Sete de Setembro

On September 7th, Brazil celebrates its National Holiday, in commemoration of its independence from the Kingdom of Portugal in 1822. With a population of more than 200 million people, Brazil is by far the largest and most populated country of Latin America, and also one of the most ethnically diversified regions in the world.

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, and practically the only language used by media and administration. However, throughout the country the people speak more than 200 different languages of which around 180 are indigenous, mainly in the northern regions of the country, being some of the most spoken Ticuna, Kaingang and Kaiwá Guarani.

Since Brazil is surrounded by Spanish speaking countries, a new variety of Portuguese has emerged in the areas close to the border. Colloquially known as Portuñol, some people speak this dialect, which is a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish,  which they find useful in communicating between one another.

During the late 19th Century, Brazil underwent an economic expansion, and started to receive a considerable number of immigrants, particularly from Italy, Portugal and Spain to work on the harvest of the large coffee plantations emerging in São Paulo, its most populated city.

In recent years some Brazilian states and municipalities have adopted co-official languages, for reasons of immigration or indigenous presence and cultural heritage. For example the state of Espírito Santo has recognized East Pomeranian (German dialect from the region of Pomerania, in what is now Poland) and German as co-official languages along with Portuguese. The municipality of Tacuru, a 9,000 people location next to Paraguay, has also adopted Guarani as co-official language.

Brazil belongs to the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, an intergovernmental organization for the mutual cooperation of its members, the Portuguese speaking countries of the world.

Happy Birthday Brazil!

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