Does East Timor still speak Portuguese?

DILI (Reuters) – Portuguese is one of the two official languages in East Timor, but you can hardly hear it spoken in the streets of the young nation. The tiny country was a Portuguese colony for more than three centuries, but only an estimated 5 percent of its one million people now speak the European language.

Why was Portuguese banned in East Timor?

For a quarter of a century, Portuguese had been a dying tongue, spoken only by an older generation. It was banned after Indonesia annexed the territory in 1975 and imposed its own language. In a disorienting reverse, a new Constitution reimposed Portuguese after East Timor became an independent country in 2002.

Why does East Timor speak Portuguese?

Timorese Portuguese is a legacy of Portuguese rule of Timor-Leste (called Portuguese Timor) from the 16th century. It had its first contact during the Portuguese discoveries of the East, but it was largely exposed to Portuguese Timor in the 18th century after its division from the rest of the island by the Netherlands.

Which countries use Portuguese language?

As a result, Portuguese is now the official language of several independent countries and regions: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal, & São Tomé and Príncipe.

Why does Portugal speak Portuguese?

In 1143, Portugal was recognized as an independent kingdom. In 1290, the king of Portugal, Denis, created the first university in Lisbon and declared that the spoken language of Vulgar Latin be used and that it should be called Portuguese.

What language do Timorese speak?

Portuguese
Tetun
Timor-Leste/Official languages
The native language spoken in Timor Leste is known as Tetum. It is influenced by the Portuguese and both of these together comprise the official languages of the nation.

What language do people speak in East Timor?

Tetum
Timor-Leste (East Timor): Languages. This guide provides resources on the country’s history, languages, and government. Timor-Leste’s two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, and its two working languages are English and Indonesian.

What language do they speak in East Timor?

The languages of East Timor include both Austronesian and Papuan languages. (See Timor–Flores languages and Timor–Alor–Pantar languages.) The lingua franca and national language of East Timor is Tetum, an Austronesian language influenced by Portuguese, with which it has equal status as an official language.

What happened in East Timor?

The 1999 East Timorese crisis began with attacks by pro-Indonesia militia groups on civilians, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The violence intensified after a majority of eligible East Timorese voters chose independence from Indonesia.

What is East Timor language?

Timor-Leste/Official languages

What is the government of East Timor?

Democracy
RepublicParliamentary systemUnitary stateSemi-presidential system
Timor-Leste/Government

What language is spoken in East Timor Leste?

East Timorese Portuguese. East Timorese Portuguese (Português timorense in Portuguese) is a Portuguese dialect spoken in the country of Timor-Leste or East Timor.

Did the Portuguese use Tetum to convert Timor Leste to Catholicism?

While the Portuguese, like the French, had an assimilationist colonial policy, in Timor the Dominican missionaries used a form of Tetum to convert people to Catholicism much as their Jesuit counterparts in Brazil originally used a form of Tupi.

What is the history of the island of Timor Leste?

It had its first contact during the Portuguese discoveries of the East, but it was largely exposed to Portuguese Timor in the 18th century after its division from the rest of the island by the Netherlands.

Why did Brazil not support East Timor’s independence movement?

Unlike Angola and Mozambique, which actively supported East Timor’s independence movement, Brazil gained its independence from Portugal in the 19th century and did not have the sense of shared history.