How's Portugese taken in Macau? Maybe I haven't heard much but so far, I haven't heard any usage of Portugese language in Macau as of yet (maybe from foreigners from Portugal or Brazil or portugese-speaking territories).

Which reminds, is Portugese taken seriously in Macau? I mean most signage has it........but do Chinese in Macau speak Portugese?

Describe to me the presence and proliferation of Portugese in Macau?

So I assume a Chinese policeman can speak Portugese? Yes? No? (hehe come to think of it, it would be something to see a Chinese person speak a European language like Portugese.......hehe just saying :P)

Btw:
Most names of streets and roads are in Portugese, right? If so, does every name of street or road or place that is in Portugese have a Cantonese or Chinese name???

For instance (here's a hard example):
Estrada Governador Albano de Oliveira

Let's see how the Cantonese can make a name out of that hehe :lol:

I doubt if anyone you confront someone at random on the street can speak Portuguese. Even before the handover, I doubt the chances would be high either. The Portuguese were rather low-profile in this part of the Far East, and their colony survived quite well in good relations with China compared to the British in Hong Kong.

http://www.globalphotos.org/macau/20051009/OCT09-S02-0056.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/macau/20051009/OCT09-S02-0086.jpg

I believe all streets should have Portuguese names. For those who live in Macau, is that also the case for the new roads in the reclaimed lands (ie. Venetian & area)?

I was in macau last week and tried to speak in portugueses and english with some bus drivers and shop employees, but nobody understood me...
only calculator language

If most people in Portugal knew the truth, they would be so pissed off :lol:

There is only 1 Portuguese school in Macau, and I think all Portuguese, Macanese speaks near perfect Cantonese.

No, Portuguese isn't taken seriously in Macau, the Portuguese signs etc, will probably go away soon.

^^ yes and replace them with english, the international language. I'm surprised they haven't removed the portuguese from the signs yet.

Yeah, when i went to macau, I saw some portugese people living there. Its quite interesting actually. I wonder what they think of the place they are living in, since it wasn't exactly theirs to start with, yet their culture is evident in road signs and the buildings

MACAU FELIZ ANO NOVO :dance:

MACAU FELIZ ANO NOVO :dance:

Happy New Year to you too!

Yeah, when i went to macau, I saw some portugese people living there. Its quite interesting actually. I wonder what they think of the place they are living in, since it wasn't exactly theirs to start with, yet their culture is evident in road signs and the buildings

The Portugese in Macau are probably 2nd or 3rd generation Portugese, and besides their looks, are very much a Chinese now.

Unbelievable the quantity of mistakes I read in this topic! Most of you guys or you don't live in Macau, or you are far very far to know what is the reality of the territory.

First and foremost, Portuguese is part of the identity of Macau, and no matter it hurts you, if you don't understand that, you don't understand this place identity (remove the signs in Portuguese, translate it to English and this city will look in the pictures as Hong Kong).

Blackraven, the Portuguese is the official language of Macau. If the Chinese can speak it or not, the ones working in public services have to. Of course the proliferation is not great, never been (the colonial government never obligate the Chinese to speak the language), but you've more people speaking Portuguese in Macau today compared to ten years ago. Be reminded that Macau was chosen by Central Government to be the platform between China and Portuguese speaking countries. This year you had 5,000 new Chinese students learning Portuguese. The interest is not going down.

Of course with the Casino booming the English quickly became the automatic second language in the local casino world and soon there were calls for it to gain an even more important footing in Macau. Outside legal firms eying the increasingly lucrative local market as well as expatriate businessmen (the yanks, the aussies and a few brits) continue to lobby the Government to translate local legislation into English.

Others go as far as claiming that the territory should have just gone with English as its second official-language, right from the start – conveniently ignoring the fact that most local residents still don’t speak a word of it.
We all know too that we have many cowboys in town!

mrfusion, your signature says a lot about your comments. No offense mate. There is just one Portuguese school in Macau, you're right (!), but you have 5 others teaching you in Portuguese. You have 8 others teaching you in English... not too bad!

Anyway your comments remind many I heard before. But we all know that Beijing people can see the importance of the Portuguese language more clearly than the Macau people...

Let me remind you at the Macau Legislative Assembly, Portuguese language was repeatedly used as scapegoat by lawmakers for all the juridical problems MSAR faced. It all changed with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit, last November, in what was a clear signal of Beijing’s support for the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, known as Macau Forum. Two weeks later, several lawmakers rushed to jump on the bandwagon, urging that the Government promote Portuguese language and cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries. This U-turn shows a frightening narrow-mindedness and cue-taking.

