Portugal

Portugal

Country context

The Portuguese Republic has, according to the provisional results of the 2011 census, a population of 10,561,614 persons. The primary language of the country is Portuguese, which originated in a territory corresponding to Galicia (N-W Spain) and the north of present-day Portugal. The Galician/Portuguese language remained in use during the period of Arabic predominance and re-established itself as the principal language as its speakers moved southwards. Portuguese was instituted as the language of the court by King Dinis in 1297.

Portuguese is now used as an official language in eight countries (Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor; the so-called CPLP countries) and a territory, Macau (Macau Special Administrative Region of the P.R. of China). The total number of speakers is estimated at around 240 million. There are sizable groups of expatriate Portuguese-speakers in various countries of the world, notably France, Luxemburg, Andorra, UK, Switzerland, United States, Canada, Venezuela and South Africa.

4.1% of the population of Portugal has non-Portuguese nationality (2006; OCDE). The major nationalities of the immigrants are, according to 2006 figures supplied by the Portuguese immigration service, (in descending order) Cape Verdean, Brazilian, Angolan, Guinea-Bissauan and Ukrainian (and various other East European nationalities), as well as Indian and Chinese; in addition there are expatriate communities from the United Kingdom and other European countries. The labour force of Portugal comes to 5,580,700 persons (2010; Pordata).

Portugal has one minority language, Mirandese, spoken and to some extent written in the north-eastern border town of Miranda do Douro (population of around 2,000) and in surrounding areas within Portugal by at most 10,000 persons, (almost) all of them bilingual. It was recognised in 1999 as co-official with Portuguese for local matters. The Mirandese language belongs linguistically to the Asturian/Leonese group.

Portugal also recognises Portuguese Sign Language as an official language, having stated that it is incumbent upon the state to protect and give value to it as a cultural expression and as an instrument for access to education and for equality of opportunities.

Education is obligatory for 12 years from the age of six: it is divided into nine years of basic education, followed by three years of either secondary or vocational education.

Key laws: Portuguese is established as the official language of Portugal in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, paragraph 3, article 11. Mirandese is recognised as an official language in the council of Miranda do Douro in Law 7/99, of 29 January 1999. Portuguese Sign Language is recognised in the 1997 revision of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, art. 74, para. 2h.

Languages in official documents and databases

The national language, foreign languages, and one R/M language (i.e., Mirandese) are dealt with in language legislation and/or language policy documents. The learning and teaching of the national language abroad for children and/or adults originating from Portugal is (co-)funded in 13 countries in Europe and abroad. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has not been signed/ratified. At the national level, Mirandese is the only recognised R/M language for which also educational provision is available.

Official nation-wide data collection mechanisms on language diversity in Portugal exist in terms of periodically updated census data. However, in these data collection mechanisms, only the national language is addressed, based on a mother tongue.

Portugal, whose current borders were essentially determined in 1249, shows a relatively high degree of demographic and linguistic stability as a fundamentally monolingual country. Nevertheless, its history has brought it into regular contact with other languages, both in Europe (chiefly Spanish, English and French) and across the world as a consequence of its colonial past (languages of South America, Africa and Asia). As a result, the Portuguese have gained awareness of the advantages of multilingualism and successive governments have enshrined both support for the national language and enablement of the teaching of foreign languages in their policies and legislation, in addition to funding education in the Portuguese language abroad. The regional language Mirandese has been recognised, but the languages of immigrants have received no recognition in law nor in censuses.

