Achievement & Equality Team
Information on Portugal and the Portuguese language
Heroes of the sea, noble race
Valiant and immortal nation
Now is the hour to raise up on high once more
Portugal’s splendour
National Anthem of Portugal
PORTUGAL AT A GLANCE
Location – South-West Europe on the Iberian peninsula; and Atlantic archipelagos the Azores and Madeira islands
Neighbours – Spain
Size – 35,655 square miles
Population – 10,617,575 (75th)
Life Expectancy – Male / Female 75/82
Capital city – Lisbon
Potted History
The oldest European nation state, Portugal had attained its present extent by the mid-13th century. In the early 14th century Portugal began its worldwide exploration, which gave it a global empire and extensive wealth but isolated it from the rest of Europe. Long ruled by a tiny oligarchy, in 1910 a republic was proclaimed, followed by six decades of repressive government until a left-wing coup in 1974 brought reform.
Political pressure points
Portugal is a democratic republic. In December 2009, the former president Mario Soares warned that rising social inequality, an expected large increase in unemployment, the impunity of bankers and inequities in the justice system are creating a climate of distrust and revolt.
Population mix
Majority Portuguese, small minority Brazilian and African communities.
Religious makeup
Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, none 3.9%
Main languages
Portuguese
Living national icons
José Saramago (author), Mariza (fado singer), Paula Rego (artist), Herman José (comedian), Manoel de Oliveira (film director), Maria de Medeiros (actor), Cristiano Ronaldo (footballer), Simao Sabrosa (footballer)
Website
portugal.gov.pt
The Nottinghamshire Context
Since Portugal became a member of the EU, it has enabled residents to have freedom of movement and the ability to work anywhere in the EU. This has meant increased migration to the UK for economic reasons. Migrants from these countries may work in low paid unskilled jobs, although be highly skilled in particular industries back in their home country. Some jobs may also involve shift work which can impact on family life and ability for parents to attend meetings.
Education in Portuagal
· The education system of Portugal is regulated by the State through the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Science and Technology and Higher Education.
· The public education system is the most popular and well established, but there are also many private schools at all levels of education.
· There is very little pre-school education in Portugal.
· Education is compulsory from ages 6 to 15.
· Schooling is divided into three cycles: one of four years, one of two years and one of three years.
· Portuguese is the language of instruction for all levels.
· At 15, pupils may move on to senior secondary school, where they may study for two or three years, culminating in the award of the Certificado de fim de Estudos Secundarios.
· There are two types of secondary education, vocational and general.
· Those who want to learn a trade usually choose vocational secondary education.
· Students choose to attend general secondary education if they want to pursue higher education after high school to obtain a degree or diploma.
· Some children attend private schools, especially Roman Catholic schools.
Information about the Portuguese language
Portuguese (português or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal from the Latin spoken by romanized Cett-liberians about 1000 years ago. It spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th centuries as Portugal established a colonial and commercial empire which spanned from Brazil in the Americas to Goa in India and Macau in China. During that time, many creole languages based on Portuguese also appeared around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Today it is one of the world's major languages, ranked sixth according to number of native speakers (over 200 million). It is the language with the largest number of speakers in South America (188 million, over 51% of the continent's population), and also a major lingua franca in Africa. It is the official language of nine countries, being co-official with Spanish and French in Equatorial Guinea, with Chinese in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, and with Tetum in East Timor.
Portuguese is a Romance language, closely related to, and yet distincly different from, Spanish. It is softer and less emphatic than Spanish, with a greater variety of vowel sounds, and contains a number of nasal sounds that are completely unknown in Spanish. Words beginning with h in Spanish frequently begin with f in Portuguese (e.g., hijo/filho- son), while words ending in –ció in Spanish generally end in ção in Portuguese ( nación/nação- nation). There are a number of words from Arabic in both Languages (algodó/algodão-cotton plus a few peculiar to Portuguese (alfaiate-tailor). Many words are identical in the two languages (mesa- table, flo- flower, lago-lake), but others are completely different (perro/cão- dog, gracias/obrigado- thank you)
The Portuguese nasal vowels are indicated by letters ã and õ. The ç functions as in French, while the combinations lh and nh correspond to the Spanish ll and ñ respectively. The letter j is pronounced as in French (not as in Spanish), as is the letter g before e and I. The h is always silent. Words ending in a (but not ã), e, o, m, or s generally stress the next to last syllable, while those ending on other letters stress the final syllable. Exceptions to this rule are indicated by an acute accent if the vowel has an open sound (açúcar- sugar), and by a circumflex if the vowel has a closed sound (relâmpago- lightning). The accent marks are also used to distinguish between words that would otherwise have the same spelling, as for example e, meaning “and” but é, “is” and por, meaning “by”, but pôr, meaning “to put”.
