| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Do you speak a minority language from your country of residence? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| Just English and Spanish | May 17, 2015 |
The area that we live in now has a lot of native Spanish speakers. It's kind of neat to see the two languages interact. Many people here only speak English or Spanish, but most know enough to understand what the other person says though they can only reply in their native language.
I am learning the language of the ancient dragons, Dovahzul, though.
| | | | | Well, depends what you mean by minority | May 17, 2015 |
I speak French, Dutch, German and English and am currently in Belgium. So officially, English is a minority language everywhere, German is a minority language in French and Flemish provinces and in the Brussels-region, Dutch is a minority language in Germanophone and Francophone provinces and French is a minority (and officially taboo) language in Flanders. As Teresa Borges hinted, languages in Belgium are a very complicated matter. There are actually 'laws' governing what language can (and can... See more I speak French, Dutch, German and English and am currently in Belgium. So officially, English is a minority language everywhere, German is a minority language in French and Flemish provinces and in the Brussels-region, Dutch is a minority language in Germanophone and Francophone provinces and French is a minority (and officially taboo) language in Flanders. As Teresa Borges hinted, languages in Belgium are a very complicated matter. There are actually 'laws' governing what language can (and cannot) be used. There are some amazing stories to be told about the extremism written into law, but that would be 'off topic'. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Thanks for the lesson, Teresa! | May 18, 2015 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
Portuguese is currently the fifth most spoken language in the world and an official language of countries as varied as Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tome and Principe and East Timor. It is also used in Macau, territory under Portuguese administration until December 1999, and in Goa, Daman and Diu (India). It is also an important minority language in Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Luxembourg, Namibia, Switzerland and South Africa and the base of around twenty Creole languages, as well as spoken in numerous existing migrant communities…
You added a few that I wasn't aware of. Off-topic: I once had a translation from East Timor.
| | | | Balasubramaniam L. 
India
Local time: 15:56
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER | Not in India | May 18, 2015 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
Portuguese is currently the fifth most spoken language in the world and an official language of countries as varied as Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tome and Principe and East Timor. It is also used in Macau, territory under Portuguese administration until December 1999, and in Goa, Daman and Diu (India). It is also an important minority language in Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Luxembourg, Namibia, Switzerland and South Africa and the base of around twenty Creole languages, as well as spoken in numerous existing migrant communities…
At least about Goa I can confirm that Portuguese is no longer spoken, except by a few of the older generation. The official language there is Konkan, but English, Hindi, Marathi and several other languages are widely used, but no longer Portuguese.
http://www.quora.com/When-Portugal-left-Goa-in-1961-did-all-the-Portuguese-speakers-leave-also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/goa/quick-facts/language-of-goa.html
Also, I thought the Portuguese spoken in Portugal and the ones spoken in Brazil etc., are entirely different languages which share only their name and are mutually practically incomprehensible.
I am also not sure how different the Portuguese spoken in the different countries of South America are different from each other. They have all developed independantly from each other and are likely to have taken very different paths in their development and would have moved almost out of mutual comprehensibility.
So I think, the various versions of Portuguese need to be treated as separate languages.
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Balasubramaniam L. wrote: Teresa Borges wrote:
Portuguese is currently the fifth most spoken language in the world and an official language of countries as varied as Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tome and Principe and East Timor. It is also used in Macau, territory under Portuguese administration until December 1999, and in Goa, Daman and Diu (India). It is also an important minority language in Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Luxembourg, Namibia, Switzerland and South Africa and the base of around twenty Creole languages, as well as spoken in numerous existing migrant communities… At least about Goa I can confirm that Portuguese is no longer spoken, except by a few of the older generation. The official language there is Konkan, but English, Hindi, Marathi and several other languages are widely used, but no longer Portuguese. I only said that it was used, I didn't say that it was used by many people or by a younger or an older generation... Also, I thought the Portuguese spoken in Portugal and the ones spoken in Brazil etc., are entirely different languages which share only their name and are mutually practically incomprehensible. Yes, European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese have evolved over the centuries but are not entirely different languages and are mutually comprehensible! The same goes for other Portuguese speaking countries in Africa where Portuguese has been shaped by the influence of local languages, but it's (still) the same language. I am also not sure how different the Portuguese spoken in the different countries of South America are different from each other. They have all developed independantly from each other and are likely to have taken very different paths in their development and would have moved almost out of mutual comprehensibility. What other countries? The only Portuguese speaking country in South America I know of is Brazil...
| | | | Ventnai
Spain
Local time: 12:26
German to English
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| Relative on two counts | May 18, 2015 |
I speak Catalan but not too brilliantly. It is spoken by quite a number of people as Natalia said.
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