Languages in pre-primary education

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales
Groupes cibles
LRM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LE: tous restreint aucun soutien 
LM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LN - SOUTIEN SUP: tous enfants de migrants uniquement aucun soutien 
3 none none none
Durée
≥ 2 ans 1 an <1 an   
3 none none none
Taille minimale des groupes
aucune  5-10  >10
3 none none none
Jours par semaine
 >1 jour  0.5-1 jour  <0.5 jour
1 none none none
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune 
3 none none none
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune 
2 none none none
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun 
3 none none none

Languages offered in pre-primary education

R/M Languages

Mirandese

Langues étrangères

-

Langues des migrants

-

Pre-primary education is optional in Portugal, but as of 2009 the provision of nursery schooling for children of five has become an obligation of the state. For the great majority of pupils, Portuguese is the sole language of instruction in pre-school. However, since around 1990 there has been a gradually growing awareness of the difficulties faced by pre-schoolers whose native language is not Portuguese (Litwinoff 1992), namely, speakers of – predominantly – Cape Verdean Creole, Kriol (Guinea-Bissau Creole), one of the Creole languages of São Tomé and Príncipe, Ukrainian or Chinese (see Mateus et al. 2008). Measures have been proposed to raise educators’ consciousness of the bilingual situation of immigrant pre-schoolers. Pre-service training is available for pre-school teachers in the area where Mirandese is spoken.

Languages in primary education

Organisation

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices   
2 3 none
Enseignement EMILE (enseignement d'une matière intégrée à une langue étrangère)
  généralisé localisé aucun   
3 1 none
Groupes cibles
LRM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LE: tous restreint aucun soutien 
LM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
3 3 none
Démarrage de l'enseignement en langue
A partir de la 1ère année à mi-étape en fin d'étape uniquement   
3 3 none
Planification
pendant le temps scolaire en partie pendant le temps scolaire hors temps scolaire    
3 1 none
Taille minimale des groupes
aucune 5-10 >10  
3 3 none
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3 3 none
Niveau requis
Autres LN: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement non spécifié 
LE: dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou de l'établissement non spécifié 
LM: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement non spécifié 
3 2 none
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun   
3 3 none

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices   
3
Soutien supplémentaire pour les nouveaux arrivants
avant la phase d'intégration pendant aucun   
3
Evaluation diagnostique à l'entrée
tous immigrants uniquement aucune   
2
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3

Teaching

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3 3 none
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
2 3 none
Mobilité
intégrée dans la formation soutien financier informel aucune non applicable  
0 1 0

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3

Languages offered in primary education

R/M Languages

Mirandese

Langues étrangères

English, French: one of these languages is compulsory

Langues des migrants

-

Portuguese is the language of transmission in all schools, although in certain private schools other languages (such as English, French and German) may be used, and is a subject throughout basic education. There is no obligatory foreign-language instruction in the first cycle (years one to four). However, in recent years the Ministry of Education has strongly recommended (and provided funds for) schools to offer lessons in English from Year Three in the framework of ‘curricular enrichment’. By 2008, over 99% of schools had implemented this recommendation; over 50% had English from Year One. In the second cycle (years five to six), a foreign language becomes part of the obligatory curriculum; the current government is proposing to require that the second-cycle foreign language be English.

Primary school teachers, especially those working in multilingual areas, are aware of and trained to deal with the plurilingualism of the children entrusted to their care. However, immigrant languages are not treated as an object of study, although Ukrainian and Chinese communities have organised extramural classes in their respective languages. In the Mirandese-speaking area, teachers have been permitted since 1985 to devote explicit attention to the Mirandese language and use it as a medium of instruction.

Languages in secondary education

Organisation

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
3 3 none
Enseignement EMILE (enseignement d'une matière intégrée à une langue étrangère)
généralisé localisé aucun   
3 1 none
Groupes cibles
LRM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LE: tous restreint aucun soutien 
LM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien
3 3 none
Planification
pendant le temps scolaire en partie pendant le temps scolaire hors temps scolaire   
3 3 none
Taille minimale des groupes
aucune 5-10 >10  
3 3 none
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3 3 none
Niveau requis
Autres LN: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement non spécifié not applicable
LE: dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou propres à l'établissement non spécifié not applicable
LM: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement pas de normes not applicable
3 3 none
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun   
3 3 none