Sample text in Portuguese
Todos os seres humanos nascem livres e iguais em dignidade e em direitos. Dotados de razão e de consciência, devem agir uns para com os outros em espírito de fraternidade.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Words and Phrases
Portuguese / EnglishBom dia! / Hello! / Good morning!
Bom dia! / Good morning.
Boa tarde! / Good afternoon.
Boa noite! / Good evening/Good night.
Como vai? / How are you? (formal)
Bem, obrigado/obrigada. / Fine, thank you. (male/female person)
Prazer. / It is a pleasure to meet you.
Muito prazer. / It is a pleasure to meet you.
Oi! / Hi.
Oi, tudo bem? / Hi, how are you? (informal)
Tudo bem, e você? / Fine, and you?
Tchau! / Bye. (informal)
Até logo! / Good bye. (formal)
Até mais! / See you then.
Até depois! / See you later.
Até amanhã! / See you tomorrow.
Obrigado/Obrigada. / Thank you. (male/female person)
De nada. / You are welcome.
Por favor. / Please/Excuse-me (by asking information)
Desculpe. / Sorry. (by apologizing)
Dá licença. / Excuse-me. (by making way/coming in)
Não tem problema. / No problem/It doesn't matter.
Não faz mal. / No problem/It doesn't matter.
Meu nome é.... / My name is .....
Como é seu nome? / What is your name?
Você fala português? / Do you speak Portuguese?
Falo/Não, não falo. / Yes, I do/No, I don't.
Falo um pouco/um pouquinho. / I speak a bit/a little bit.
Eu entendo um pouco, mas não falo. / I understand a bit, but I cannot speak.
Estou aprendendo. / I am learning it now.
De onde você é? / Where are you from?
Sou de São Paulo/do Brasil/da França / I am from São Paulo/Brazil/France.
Onde você mora? / Where do you live?
Quantos anos você tem? / How old are you?
Eu tenho ….anos / I am …. Years old
Como? Não entendi direito. / Pardon? I did not get it.
Fale mais devagar. / Speak more slowly, please.
Fala de novo. / Say it again, please.
Fala mais uma vez. / Say it again, please.
Repita, por favor. / Repeat, please.
Como? / Pardon?/How?/What?
O que? / What?
Por quê? / Why?
Por que não? / Why not?
Onde? / Where?
De onde? / From where?
Aonde? / To where?
Para onde? / To where?
Qual? / Which one?/What?
Quando? / When?
A que horas? / At what time?
Quanto é? / How much is it?
Quanto custa? / How much does it cost?
Quantos? / How many? (male)
Quantas? / How many? (female)
Quem? / Who?
Com quem? / With whom?
Para quem? / To whom?
De quem? / Whose?/About whom?
Sim. / Yes.
Não. / No.
Obrigado/a por tudo. / Thanks for everything.
Obrigado/a pelo cafezinho. / Thanks for the coffee.
Obrigado/a pela informação. / Thanks for the information.
Acho que sim. / I think so.
Acho que não. / I think not.
Talvez. / Maybe.
Eu também. / Me too.
Agora não. / Not now.
Ainda não. / Not yet.
Não sei. / I don't know.
Não sei ainda. / I still don't know.
Como você quiser. / As you wish.
Onde você quiser. / Wherever you wish.
Quando você quiser. / Whenever you wish.
Foi um prazer falar com você. / It was a pleasure to talk to you.
Foi um prazer te conhecer. / It was a pleasure to meet you.
Bem-vindo / Welcome
Não há de quê.. / You’re welcome
Como o senhor se chama? / What is your name?
Me chamo… / My name is…
Compreende? / Do you understand?
