From which Latin American country are Gisele Bundchen and Ronaldo? Tip: Spanish isn’t the main language…

The gorgeous Victoria's Secret model, Gisele Bundchen, who married NFL Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady is a sixth-generation German Brazilian. Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest football [soccer] players of all time was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity distinct from those of its Spanish-speaking neighbors.  Brazil has a rich culture with a mixed background of heritages. By just examining the history, one can clearly see why Brazil is unique.

Before the first Portuguese arrived in 1500, the region was inhabited by Amerindians, Tapuia tribes and other indigenous people speaking over 1,000 different languages.  In the first two centuries of colonization, a language based on local dialects was widely spoken by the Amerindians, the Portuguese settlers, Africans and descendants. The Portuguese spoken in Brazil absorbed many influences early on from this mix of languages, which led to a notable differentiation from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. 

Additionally, Brazil has had substantial immigration of non-Portuguese-speaking people from Europe and Asia. Some 300,000 Germans and 1.5 million Italians immigrated to Brazil. Others included Spaniards, Poles, Ukrainians, Japanese and Middle-Easterners.  While Brazil was enjoying a rich influx of cultures mixed with indigenous influences, the country was developing oceans apart from Portugal back in Europe.  At the same time, Portugal continued to experience influences from its French neighbors adopting changes in its own language, lexicon and pronunciation.  

As in any colonial relationship, the loyalties of the people are shared between local indigenous and colonial influences. Traditions and norms are mixed, some are maintained, others fade away and new ones are created. Language is a big part of that.  The differences of Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese spoken in Portugal are often compared to that of US English and British English.

In addition to Portuguese being the official language of Brazil, and that the vast majority of Brazilians speak only Portuguese, there are several other languages also spoken in the country, including Amazonic Spanish (español amazónico), also known as Jungle Spanish (español de la selva).

One final fun fact, in this region, one may also speak…Portuñol or Portunhol. This is a mixture of Portuguese with Spanish, and is sometimes used between people who speak Spanish and Portuguese, to talk with each other. Many people in this region can conduct a moderately fluent conversation using Portuñol, sort of like Spanglish…or…Franglais.

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