22. Portuguese

Abstract

This chapter is divided into two main parts. Firstly, it situates and discusses the relevance of the Portuguese language in our current global context. An awareness that has stemmed from the preparation of this part is the fragility and vulnerability in the remarkable efforts to promote and internationalize Portuguese. This first section also discusses the innovating initiatives that have gained new grounds in the US, pushed by the current situation that Brazil enjoys. Secondly, it discusses some features of Portuguese and typical difficulties that learners of Portuguese may encounter in the Portuguese language. This part also points out the coincidence with the current changes in the Brazilian society and the ongoing process of parametric changes in Portuguese (Tarallo 1993;Galves 1993;Roberts 1993;Kato/Ramos 1999) that have been happening in Brazil in the last one hundred years or more, but not in Portugal.