Other Places to Speak Portuguese (Apart From Brazil): Macau

Brazil and Macau were once two extremes of the vast Portuguese Empire, the history of which you can read in Charles Boxer‘s book: The Portuguese Seaborne Empire 1425-1825.

I recently went to Macau for a day trip, hoping it would make me feel like I was back in Brazil, or, as they say in Portuguese to matar a saudade. Macau was until 1999 a Portuguese-administered colony in China. The Chinese government on assuming sovereignty promised to maintain the political system unchanged for 50 years, which means that Portuguese is still one of the official languages of government. And this has helped to keep the language alive. The government is now enthusiastically protecting and promoting the Portuguese heritage for trade and tourism. Although most of the Portuguese bureaucrats have gone home, about 5000 Portuguese speakers continue to make Macau their home; some of them are from families which have lived in Macau for 400 years. There is a Portuguese language school, four daily Portuguese newspapers, and several Portuguese language bookshops. There is a Department of Portuguese at the University of Macau with over 30 university professors; the department offers a four-year course in Portuguese for foreigners.