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Wikipedia / Angolan Portuguese

Angolan Portuguese () is a group of dialects and accents of Portuguese used in Angola. In 2005, it was spoken by 60% of the country's population, including by 20% as their first language. The 2016 CIA World Fact Book reports that 12.3 million, or 47% of the population, speaks Portuguese as their first language. However, many parents raise their children to speak only Portuguese. The 2014 census found that 71% speak Portuguese at home, many of them alongside a Bantu language, breaking down to 85% in urban areas and 49% in rural areas.

There are different stages of Portuguese in Angola in a similar manner to other Portuguese-speaking African countries. Some closely approximate Standard Portuguese pronunciation and are associated with the upper class and younger generations of urban background. Angola is the country with the second-highest number of Portuguese speakers, behind only Brazil.

Phonology

The standard phonology in Angola is based on the European standard, as in the rest of Lusophone Africa. Vernacular accents share similarities with Brazilian Portuguese and these similar features have historical reasons. As with Portuguese spoken in Mozambique, the Portuguese spoken in Angola is influenced by Bantu languages. However, the contemporary Standard European Portuguese is the preferred pronunciation, as such it has become a transitional dialect somewhat midway between the European and Brazilian varieties.

Vowels

Front

Central

Back

Close

Close-mid

Open-mid

Open

Oral vowels

Front

Central

Back

Close

Mid

Open

Nasal vowels

Endpoint

Start point

Oral diphthongs

Endpoint

Start point

Nasal diphthongs

  • The close central vowel occurs only at final, unstressed syllables, e.g. presidente .

  • The open vowels and merge to , and likewise appears only in unstressed final syllables, unlike in European Portuguese, where it occurs in most unstressed syllables, e.g. rama . The nasal becomes open .

  • In vernacular varieties, the diphthong is typically monophthongized to , e.g. sei < .

  • In vernacular varieties, the diphthong is typically monophthongized to , e.g. sou < .

Consonants

  • is often realised as , e.g. ninho , and nasalizes the vowel that precedes it.

  • Word-final () is dropped, especially by people who speak Portuguese as their second language.

Lexicon

Although most of the vocabulary is the same as in Portugal, Brazil or Mozambique, there are differences, many due to the influence of African languages spoken in Angola. In the capital, Luanda, indigenous languages are practically nonexistent.

Angola

Portugal

Brazil

Translation

bazar

ir embora, bazar(slang)

ir embora, vazar(slang)

to go away/home

garina

rapariga, miúda, gaja(slang)

garota, guria(in the south)

girl

jinguba

amendoim, alcagoita

amendoim

peanut

machimbombo, autocarro

autocarro

ônibus

bus

musseque

bairro de lata

favela

slum quarter

geleira

frigorífico

geladeira

fridge

Examples of words borrowed from Kimbundu into Angolan Portuguese include:

  • 'house'

  • 'chicken stew'

  • 'basket'

  • , milongo 'medicine'

  • 'crime'

Influence

Many words of Angolan origin are used in other variants of Portuguese. Among these words are bunda (backside or "bottom"); fuba [fubá in Brazil] (maize flour); moleque ("kid"); kizomba and kuduro.

Various aspects of Brazilian culture – samba, candomblé and capoeira – all bear linguistic traces of this contact.

In Portugal, Angolan Portuguese has had a large influence on the vernacular of the younger population, contributing significant amounts of lexicon. Examples include:

  • bazar ("to go away/home")

  • garina ("girl")

  • bumbar ("to work" in Angola, "to party" in Portugal; sometimes spelt as bombar)

  • bué ("many", "a lot")

  • iá ("yes")

Many of these words and expressions made their way to Portugal through immigration of black Angolans as a result of the Angolan civil war.

See also

References

Bibliography