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
3
Soutien supplémentaire pour les nouveaux arrivants
avant pendant aucun   
3
Evaluation diagnostique à l'entrée
tous immigrants uniquement aucune   
3
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3

Teaching

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3 3 none
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Mobilité
intégrée dans la formation soutien financier informel aucune non applicable  
0 1 0
Niveau de langue requis
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou régionales non spécifié non applicable  
0 2 0

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3
Niveau de langue requis pour les locuteurs non natifs
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou propres à l'établissement non spécifié non applicable  
2

Languages offered in secondary education

R/M Languages

Mirandese

Langues étrangères

Compulsory: 2 from English, French, German, Spanish, Latin, Greek

Langues des migrants

-

In secondary education (commencing in the third cycle of ‘basic education’), the study of two foreign languages is obligatory; the government has proposed that English must be one of these. In current practice, the great majority of pupils combine English with one of French, German, Spanish, Latin and Classical Greek (all organised in keeping with the Common European Frame of Reference). In years 10 to 12, education in Portuguese language continues, with classes in one foreign language for science pupils and in two for humanities pupils. Immigrant languages are neither studied nor are they a medium of instruction in Portuguese schools; it should be borne in mind that some 50% of immigrants are from countries where Portuguese is an official language. The regional language Mirandese can be studied in the Mirandese-speaking area.

Languages in Further and Higher Education

Further Education (in three institutions)

 

Établissement A Établissement B Établissement C

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Gamme de programmes de soutien en langue
large variété limitée aucun 
none 3 none none 3 none 2 2 none
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
none 3 none none 3 none 2 3 none
Niveau requis
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales non spécifié non applicable
0 3 0 0 3 0 0 2 0
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun 
none 3 none none 3 none 3 3 none

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales
Gamme de programmes de soutien en langue
large variété limitée aucun 
3 3 2
Groupes cibles
tous restreint aucun 
3 3 2
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
3 3 1
Compétences professionnelles
oui non 
3 3 3
Amélioration des compétences générales
oui non 
3 3 1
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun 
3 3 3
Stages en entreprise
intégrés dans le cursus en option aucun 
1 1 2
Utilisation des instruments de l'UE
oui non 
1 1 1

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in Portugal

R/M Languages

Mirandese

Langues étrangères

English, French, German, Spanish

Langues des migrants

-

Higher Education (in three institutions)

 

Établissement A

Établissement B

Établissement C

Langue(s) d'enseignement
n'importe quelle langue nationale et étrangère nationale uniquement 
2 2 2
Langues sur le site web
Nationales, étrangères et R/M nationales et étrangères nationales uniquement 
2 2 2
Groupes cibles pour un soutien supplémentaire dans la langue nationale
tous  restreint aucun
2 2 2
Niveau requis dans l'enseignement en langue étrangère
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou propres à l'établissement non spécifié
3 3 3
Recrutement d'étudiants non nationaux
Internationaux et immigrants internationaux uniquement locuteurs natifs de la langue nationale uniquement
3 3 3
Mobilité pour les étudiants en langues
obligatoire facultative aucune offre
2 2 2
Mobilité pour les autres étudiants
obligatoire facultative aucune offre
2 2 2

Languages offered across 3 higher education institutions in Portugal

Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Danish, Hindi, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese Sign Language, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish, Ancient Greek, Bulgarian, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Korean, Persian, Serbian, Slovenian, Tetum

In higher education, Portuguese is almost always the medium of instruction. However, the internationalisation of education flowing from the Bologna Process has led to selected faculties offering courses in English attended by visiting and Portuguese students alike. Portugal’s universities are generally aware of the value of language competence, providing training in Portuguese for non-native speakers wishing to secure admission to their programmes and in a wide range of languages for voluntary take-up by all students. No explicit attention is devoted to regional or immigrant languages.

Establishments offering vocational training ensure that their students receive instruction in Portuguese to develop skills in linguistic accuracy and effective communication. They also generally devote attention to a foreign language; the orientation is towards job-related proficiencies.

