Of the languages with a European origin, Portuguese possesses one
of the more fascinating histories. Because of the Portuguese naval
expeditions in the XV and XVI centuries, the language has become one
of the very few spoken across Africa, South Africa, Asia and Europe by
more than 200 million people.
This text provides initially a short history of the Portuguese
language, beginning from its Latin roots in Europe up to its modern
day form. The text then details the current state of Portuguese in the
diverse countries and regions of the world in which it is spoken
This text was not written by, nor for linguists. It has been
written instead for a general audience that wishes to know a little
more about the Portuguese language. It is a piece formed by collecting
contributions from various sources and people, and for this reason, we
apologise in advance for any errors or omissions that may be found and
welcome any suggestions for improvement.