The presence of Portuguese on four continents makes Portuguese truly a global language.
Approximately 220 million people speak Portuguese as their first language, and another 11 million as their second language, making it one of the most widely—spoken languages in the world. It is the official language of Brazil and Portugal, and an officially recognized language in Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Macao (China), São Tomé e Príncipe and other territories. In the U.S., even here in Orlando, there are large Portuguese—speaking communities.
Why Study Portuguese?
- The U.S. government considers Portuguese a language of critical need in the U.S.
- An emerging economic power, Brazil is the fifth-most populous country in the world and represents half the population in South America
- Portugal is a gateway to the European Union.
- Most Portuguese-speaking nations in Africa and Asia are currently experiencing exponential growth.
- If you are interested in literature, Portugal has 800 years of rich trajectory. Brazilian writers are among the most renowned in world literature, and African Lusophone countries have their own new and exciting writers.
- At UCF, you can study the music and cinema of Portuguese‐speaking countries.
Is it for me? Can I do it?
If Portuguese is your first foreign language, the grammatical affinities with English make it possible to develop basic competence after a year of study. If you already speak a Romance language (such as Spanish, French or Italian), that will dramatically facilitate learning Portuguese. UCF offers a one‐semester intensive course which covers one year of traditional study.
Portuguese courses at UCF offer small class-sizes with communication-based activities and close relationships between students and faculty.