Languages in Audiovisual Media and Press

 

Lisbon

Oporto

Miranda do Douro

Nombre de langues à la radio
>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement 
1 1 2
Nombre de langues à la télévision
>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement 
2 2 2
Productions télévisées en langues non nationales
sous-titrées doublées
4 4 4
Films au cinéma en langues non nationales
sous-titrées doublées
4 4 4
Programmes en langues R/M hors région
toujours régulièrement parfois jamais
4 4 4
Disponibilité du langage des signes à la télévision
toujours régulièrement parfois jamais
3 3 3

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in Portugal

Radio

Mirandese

Television

English

Journaux

English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Mirandese

Television material and films in cinemas are shown in the original language with Portuguese subtitles – with the exception of some productions aimed at children, which are dubbed. Selected television programmes include an inserted window with an interpreter communicating in Portuguese Sign Language. Newspapers and magazines in foreign languages are available, primarily to serve the needs of tourists; but there are also publications for immigrants, like the Russian-language newspaper Slovo.

Languages in public services and spaces

Institutionalised language strategies at city level

> 4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement

fréquence d'utilisation : largement utilisée occasionnellement utilisée non utilisée

Lisbon

Oporto

Miranda do Douro

Services municipaux

4 4 4

Présence dans le site web

0 4 5

Rapports municipaux annuels

0 0 5

Traducteurs et interprètes externes ou internes

6 6 6

Compétences dans des langues autres que la langue nationale dans les descriptions de postes des employés

4 4 4

Plan ou programme en place destiné à améliorer les compétences en langues

0 0 5

Recrutement de personnes multilingues pour soutenir les objectifs de l'organisation

2 1 0

Offre de formation en langues aux employés

1 1 5

Registre des compétences en langues des employés régulièrement mis à jour

0 0 0

Programmes de récompense ou de promotion pour les employés capables de communiquer correctement dans une autre langue

0 0 0

Oral Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement

Lisbon

Oporto

Miranda do Douro

Débats politiques et processus de prise de décision au niveau du conseil municipal

2 2 2

Services de l'éducation

4 4 2

Services d'urgence

3 3 2

Services de santé

2 3 1

Services sociaux

2 3 2

Services juridiques

4 4 2

Services de transport

4 3 2

Services d'immigration et d'intégration

4 4 1

Services du tourisme

4 3 3

Programmes de théâtre

2 3 1

Written Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement 

Lisbon

Oporto

Miranda do Douro

Débats politiques et processus de prise de décision au niveau du conseil municipal

2 2 2

Services de l'éducation

2 2 2

Services d'urgence

2 2 1

Services de santé

1 1 1

Services sociaux

1 1 1

Services juridiques

1 1 1

Services de transport

2 2 1

Services d'immigration et d'intégration

3 3 1

Services du tourisme

1 1 2

Programmes de théâtre

1 2 1

Languages offered in public services and spaces across 3 cities in Portugal (N ≥ 2)

English, Spanish, French, Mirandese, Russian, Chinese, German, Romanian

City councils have some awareness of multilingualism in their communities and make certain services available in English and Spanish; interpreters can be called up through a national facility for as many as 60 languages. Written material produced by councils is typically only in Portuguese, although immigration and tourism services are multilingual. The city council of Miranda do Douro provides many written services in Mirandese and Spanish as well as Portuguese.

