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 Portuguese today
The history of Portuguese
Names and writing system
Portuguese today by Viv Edwards
Most Portuguese came to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Prior to membership of the European Union in 1986, Portugal was one of the poorest countries in Europe. The pressure on the land and limited opportunities in the manufacturing sector meant that there was often no alternative to looking for work abroad. During this period, many young men also emigrated to avoid military service, as Portugal waged a series of wars in an attempt to keep its African colonies.
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Most Portuguese speakers in the UK live in Greater London and work in the service industry. In a 2000 survey of London school children, Portuguese was ranked the fourteenth most common language in the capital. The highest concentrations of Portuguese speakers are in Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Westminster, where large numbers work as domestic staff or chauffeurs and live in tied accommodation. There is also a small community in Greenwich from the Cape Verde Islands, which speaks Kriolu, a Portuguese-African creole.Outside London, significant numbers of Portuguese, mainly from Madeira, live in the Channel Islands where traditionally they have worked in the horticultural and tourism industry. In 2000, the Portuguese community in Guernsey represented 3.3% of the population - some 2,000 people; in Jersey, there is a permanent population of at least 6,000. Other Portuguese-speaking communities are scattered throughout the UK: there are some fifteen local associations.Portuguese is spoken as a mother tongue by large numbers of people who have settled in the UK. But it is also an official language of the European Union, which promotes the learning of at least two foreign languages of member states by all young people. The BBC Talk Portuguese site offers a lively introduction to the language, with useful phrases and quizzes.
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