The
Portuguese
Documents

• RETURN TO MAIN SCREEN
• LANGUAGE OPTIONS

LANGUAGE

INTRODUCTION

How could language constitute as a challenge when reading records created in Portugal, Brazil, and other Portuguese native speaking countries? Most researchers might assume that fluency in speaking or reading Portuguese would be enough to interpret records of genealogical value. However, as people start reading older records, they quickly find out that the records are not written in a pure standard form of Portuguese, but in a variety of Portuguese influenced by local dialects and other languages, particularly by Latin, which was the main literary language used by Catholic priests.

Because rules regulating the spelling and grammar of Portuguese did not become more available and widespread until approximately the 19th century and because most people write the way they speak, spelling will prove a real challenge when reading old Portuguese documents. Adding to this challenge are factors such as the influence of Latin on the spelling of Portuguese words, and the several variations of Portuguese and the differences among them, such as differences in pronunciation resulting in different spellings. For example the interchangeable use of "i" and "y", and "s" and "z":​

​                             
​ 

PORTUGUESE AROUND THE WORLD

Portuguese is the official language of at least seven different countries worldwide. It is the national language of Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, and Guinea-Bissau, while sharing a co-official title in many other countries. Because of the distance between each region, variations of the language occured and occur still today.

THE EFFECT OF LANGUAGE DIVERSITY ON RECORDS