 26,400 antonyms and 57,000 historical words) it includes all variations of the Portuguese language (African, Asian, Brazilian and of Portugal). Dedicating his life to the language, Houaiss started his work in 1986, and died one year before the dictionary was completed by his colleagues in the year 2000, without seeing his dream come true. The dictionary is quickly becoming a reference to the language, some classified it as a "monument to the language". Portuguese, both in morphology and syntax, represents an organic transformation of Latin without the direct intervention of any foreign language. The sounds, grammatical forms, and syntactical types, with a few exceptions, are derived from Latin. And almost 90% of the vocabulary is still derived from the language of Rome. Some of the changes began during the Empire, others took place later. In Late Middle Ages, Portuguese was eroding as much as French, but a conservative policy re-approached it to Latin.
- Nasalization — A vowel before [m] and [n] has a tendency to become a nasal vowel. In the case of Portuguese, it happened between the sixth and seventh centuries, possibly influenced by previously spoken Celtic languages. LVNA → l[]a — Lua (moon). In the Latin example, we used all-capitals so as to be in line with how the ancient language was actually written. Note also that the letter V was the vowel we know today as U.
- Progressive Nasalization — Spread of nasalization forward from a nasal consonant, especially [m]. MADRE → made → mae → mãe mother; HAC NOCTE → ãnoite → ãõte → ontem // (yesterday).
- Elision — Vulgar Latin [l], [n], [d] and [g] were deleted between vowels; the vowels then coalesced. DOLORE → door → dor (pain) BONV → bõo → bom (good).
- Palatalization — Another assimilation occurs before the front vowels [i] and [e], or near the palatal semi-vowel [j]. CENTV → [tj]ento → [ts]ento → cento, (hundred) FACERE → fa[tj]ere → fa[ts]er → fa[dz]er → fazer, (to do). A more ancient evolution was FORTIA → for[ts]a → força (strength).
- Voicing — voiceless stops became voiced stops between vowels (and [b] became [v]): :MVTV → mudo (dumb) LACV → lago (lake) FABA → fava (broadbean).
- Simplification of consonant clusters, especially doubled consonants, occurred: GVTTA → gota (drop); PECCARE → pecar (to sin)
- Dissimilation — similar sounds in a word have a tendency to become different over time, so as to ease pronunciation. Vowels: LOCVSTA → lagosta (lobster). Consonants: ANIMA → alma (soul) LOCALE → logar → lugar (place).
- metathesis — a sound change that alters the order of phonemes in a word. Semi-vowel metathesis: PRIMARIV → primeiro (first); Consonant metathesis in [l] and [r]: TENEBRAS → teevras → trevas (darkness); these last ones are rare in Portuguese. Vowel metathesis: GENUCULUM → genoclo → → joelho (knee).
- epenthesis, insertion of a sound to break up a difficult-to-pronounce combination of vowels: GALLINA → Gali~a → Galinha (Chicken); VINO → Vi~o → Vinho (wine) Another specially relevant shift was the loss of the intervocalic /l/ in a very large set of words, already described in the list above as an example of "elision" → e.g: SALIRE → sair; COLARE → coar; NOTVLA → nódoa, with the typical portuguese voicing of /t/ in /d/ (AMATVS → amado). Fewer words remained unchanged, or reevolved to the original word, such as taberna (tavern) or coxa (thigh). Since the Renaissance, Portuguese became subject to the influence of Literary Latin, other than the spoken form from which Portuguese evolved, due to authors love for antiquity. Thus many adjectives in Portuguese have literary origin and the respective substantive has the popular form: ouro (gold) and áureo (golden) both from Latin, AVRV. Other words have popular and erudite synonyms: The Latin LOCALE (place) which evolved to the people's lugar has local as an erudite synonym. Very few traces of the native or pre-Roman settlers like the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Iberians, or Celts lexicon persist in the language, but there are some exceptions, such as Abóbora (pumpkin) and Bezerro (year-old calf) from Iberian languages or Cerveja (beer) and Saco (bag) from Celtic and Phoenician, respectively. Post-Roman influences, before the Discovery age, were also small. The Germanic influence in Portuguese was restricted to warfare and related topics, such has Barão (baron) from Germanic baro or Guerra (war) from Gothic
- �� (
- wirro). Projections indicate 1000 Arabic loan words, including: Aldeia (village) from التجارية (aldaya), Alface (lettuce) from الخس (alkhass), Armazém (warehouse) from المخزن (almahazan), Azeite (olive oil) from زيت (azzait) and most words starting with "al". With the Portuguese discoveries linguistic contact was made, and the Portuguese language became influenced by other languages other than European or Arabic. In Asia, the language gained words such as catana (cutlass) from Japanese 刀 (katana), Corja (rabble) from Malay Kórchchu or chá (tea) from Mandarin Chinese 茶 (cha). In South America, the language gained words such as Ananás, from Tupi-Guarani naná and Abacaxi from Tupi ibá cati both relating to different species of pineapple, or even Tucano (toucan) from Guarani tucan. The African influence in lexicon was made in Brazil and Africa (mostly in Angola) include words such has Bungular (to dance like African wizards) from Kimbundu kubungula or Cafuné (affections made in the head) from Kimbundu kifumate. Many names of places and local animals have Amerindian names in Brazil; in Angola and Mozambique, the same occurring with the local Bantu languages. These influences are also small even in the local variations of Portuguese in Brazil and Africa.