(Não) Compreendo. / I (don’t) understand
Língua inglesa/ inglês / English Language
Literatura inglesa / English Literature
Geografia / Geography
Estudos gerais / General Studies
História / History
Matemática / Mathematics
Esporte / Sports
Diretor de Colégio / Head Teacher
Estudante / Student
Pais / Parents
Escola/ Colégio / School
Registro / Register
Lição / Lesson
Pausa / Break
Hora do almoço / Lunch hour
Classe/ Aula / Class
Colega de classe / Class mates
Professor/ Professora / Tutor
Idade (faixa etária) / Year (age group)
Livro (s) / Book(s)
Caneta / Pen
Lápis / Pencil
dever de casa / homework
Família / Family
Pais / Parents
Irmãos / Siblings
Irmão / brother
Irmã / Sister
Mãe / Mother
Pai / Father
Avós / Grandparents
Avó / Grandmother
Avô / Grandfather
Parentes / Relatives
SENTIMENTOS / FEELINGS
Deprimido (a) / Feeling low
Estar com saudade de casa / Feeling homesick
feliz / happy
solitário / lonely
triste / sad
ler / read
escrever / write
falar / speak
escutar / listen
Você entende? / Do you understand?
Você está preocupado com algo? / Is something bothering you?
zero / zero
um / One
dois / Two
três / Three
quatro / Four
cinco / Five
seis / Six
sete / Seven
oito / Eight
nove / Nine
dez / ten
preto / black
(cor-de-)cinza / cinzento / grey
(cor-de-)prata / prateado / silver
bege / beige
branco / white
(cor-de-)vinho / wine red
vermelho / red
(cor-de-)laranja / (cor-de-)abóbora / orange
dourado / gold
amarelo / yellow
verde / green
azul-celeste / sky blue
(azul-)turquesa / turquoise
azul-marinho / marine blue
azul / blue
(cor-de-)rosa / pink
roxo / purple
lilás / lilac
marrom / castanho¹ / brown
Useful guidance is available from:
New Arrivals Excellence Programme Guidance
(2007) Ref 00650 – 2007BKT- EN
www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk
This resource is for primary and secondary schools and contains guidance on admission and developing classroom practice.
A language in common: assessing English as an additional language
QCA (2000) (QCA/00/584).
http://www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/6200.aspx
This document sets out steps used in assessment of EAL, linked to English National Curriculum levels. It provides guidance and exemplifications.
Aiming High: guidance on supporting the education of asylum seeking and refugee children (DfES 0287 – 2004)
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ethnicminorites/links_and_publications/AH_Gdnc_AS_RFG_Apr04?asylumguidance.pdf
This guidance helps explain the value of an inclusive ethos and curriculum to all pupils.
Aiming High: meeting the needs of newly arrived learners of EAL
(DfES 1381 -2005)
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/publications/inclusion/newarrivals
Information on working with newly arrived isolated EAL pupils in settings that have little or no access to EAL support.
Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years (DfES 0013 – 2006PCK- EN)
Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Access and engagement in English:teaching pupils for whom English is an additional language (DfES 0609 – 2002)
Publications/Catalogues are available from:
MUNDI Tel: 0115 8546418
Mundi
Global Education Centre
Foxhall Lodge
Foxhall Road
Nottingham
NG7 6LH
www.mundi.org.uk (under construction/Aug 2010)
Mundi loan resources to schools in Nottinghamshire free for up to half a term e-mail:
GRANT AND CUTLER Tel: 0207 734 2012
55-57 Great Marlborough Street,
London'
England
W1F 7AY
Web: http://www.grantandcutler.com/index.html
A one-stop shop for foreign language resources including language-learning material, reference books, technical dictionaries, literature, history, politics etc.
MILET PUBLISHING Tel: 0207 603 5477
6 North End Parade
London W14 0SJ
England
Web: http://www.milet.com
Milet publishers a wide range of bilingual picture dictionaries, including board books for use in early years settings.
TRENTHAM BOOKS LTD Tel: 01782 745567
Westview House,734 London Road,
Stoke on Trent,
UKST4 5NP Web: http://www.trentham-books.co.uk
Trentham publishes 'a wide range of titles plus seven professional journals, mainly in the field of education and social policy.
MANTRA LINGUA Tel: 0208 44 55 123
Global House
303 Ballards Lane
London
N12 8NP
UK
Web: http://www.mantralingua.com.
Mantra Lingua creative learning resources Audio CDs, Big Books, e-books, fun tales, folk tales, friezes, games, language learning, packs posters, story props, toys videos and so on.
Classroom Resources are available from:
Interactive video clips showing children teaching their home languages www.newburypark.redbridge.sch.uk/langofmonth
The following website translates words, phrases and short paragraphs from English to Portuguese available at; www.foreignword.com.