Languages in business - 20 companies

General Language Strategies

Largement utilisée

Occasionnellement utilisée

Non utilisée

Stratégie linguistique en place

5 4 11

Accent mis sur les compétences en langues lors du recrutement

8 8 4

Clause de mobilité internationale

3 5 12

Recours à des traducteurs/interprètes externes

0 5 15

Tenue de registres sur les compétences en langues du personnel

0 7 13

Utilisation de réseaux pour la formation en langues

1 1 18

Utilisation de programmes / financements de l'UE

0 3 17

Connaissance des programmes / financements de l'UE

0 9 11

Internal Language Strategies

Largement utilisée Occasionnellement utilisée Non utilisée

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

Partenariats avec le secteur de l'éducation pour les langues

1 1 1 3 5 3 16 13 16

Programmes de récompenses / promotion basés sur les compétences en langues

0 3 2 5 4 2 15 13 16

Offre d'une formation en langues

1 3 1 7 5 4 12 12 15

Utilisation du CECRL

0 1 1 1 2 3 19 17 16

Langues utilisées pour les documents sur le lieu de travail/l'intranet

20 5 1 0 9 2 0 6 17

Langues utilisées pour les logiciels, les programmes web

18 7 1 0 8 0 2 5 19

External Language Strategies

Largement utilisée Occasionnellement utilisée Non utilisée

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

Langues utilisées pour les rapports annuels/rapports d'activité

20 5 0 0 9 1 0 6 19

Langues utilisées pour le marketing

20 8 0 0 5 1 0 7 19

Langues utilisées pour la promotion de la marque/l'identité

17 9 3 2 5 2 1 6 15

Langues utilisées pour le site web

19 14 2 0 1 0 1 5 18

Languages other than English offered in business across 20 companies in Portugal (N ≥ 2)

French, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Cantonese Chinese

The companies surveyed reflected a general tendency in Portugal to favour the use of Portuguese but also to recognise the importance of Business English for interaction with foreign customers and companies abroad. Other languages tend not to figure prominently, except for businesses with specific interests in particular foreign countries. The promotion of employees’ language competencies in the national language, in English as a lingua franca, or in other languages is general not a priority. Multilingualism is not high on the agenda of the Portuguese enterprises that completed the questionnaire.

Key Findings overall

Portugal emerges as a country that is profoundly aware of the status of its national tongue as the fifth most spoken language on earth, while also recognising the importance of (Business) English for Portugal’s role in the globalised world. It promotes the regional language Mirandese, spoken by 0.1% of the national population, and has given constitutional protection to Portuguese Sign Language (LGP). Schooling is provided in Portuguese, but also in English from primary school upwards and in a second foreign language. The media have a positive influence on the public’s attitudes to and skills in foreign languages, but this is not reflected in a strong orientation of public services or in business to valorise the language competencies of their personnel.

Promising initiatives and pilots

A prominent contribution to raising awareness of linguistic minorities was the Linguistic Diversity in Portuguese Schools project (2003-2007), funded by the Gulbenkian Foundation and carried out by the Instituto de Linguística Teórica e Computacional (ILTEC) in collaboration with various schools. The output included not only the realisation of (still ongoing) bilingual education in selected schools but also the development of materials, recommendations to the Ministry of Education and various publications (see Mateus et al. 2008).

The British Council is working in partnership with the Ministry of Education on a four-year pilot project (2011-2015) to introduce bilingual education into eight state primary schools across the country from Year One onwards. Some five hours per week are given in English and the British Council provides training and support.

In addition, there have been efforts to promote multilingualism in international business, for example by Three Linguistic Spaces (www.3el.org; referring to the French-, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas of the world), a pressure group stressing the intercomprehensibility of the Romance languages.

The REFLECT Project (2000-2002), the PROTOCOL II project (2002-2004) and the ECLAT project (2006-2008; the website www.eclatproject.eu is still active) established a language and culture auditing scheme for export-oriented SMEs, providing real data about business needs and trends in the area of linguistic and cultural skills and fostering the development of language planning (Salomão 2011).

References

Litwinoff, Raja (1992). Projecto piloto de educação bilingue e bicultural no ensino pré-primário e primário Documentos do Encontro a Comunidade Africana em Portugal. Lisbon: Colibri, 71-73.

Mateus, Maria Helena Mira et al. (2008). Diversidade Linguística na Escola Portuguesa. Lisbon: Fundação Gulbenkian.

Salomão, Ricardo (2011). Comunicação e exportação. Lisbon: Nova Vega.

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