Writing system

Portuguese is written using the Latin alphabet with 26 letters. Three of them (K, W and Y) are only used for non-Portuguese origin words, in terms like darwinismo (Darwinism, from English "Darwin"). It uses ç and acute, grave, circumflex and tilde accents over vowels, as well as, in some forms and only in Brazil, diaeresis on a U as in lingüística (Linguistics, linguística is used in the rest of the Portuguese speaking nations).

Written varieties and Spelling Reform

As of 2005, Portuguese has two major written forms:
- European and African Portuguese
- Brazilian Portuguese In Brazil most first 'c's in 'cc', 'cç' or 'ct'; and 'p's in 'pc', 'pç' or 'pt' were eliminated from the language, since they are not pronounced in the cultivated spoken language, but are remnants from the language's Latin origin (though some continue to exist in cultivated Brazilian Portuguese, others in European Portuguese). An example is "facto" (in Portugal) and "fato" (in Brazil), both meaning fact -- one of the rare words that will continue to be accepted and is pronounced differently in both countries. Also, there are differences in accent marks, due to: # Different pronunciation: Brazil uses closed vowels in words such as "Antônio" (Anthony) or "anônimo" (anonymous), whereas Portugal and Africa use open ones, "António" or "anónimo", respectively. # Easier reading: Because "qu" can be read in two different ways in Portuguese: "kw" or "k", Brazil uses the diaeresis (called 'trema' in Portuguese), instead of "cinquenta" they write "cinqüenta". Currently, some press in Brazil has stopped using this accent mark. It was part of an orthographic agreement but abolished in Portugal. A 1990 Spelling Reform (Port. Reforma Ortográfica), intended to create an International Portuguese Standard, was ratified by Brazil, Cape Verde, and Portugal. East Timor, not an original subscriber, will ratify shortly along with Guinea-Bissau. Brazil and East Timor were the biggest supporters of the reform and pressured the CPLP for a fast implementation, but the implementation date has not yet been set. In East Timor, both orthographies are currently being taught to children. Galiza was also invited to take part in the reform but the Galician government ignored the invitation (note that this government states that Galician and Portuguese are different languages). However, an unofficial commission formed by Galician linguists (supporting the unity of the language) was sent and participated in the reform. ² At first, the Agreement established that its entrance into practice would only occur when all the countries of the CPLP had ratified it. But the Portuguese-speaking African countries have not ratified, possibly due to problems in implementing it. In the CPLP’s summit of 26–27 July 2004, an adjustment will prompt implementation when just three countries ratify it. The agreement will eliminate most first 'c's in 'cc', 'cç' or 'ct'; and 'p's in 'pc', 'pç' or 'pt' from European/ African Portuguese, the dieresis and accent marks in words ending in "éia" in Brazil and add some new spelling rules. And it will allow either orthography for words like anónimo or anônimo, depending on the dialect of the author or person being transcribed. Late in October 2004, Brazil became the first to approve the adjustment and asked its ambassadors in Portugal and Cape Verde to promote the rapid implementation in those countries. The agreement will enter into practice in the first day of the next month when the third country ratifies it. Even if today's orthographies do not harm intelligibility between native speakers, the orthography of one country is considered incorrect in the other, leading to two different translations of the same book written in another language and it can confuse foreigners that are learning the language. One endeavour of this reform is to promote the language internationally, just like the spelling reforms of Spanish by the Real Academia Española helped to promote the Spanish language. The language is not very popular internationally, even if it is the third-most-spoken Western language in the world, after English and Spanish. Another objective is Portugal's aid to Brazil and African countries in education of the Portuguese language to African and Amerindian populations, Brazil's educational aid to Africa and greater cultural and academic exchange. Another agreement was made for the new words that will come into the language.

