Angolan Portuguese

Angolan Portuguese (Portuguese: Português de Angola) is a group of dialects and accents of the Portuguese language used mostly in Angola, where it is an official language. In 2005 it was used there by 60% of the 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.[2]

Angolan Portuguese
português angolano, português de Angola
Native toAngola
Native speakers
12 million (48% of the population) (2016)[1]
26 million (71% of the population) spoke Portuguese at home, often alongside a Bantu language (2014 census)[2]
Official status
Official language in
 Angola
Regulated byAcademia Angolana de Letras
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone
IETFpt-AO[3][4]

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. 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
Oral vowels[5]
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɐ ɔ
Open a
Nasal vowels[5]
Front Central Back
Close ĩ ũ
Mid ẽ õ
Open ã
Oral diphthongs
Endpoint
/i/ /u/
Start point /a/ aj aw
/ɛ/ ɛj ɛw
/e/ ej ew
/i/ iw
/ɔ/ ɔj
/o/ oj
/u/ uj
Nasal diphthongs
Endpoint
/j̃/ /w̃/
Start point /ã/ ãj̃ ãw̃
/ẽ/ ẽj̃
/õ/ õj̃
/ũ/ ũj
  • The close central vowel /ɨ/ occurs only at final, unstressed syllables, e.g. presidente /pɾeziˈdẽtɨ/.
  • The open vowels /ɐ/ and /a/ merge to [a], and likewise /ɐ/ appears only in unstressed final syllables, unlike in European Portuguese, where it occurs in most unstressed syllables, e.g. rama /ˈʁamɐ/. The nasal /ɐ̃/ becomes open [ã].[6]
  • In vernacular varieties, the diphthong /ej/ is typically monophthongized to [e], e.g. sei /ˈsej/ < [ˈse].
  • In vernacular varieties, the diphthong /ow/ is typically monophthongized to [o], e.g. sou /ˈsow/ < [ˈso].

Consonants
  • /ɲ/ is often realised as [j̃], e.g. ninho [ˈnĩj̃u], and nasalizes the vowel that precedes it.
  • Word-final /r/ ([ɾ, ʁ]) 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.

AngolaPortugalBrazilTranslation
bazarir embora, bazar (slang)ir embora, vazar (slang)to go away/home
garinarapariga, miúda, gaja (slang)garota, guria (in the south)girl
jingubaamendoim, alcagoitaamendoimpeanut
machimbombo, autocarroautocarroônibusbus
mussequebairro de latafavelaslum quarter

Examples of words borrowed from Kimbundu into Angolan Portuguese include:

  • cubata 'house'
  • muamba 'chicken stew'
  • quinda 'basket'
  • umbanda, milongo 'medicine'
  • quituxe 'crime'

Impact
Sign in Portuguese at the Avenida de Lenin (Lenin avenue) in Luanda

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 expression made their way to Portugal through immigration of black Angolans as a result of the Angolan civil war.

See also

References
  1. "Ethnologue report on Angola".
  2. "Angola: Português é falado por 71,15% de angolanos (censo de 2014)" [Angola: Portuguese is Spoken by 71.15% of Angolans (2014 Census)]. Observatório da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese). Lusa. April 7, 2016.
  3. "Portuguese". IANA language subtag registry. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. "Angola". IANA language subtag registry. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. Undolo (2014), p. 185.
  6. Undolo (2014), p. 183.

Bibliography
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