Portuguese is one of Europe’s world languages. With more than 200 million native speakers in Brazil alone, as compared to just over 10 million in Europe itself, Portuguese shares the fate of English and Spanish. This originally European language is now both challenged and constantly enriched by its many speakers outside of Europe. Portuguese is a language of great poets like Luis de Camões and Fernando Pessoa, and it is the language of the melancholic, passionate fado song.
Producer: Marijke van der Meer
Broadcast: November 20, 1991