Examples

:PT. - Standard Pronunciation of Portugal :BR. - Normal Pronunciation of Brazil :: note: The pronunciation of "o" and final "s" in Rio de Janeiro follows the European standard. ;Extract of «The Lusiads» (I, 33)

Literature

To English speakers, the most famous writer in the Portuguese language is the poet Luís Vaz de Camões (also known as Camoens) (1524–1580), author of the epic poem, the Lusiadas. Several other authors and poets are also internationally known, such as: Machado de Assis (1839-1908), the most traditional Brazilian novelist; Eça de Queirós (1845–1900), one of the most famous Portuguese language novelists; Fernando Pessoa (1888—1935), one of the greatest poets in the history of the language; Jorge Amado (1912—2001), a popular novelist; Pepetela (born 1941), a famous Angolan novelist; Mia Couto (1955), the most famous novelist from Mozambique; and José Saramago (born 1922) who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1998. The 2005 winner of Camoens Prize was Lygia Fagundes Telles (1923). See also: Camoens Prize

Notes

- ¹First and Second with first language speakers, respectively. Only counting figures from countries in the table "Portuguese language countries and Territories". Considering second language speakers those people who are bilingual and use Portuguese as a second language.
- ²[http://www.lusografia.org/ao/index.htm www.lusografia.org]

References

- Poesia e Prosa Medievais Ulisseia 1998 (3rd ed.; ISBN 9789725681244).
- Bases Temáticas - Língua Portuguesa in [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/bases/lingua.htm Instituto Camões]
- A Língua Portuguesa in [http://www.linguaportuguesa.ufrn.br/ Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil]
- Portuguese Literature in [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12307a.htm The Catholic Encyclopedia]
- Bergström, Magnus & Reis, Neves Prontuário Ortográfico Editorial Notícias, 2004.
- Lindley Cintra, Luís F. Nova Proposta de Classificação dos Dialectos Galego-Portugueses Boletim de Filologia, Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Filológicos, 1971.
- Mateus, Maria Helena & d'Andrade, Ernesto (2000) The Phonology of Portuguese ISBN 0-19-823581-X

External links

- [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=por Ethnologue report for Portuguese]
- [http://www.iilp-cplp.cv IILP] International Portuguese Language Institute
- [http://www.iilp-cplp.cv/pdf/iilp/acordoOrtografico.pdf IILP - Ortographic Agreement of 1990]
- [http://www.uea-angola.org/ União de Escritores Angolanos] Angolan authors
- [http://www.academia.org.br/ Academia Brasileira de Letras] Brazilian authors
- [http://www.spautores.pt Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores] Portuguese authors
- [http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/ Instituto Camões] Portuguese language studies
- [http://www.estacaodaluz.org.br/ Estação da Luz da Nossa Língua] Portuguese language studies in Brazil
- [http://www.ipor.org.pt/ Instituto Português do Oriente] - Portuguese language studies in Southeast Asia
- [http://www.observatoriolp.com/ Observatório da Língua Portuguesa] Observatory of Portuguese language
- [http://www.bibvirt.futuro.usp.br/ Biblioteca Virtual do Estudante de Língua Portuguesa] Virtual library for Portuguese language students
- [http://www.escolavirtual.pt/loginPE/comunidpt.do Escola Virtual] Virtual School. Portuguese language classes as taught in Portugal.
- [http://www.aulp.org/ AULP - Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa] Portuguese Language Universities Association.
- [http://www.bn.pt Biblioteca Nacional] National Library of Portugal
- [http://www.bn.br Biblioteca Nacional] National Library of Brazil
- [http://www.dicionarios-online.com Dicionários-Online.com] A directory of Portuguese dictionaries.
- [http://www.priberam.pt/dlpo/dlpo.aspx Portuguese dictionary] A very complete Portuguese dictionary
- [

Angola

Angola is a country in southwestern Africa bordering Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province Cabinda has a border with Congo-Brazzaville. A former Portuguese colony, it has considerable natural resources, among which oil and diamonds are the most relevant. The country is nominally a democracy and is formally named the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola).

Origin and history of the name

The name Angola is a Portuguese derivation of the Bantu word N’gola, being the title of the native rulers of the Quimbundos Kingdom in the 16th century, at the time of colonization by the Portuguese.

History

Main article: History of Angola History of Angola In present-day Angola Portugal settled in 1483 at the river Congo, where the Kongo State, Ndongo and Lunda existed. The Kongo State stretched from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. Portugal established in 1575 a Portuguese colony at Luanda based on the slave trade. The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal strip throughout the 16th century by a series of treaties and wars. They formed the colony of Angola. The Dutch occupied Luanda from 1641-48, providing a boost for anti-Portuguese states. In 1648 Portugal retook Luanda and initiated a process of military conquest of the Kongo and Ndongo states that ended with Portuguese victory in 1671. Full Portuguese administrative control of the interior didn't occur until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1951 the colony was restyled as an overseas province, also called Portuguese West Africa. When Portugal refused a decolonization process three independence movements emerged:
- the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola MPLA), with a base among Kimbundu and the mixed-race intelligentsia of Luanda, and links to communist parties in Portugal and the Eastern Bloc;
- the National Liberation Front of Angola (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola, FNLA), with an ethnic base in the Bakongo region of the north and links to the United States and the Mobutu regime in Zaire; and
- the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, UNITA), led by Jonas Malheiro Savimbi with an ethnic and regional base in the Ovimbundu heartland in the center of the country. After a 14 year independence guerrilla war, and the overthrow of fascist Portugal's government by a military coup, Angola's nationalist parties began to negotiate for independence in January 1975. Independence was to be declared in November 1975. Almost immediately, a civil war broke out between MPLA, UNITA and FNLA, exacerbated by foreign intervention. South African troops struck an alliance of convenience with UNITA and invaded Angola in August 1975 to ensure that there would be no interference (by a newly independent Angolan state) in Namibia, which was then under South African control (Hodges, 2001, 11). Cuban troops came to the support of the MPLA in October 1975, enabling them to hold off the South African forces and declare themselves as the de facto government of the country when independence was formally declared in November. In 1976, the FNLA was defeated by a combination of MPLA and Cuban troops, leaving the Marxist MPLA and UNITA (backed by the United States and South Africa) to fight for power. The conflict raged on, fuelled by the geopolitics of the Cold War and by the ability of both parties to access resources from Angola's natural resources. The MPLA drew upon the revenues of off-shore oil reserves, while UNITA accessed alluvial diamonds that were easily smuggled through the region's very porous borders (LeBillon, 1999). In 1991, the factions agreed to turn Angola into a multiparty state, but after the current president José Eduardo dos Santos of MPLA won UN supervised elections, UNITA claimed there was fraud and fighting broke out again. A 1994 peace accord (Lusaka protocol) between the government and UNITA provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government. A national unity government was installed in 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. President José Eduardo dos Santos suspended the regular functioning of democratic instances due to the conflict. On February 22nd 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was shot dead and a cease-fire was reached by the two factions. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of major opposition party. Although the political situation of the country seems to be normalizing, president dos Santos still hasn't allowed regular democratic processes to take place. Among Angola's major problems are a serious humanitarian crisis (a result of the prolonged war), the abundance of mine fields, and the actions of guerrilla movements fighting for the independence of the northern enclave of Cabinda (Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda). Angola, like many sub-Saharan nations, is subject to periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases. As of early April 2005, Angola is in the midst of an outbreak of the Marburg virus which is rapidly becoming the worst outbreak of a hemmorhagic fever in recorded history, with over 237 deaths recorded out of 261 reported cases, and having spread to 7 out of the 18 provinces as of April 19, 2005.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Angola The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Prime Minister (currently Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos) and Council of Ministers. Currently, political power is concentrated in the Presidency. The Council of Ministers, composed of all government ministers and vice ministers, meets regularly to discuss policy issues. Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial review has never been constituted despite statutory authorization. The 27 year long civil war has ravaged the country's political and social institutions. The UN estimates of 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), while generally the accepted figure for war-affected people is 4 million. Daily conditions of life throughout the country and specifically Luanda (population approximately 4 million) mirror the collapse of administrative infrastructure as well as many social institutions. The ongoing grave economic situation largely prevents any government support for social institutions. Hospitals are without medicines or basic equipment, schools are without books, and public employees often lack the basic supplies for their day-to-day work. The president has announced the government's intention to hold elections in 2006. These elections would be the first since 1992 and would serve to elect both a new president and a new National Assembly.
- List of political parties in Angola

Administrative Divisions

List of political parties in Angola Main Article: Provinces of Angola Angola is divided into 18 provinces:-

Geography

Provinces of Angola Provinces of Angola Main article: Geography of Angola Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west. The exclave of Cabinda also borders the Republic of the Congo to the north. Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the north-west of the country. Angola is divided into an arid coastal strip stretching from Namibia to Luanda; a wet, interior highland; a dry savanna in the interior south and southeast; and rain forest in the north and in Cabinda. The Zambezi River and several tributaries of the Congo River have their sources in Angola.

Exclaves and enclaves

The exclave province of Cabinda borders with both the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latter's only oceanic access, 60 km in width, divides Angola from Cabinda. The population stands at around 300,000, two-thirds of which inhabit the surroundings in a generally stable state on Congolese and Zairian territory. The Angolan central government has yet to put a definitive end to the Cabindese secessionist movement.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Angola Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. Despite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate which is owned by the Angolan government. Notwithstanding the signing of a peace accord in November 1994, violence continues, millions of land mines remain, and many farmers are reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food must still be imported. Despite the increase in the pace of civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 4% in 1999. The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including a 1 and 5 kwanza note. Expanded oil production brightens prospects for 2000, but internal strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector. With the advent of peace in 2002 a strategic partnership with China is set in motion, so huge investments by Chinese companies are now in place, especially in the construction sector and more recently in the metallurgical sector.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Angola Angola has three main ethnic groups, each speaking a Bantu language: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, and Bakongo 13%. Other groups include Chokwe (or Lunda), Ganguela, Nhaneca-Humbe, Ambo, Herero, and Xindunga. In addition, mestiços (Angolans of mixed European and African family origins) amount to about 2%, with a small (1%) population of whites, mainly ethnically Portuguese. Portuguese make up the largest non-Angolan population, with at least 30,000 (though many native-born Angolans can claim Portuguese nationality under Portuguese law). Portuguese is both the official and predominant language, spoken in the homes of about two-thirds of the population, and as a secondary language by many more. The great majority of the inhabitants are of Bantu stock with some admixture in the Congo district. In the south-east are various tribes of Bushmen. The best-known of the Bantu tribes are the Ba-Kongo (Ba-Fiot), who dwell chiefly in the north, and the Abunda (Mbunda, Ba-Bundo), who occupy the central part of the province, which takes its name from the Ngola tribe of Abunda. Another of these tribes, the Bangala, living on the west bank of the upper Kwango, must not be confused with the Bangala of the middle Congo. In the Abunda is a considerable strain of Portuguese blood. The Ba-Lunda inhabit the Lunda district. Along the upper Kunene and in other districts of the plateau are settlements of Boers, the Boer population being about 2000. In the coast towns the majority of the white inhabitants are Portuguese. The Mushi-Kongo and other divisions of the Ba-Kongo retain curious traces of the Christianity professed by them in the 16th and 17th centuries and possibly later. Crucifixes are used as potent fetish charms or as symbols of power passing down from chief to chief; whilst every native has a "Santu" or Christian name and is dubbed dom or dona. Fetishism is the prevailing religion throughout the province. The dwelling-places of the natives are usually small huts of the simplest construction, used chiefly as sleeping apartments; the day is spent in an open space in front of the hut protected from the sun by a roof of palm or other leaves. Despite all that, Catholicism remains the dominant religion, although recently an increasing number of churches are claiming more followers, particularly evangelicals.
- List of Angolans

Culture

Main article: Culture of Angola
- List of writers from Angola
- Contemporary Dance Company of Angola[http://www.cdcangola.com]

Stamps

- List of errors on Portuguese ex-Colonies stamps of Angola 1912
- List of errors on Portuguese ex-Colonies stamps of Angola 1914
- List of errors on Portuguese ex-Colonies stamps of Angola 1921
- List of birds on stamps of Angola
- List of people on stamps of Angola
- List of bonsai on stamps
- List of fish on stamps

Miscellaneous topics

- Communications in Angola
- Foreign relations of Angola
- List of Angolan companies
- Military of Angola
- Sonangol Group
- Transportation in Angola

Reference

- Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

External links

Government

- [http://www.angola.org/ Republic of Angola] official government portal
- [http://www.parlamento.ao/ National Assembly of Angola] official site (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.angola.org/ Embassy of Angola in Washington DC] government information and links

News

- [http://allafrica.com/angola/ allAfrica - Angola] news headline links
- [http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/ Angola Press] government-controlled news agency (in Portuguese, French and English)
- [http://www.angonoticias.com/ Angonoticias] (in Portuguese) - A popular news source in Angola

Overviews

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1063073.stm BBC - Country profile: Angola]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ao.html CIA World Factbook - Angola]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/af/ci/ao/ US State Department - Angola] includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports

Directories

- [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/Angola.html Columbia University Libraries - Angola] directory category of the WWW-VL
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Angola/ Open Directory Project - Angola] directory category
- [http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/angola.html Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Angola] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Angola/ Yahoo! - Angola] directory category

Tourism

Other

- [http://www.flashpoints.info/countries-conflicts/Angola-web/angola_briefing.html Angola Conflict Briefing] Category:African Union member states Category:Former Portuguese colonies Category:CPLP member states zh-min-nan:Angola ko:앙골라 ms:Angola ja:アンゴラ simple:Angola

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde or Cape Verde (Portuguese: Cabo Verde) is a republic located on an archipelago in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa. The previously-uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; they subsequently became a trading centre for African slaves. Most Cape Verdeans descend from both groups. "Cape Verde" is named for Cap-Vert, now in Senegal, the westernmost point of Africa.

History

Main article: History of Cape Verde Cape Verde was uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in 1456, and the islands were thus made part of the Portuguese empire. Due to its location off the coast of Africa, Cape Verde became an important port, and was a major center of the slave trade. In 1975, the islands achieved independence, partially due to the efforts of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC). After independence, the PAIGC attempted to unite Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau into one nation, the PAIGC controlling both governments, but a coup in the latter nation in 1980 ended these plans. In Cape Verde itself the PAICV (affiliated with the PAIGC) governed until elections were held in 1991 that resulted in a change of government. The PAICV was re-elected in 2001. External Links:
- [http://virtualcapeverde.net/news2/modules/Downloads/docs/cv_chronological_references.htm#_1900-1997_1 CABO VERDE CHRONOLOGICAL REFERENCES ]

Politics

Main article: Politics of Cape Verde The government of Cape Verde is based on a Constitution that was established in 1980. Elections are held for both the Prime Minister and President, who both govern for 5-year terms. Members of the General Assembly are elected as well, and they appoint the Supreme Court along with the President and Prime Minister. See also: President of Cape Verde, National symbols

Geography

right Main article: Geography of Cape Verde Cape Verde is an archipelago off the coast of Africa. It is formed by 10 main islands and about 8 islets. The main islands are:
- Barlaventos (northern island group)
- Santo Antão
- São Vicente
- Santa Luzia
- São Nicolau
- Sal
- Boa Vista
- Sotaventos (southern island group)
- Maio
- Santiago
- Fogo
- Brava Of these, only Santa Luzia is uninhabited. Presently it is a Natural Reserve. All islands are volcanic, but an active volcano exists on one of the islands, Fogo. See Mount Fogo. The islets are Branco, Razo.

Municipalities

Razo Razo Razo Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities (concelhos, singular - concelho):
- Santo Antão island:
- Paúl
- Porto Novo
- Ribeira Grande
- São Vicente island:
- São Vicente
- Santa Luzia island (included in S. Vicente concelho)
- São Nicolau island:
- São Nicolau
- Tarrafal de Sao Nicolau
- Sal island:
- Sal
- Boa Vista island:
- Boa Vista
- Maio island:
- Maio
- Santiago island:
- Praia
- Ribeira Grande de Santiago
- Santa Catarina
- Santa Cruz
- São Domingos
- Sao Lourenco dos Orgaos
- São Miguel
- Sao Salvador do Mundo
- Tarrafal
- Fogo island:
- São Filipe
- Mosteiros
- Santa Catarina do Fogo
- Brava island:
- Brava

Economy

Main article: Economy of Cape Verde Economy of Cape Verde Economy of Cape Verde Economy of Cape Verde Economy of Cape Verde Cape Verde is a small nation that lacks resources and has experienced severe droughts as well as water shortages. Agriculture is somewhat stymied by lack of rain, and is restricted to only four islands for most of the year. Most of the nation's GDP is from the services industry. Cape Verde's economy has largely grown since the late 1990s, and is now considered a country of average human development. Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, leading it to fix its currency, firstly through the Portuguese escudo, then the Euro since 1999. Former Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Durão Barroso, now (second semester 2004) president of the European Commission, has promised to help integrate Cape Verde within the European Union sphere of influence via greater cooperation with Portugal. In March 2005, former Portuguese president Mário Soares launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with Cape Verde.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Cape Verde Most inhabitants of Cape Verde are descendants of the white Portuguese settlers and black African slaves. More Cape Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde, with significant emigrant Cape Verdean communities in the United States (264,900 Cape Verdians), Portugal (80,000) and Angola (45,000). There are also significant number of Cape Verdeans in São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, France, Brazil and the Netherlands.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Cape Verde The culture of Cape Verde reflects its mixed Portuguese and African roots. It is well known for its diverse forms of music such as Morna (the Capeverdian Fado) and the urban Cape Verdian kizomba, and a wide variety of dances: the soft dance Morna, the Funana - a sensual mixed Portuguese and African dance, the extreme sensuality of coladeira (literally "glued"), and the African Batuque dance. These are reflective of the diverse origins of Cape Verde's residents. Indigenously, the term "Cabo" is used to refer to residents as well as the culture of Cape Verde.
- See also: List of writers from Cape Verde
- See also: List of painters from Cape Verde

Capeverdean Literature

Capeverdean literature is one of the richest of Lusitanian Africa.
- Poets: [http://www.unb.br/il/liv/public/frusoni.htm Frusoni Sergio], [http://www.eugeniotavares.org/ Tavares Eugénio], B.Léza, João Cleofas Martins, Luís Romano de Madeira Melo, Ovídio Martins, Barbosa Jorge, Fortes Corsino António, Baltasar Lopes (Osvaldo Alcântara), João Vário, Oswaldo Osório, Arménio Vieira, Vadinho Velhinho, José Luís Tavares, etc.
- Authors: [http://www.caboindex.com/claridade/ Manuel Lopes - Movimento Claridade], Almeida Germano, Luís Romano de Madeira Melo, Germano de Almeida, Orlanda Amarilis, Jorge Vera Cruz Barbosa, Pedro Cardoso, Mário José Domingues, Daniel Filipe, Mário Alberto Fonseca de Almeida, Corsino António Fortes, Arnaldo Carlos de Vasconcelos França, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Aguinaldo Brito Fonseca, Ovídio de Sousa Martins , Osvaldo Osório, Dulce Almada Duarte, Manuel Veiga
- Compositor: [http://www.caboverdeonline.com/contents/Port/2003/G/04/mn041503.asp Manuel de Novas], Vasco Martins
- Poems in Portuguese: [http://home.no.net/oaa/poesia.htm Capeverdean Poems], [http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/poesiaeterna/apepmd.htm Poesia]
- [http://home.no/tabanka/literature.htm Capeverdean Literature] [http://www.tanboru.org/mito/sopinha/index.htm Sopinha de Alfabeto]
- Famous tales: [http://www.minerva.uevora.pt/aprenderpt/jogoproj/tilobo.html Ti Lobo and Chibinho] Luís Romano de Madeira Melo

Language

Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese, but Portuguese Creoles (Crioulo, Criol, Krioulo, Caboverdiano), which vary considerably from island to island, are widely used. Each of the 9 inhabited islands of Cape Verde has its own creole. We can distinguish between two main groups:
- Sotavento Creoles: Creole of Santiago ([http://www.priberam.pt/dcvpo/dcvpo.aspx Badiu]), Maio, Fogo and [http://www.bcv.cv/_conteudo/dinheiro/nota/1999/2000.htm# Brava].
- Barlavento Creoles: Creole of São Vicente ([http://www.mindelo.info/dico_accueil.html Criol d'Soncente, Criol d' Saocente]), [http://www.terravista.pt/fernoronha/2651/crioulo.html São Nicolau], Sal, Boavista and [http://membres.lycos.fr/pontadosol/pontadosol/presentsite.htm Santo Antão] The greatest differences in the different Capeverdean Crioulo languages are between the creole of Santiago and the creole of Santo Antão. There exists no complete translation of the Bible. Sérgio Frusoni translated, however, Bartolomeo Rossetti's version of the New Testament from the Roman dialect (ER VANGELO SECONNO NOANTRI) into the Capeverdean creole of São Vicente under the title: Vangêle contód d'nôs móda. Capeverdian Creole language has been promoted by the following poets or authors:
- Crioulo of Brava: Eugénio Tavares, Deirdre Meintel
- Crioulo of Santiago: António de Paula Brito, Carlos Barbosa, Tomé Varela da Silva, Daniel Spínola
- Crioulo of São Nicolau: Eduardo Augusto Cardoso, Baltasar Lopes da Silva
- Crioulo of Santo Antão: Luís Romano de Madeira Melo
- Crioulo of São Vicente: Sérgio Frusoni, Ovídio Martins
- Sotavento Creoles: Armando Napoleão Rodrigues Fernandes, Manuel Veiga, Marlyse Baptista, Nicolas Quint
- Barlavento Creoles: Armando Napoleão Rodrigues Fernandes, Maria Dulce de Oliveira Almada

Capeverdian Creole (Crioulo) links

- [http://www.unb.br/il/liv/public/frusoni.htm Sérgio Frusoni (Work of Sergio Frusoni-Crioulo of São Vicente)]
- [http://caboverdetimorpoesia.com.sapo.pt/ Adriano Gominho (Creole of São Nicolau)]
- [http://www.bcv.cv/_conteudo/dinheiro/nota/1999/2000.htm# "Morna aguada" by Eugénio Tavares (Creole of Brava)]
- [http://www.capeverdeancreoleinstitute.org/lusiadas_na_kriolu.htm Extracts from 'OS LUSÍADAS' in the creole of Santo Antão]
- [http://www.clubetabanka.com/cv/creole.asp Perspective on Capeverdean Crioulo]

Newspapers

Newspapers:
- A Semana (Praia,1991-)
- Expresso das Ilhas
- Jornal O Cidadao (São Vicente)
- Jornal Horizonte (Praia, 1988-)
- Terra Nova (S.Vicente, 1975-)
- Artiletra (S.Vicente, 1991-) Newspapers Online:
- [http://www.vozdipovo-online.com/ VozDiPovo-Online :: A Voz + Jovem de Cabo Verde]
- [http://www.asemana.cv/ A Semana]
- [http://www.inforpress.cv/ Infopress]
- [http://www.hostultra.com/~caboverde/cidadao/index.htm O Cidadao]
- [http://www.paralelo14.com/p14/index.php Paralelo 14]

Miscellaneous topics

Sérgio Frusoni
- Cape Verdean Immigration History in the United States
- Communications in Cape Verde
- Community of Portuguese Language Countries
- Foreign relations of Cape Verde
- Military of Cape Verde
- Public holidays in Cape Verde
- Transportation in Cape Verde

References

- Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
- Dr Marcel Gomes Balla of Boston University has written a short history of these islands, Antonio's Island ISBN 1898030480, covering: The 'official' discovery of Cabo Verde, The Treaty of Tordesilhas- the complete text-in English, The Cape Verdean navigator who made an extraordinary impact on America, Africa, Europe and Asia, The involvement of the church with slavery, The historical ties between Cabo Verde and Columbus, Cabo Verde Vasco da Gama and Cabral, The creation of Brazil, The historical ties with Italy and other countries, The first non-Europeans to cross the Atlantic with a regular sailing schedule and a lot more useful information such as: Portraits of Cape Verdean navigators published for the first time for the public (Africans , mestizos, Europeans, but always Cape Verdeans). Still other famous Cape Verdeans in science, politics etc. Maps confirming the discovery of the islands and the importance of Cape Verdeans and Cabo Verde in world history.

External links

Government

- [http://www.governo.cv/ República de Cabo Verde] official government site (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.parlamento.cv/ Assembleia Nacional de Cabo Verde] official parliamentary site

News

- [http://allafrica.com/capeverde/ allAfrica.com - Cape Verde] news headline links

Overviews

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1021202.stm BBC News - Country Profile: Cape Verde]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cv.html CIA World Factbook - Cape Verde]

Directories

- [http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317916/us559898/us559899/us10065674/us10056634/ LookSmart - Cape Verde] directory category
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Cape_Verde/ Open Directory Project - Cape Verde] directory category
- [http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/capev.html Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Cape Verde] directory category
- [http://www.afrika.no/index/Countries/Cape_Verde/ The Index on Africa - Cape Verde] directory category
- [http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/C_Verde.html University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: Cape Verde] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Cape_Verde/ Yahoo! - Cape Verde] directory category
- [http://www.caboverde24.com Cabo Verde 24 - Cape Verde ] directory category

Tourism

CIA World Factbook
- [http://www.bela-vista.net/cape-verde.htm Travel Info by Lucete Fortes]
- [http://www.bela-vista.net/map-order-e.htm Maps and Guide books by Lucete Fortes]
- [http://www.ecaboverde.com Cape Verde Photos]
- category:former Portuguese colonies Category:CPLP member states zh-min-nan:Chheⁿ-kak Kiōng-hô-kok ko:카보베르데 ms:Cape Verde ja:カーボベルデ

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (República da Guiné-Bissau) is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest nations in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. Formerly the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea, upon independence, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's official name in order to prevent confusion between itself and the Republic of Guinea.

History

Main article: History of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau was once the kingdom of Gabù, part of the Mali Empire; parts of the kingdom subsisted until the 18th century. Though the rivers and coast of this area were among the first places colonized by the Portuguese, who began the slave trade in the 17th century, the interior was not explored until the 19th century. A rebellion beginning in 1956 by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) consolidated its hold on the country by 1973. Independence was unilaterally declared on September 24, 1973 and was recognized by a 93-7 UN General Assembly vote in November [http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/281/33/IMG/NR028133.pdf?OpenElement] , unprecedented as it denounced illegal Portuguese aggression and occupation and was prior to complete control and Portuguese recognition. Recognition became universal following the Portuguese revolution of 1974. The country was controlled by a revolutionary council until 1984. The first multi-party elections were held in 1994, but an army uprising in 1998 led to the president's ousting and the Guinea-Bissau Civil War. Elections were held in 2000 and Kumba Yala was elected. In September 2003 a coup took place in which the military arrested Yala, because "he was unable to solve the problems". After being delayed several times, legislative elections were held in April 2004. A mutiny of military factions in October 2004 resulted in the death of the head of the armed forces, and caused widespread unrest. In June 2005, Presidential elections was held for the first time since the coup that deposed Yala. Yala returned as the candidate for the PRS, claiming to be the legitimate President of the country, but the election was won by former President João Bernardo Vieira, deposed in the 1998 coup. Vieira was a candidate for one sect of the PAIGC. Vieira beat Malam Bacai Sanha in a runoff-election, but Sanha refused to initially concede, claiming that the election have been fraudalent in two constituencies, including the capital Bissau. Despite reports that there had been an influx of arms in the weeks leading up to the election and reports of some 'disturbances during campaigning' - including the attacks of the presidential palace and the Interior Ministry by as of yet unidentified gunmen - European monitors labelled the election as "calm and organized". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4723627.stm]

Politics

European monitors Main article: Politics of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau has a multi-party National People's Assembly, as well as a president, both elected by popular vote. The president appoints the prime minister after consultation with the parties in the assembly. The former president, Kumba Yala, belongs to the Social Renovation Party or PRS; other parties in the assembly include the Guinea-Bissau Resistance and PAIGC.

Regions

Main article: Regions of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau is divided into nine regions (regiões):
- Bafata Region
- Biombo Region
- Bissau Region
- Bolama Region
- Cacheu Region
- Gabu Region
- Oio Region
- Quinara Region
- Tombali Region

Geography

Main article: Geography of Guinea-Bissau Geography of Guinea-Bissau This small, tropical country lies at a low altitude; its highest point is 300 metres. The interior is savanna, and the coast line is swampy plain. Its monsoon-like rainy season alternates with periods of hot, dry harmattan winds blowing from the Sahara. The Bijagos Archipelago extends out to sea.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau is among the 20 poorest countries of the world. Its farming and fishing economy was badly disrupted by the 1998-99 civil war. It has a foreign debt of $US 921 million and is subject to an IMF structural adjustment program. One of Guinea-Bissau's important income sources is cashew nuts, of which it exports 90,000 tons per year. In January 2005 the government announced that a locust swarm was threatening this vital crop, and that the country did not have the resources to tackle the infestation.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Guinea-Bissau The population of Guinea-Bissau is ethnically diverse with distinct languages, customs, and social structures. The main spoken language is Portuguese creole (44%); the Portuguese language is spoken by 14%. Most people are farmers, with traditional religious beliefs (animism); 45% are