Let's never forget that the law in Macau is based in the Portuguese law. Let's not be invaded by the common law, Macau has an identity and although it might not be visible Portuguese is still important for Macau and Chinese foreign policy.

jlvillalba, if you try your Portuguese skills with the bus driver or in a casino, yes you won't be successful (probably if you try in English, or even in Mother language Mandarin you wont be successful too!). Try a public service for example! And yes, a policeman has to speak Portuguese, or else, how can he read your rights?

The Portuguese will stay in Macau until the day Beijing says is enough. And knowing the Central Government respect for the agreements they done in the past, the Portuguese will stay till 2049 and beyond (as a cultural object). Anyway the Cantonese and the Traditional Chinese are in no different situation (better shape I agree). Sooner or later they will also disappear to give room to Mandarin and simplified Chinese...

E agora, em português, me despeço de todos, esperando que agora estejam mais esclarecidos.

Unbelievable the quantity of mistakes I read in this topic!

You should have join the forum 3 months ago.


Most of you guys or you don't live in Macau, or you are far very far to know what is the reality of the territory.
that is true.


Blackraven, the Portuguese is the official language of Macau.
no body challenge that, but challenged its importance.


If the Chinese can speak it or not, the ones working in public services have to.



jlvillalba, if you try your Portuguese skills with the bus driver or in a casino, yes you won't be successful (probably if you try in English, or even in Mother language Mandarin you wont be successful too!). Try a public service for example! And yes, a policeman has to speak Portuguese, or else, how can he read your rights?


It is actually quite interesting to know all police has to speaks Portuguese, I going have to ask some when I visit Macau later this year.

So are you saying the police is going to read your right to the Chinese in Portuguese? No.

How often does the police need to use Portuguese? How often do they perhaps need to know English.

I really do question, can anyone can claim a police can not prefom its duty because he can not communicate in Portuguese.


Of course the proliferation is not great, never been (the colonial government never obligate the Chinese to speak the language), but you've more people speaking Portuguese in Macau today compared to ten years ago. Be reminded that Macau was chosen by Central Government to be the platform between China and Portuguese speaking countries. This year you had 5,000 new Chinese students learning Portuguese. and what about the number of people that learn English, or Japanese, or anything else. Most students learns a second language, and since Macau official language is still Portugese, it is a natural first choice, to widen its careeer path.

there are probably more people speaks Japanese/Korean in Macau then Portuguese.



mrfusion, your signature says a lot about your comments. No offense mate. There is just one Portuguese school in Macau, you're right (!), but you have 5 others teaching you in Portuguese. You have 8 others teaching you in English... not too bad!

Anyway your comments remind many I heard before. But we all know that Beijing people can see the importance of the Portuguese language more clearly than the Macau people...

Let me remind you at the Macau Legislative Assembly, Portuguese language was repeatedly used as scapegoat by lawmakers for all the juridical problems MSAR faced. It all changed with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit, last November, in what was a clear signal of Beijing’s support for the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, known as Macau Forum. Two weeks later, several lawmakers rushed to jump on the bandwagon, urging that the Government promote Portuguese language and cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries. This U-turn shows a frightening narrow-mindedness and cue-taking.



This is really interesting to know ...

How does these Portuguese speaking countries cooperate with rest of the world, I am sure they speak English.



Let's never forget that the law in Macau is based in the Portuguese law. Let's not be invaded by the common law, Macau has an identity and although it might not be visible Portuguese is still important for Macau and Chinese foreign policy.

The Portuguese will stay in Macau until the day Beijing says is enough. And knowing the Central Government respect for the agreements they done in the past, the Portuguese will stay till 2049 and beyond (as a cultural object).

E agora, em português, me despeço de todos, esperando que agora estejam mais esclarecidos.

Thanks for enlightening us with these useful information, but In my view, and just my view, this is only a preceive importance, China will continue to have foreign relations with Portuguese speaking countries no matter what Macau decide, people use it, police need to know, all the street sign has it, only because it is still recognised as the official language, I do believe most people that know it will have very limited situations where they must use it.

Portuguese importance will always comes behind English, no matter if English ever becomes the 2nd or 3rd official launguage of Macau.

Oh meu amigo, you didn't get the point. I am not here to discuss with you what is the importance or what roles plays the English in Macau. I tried to make you understand that the Portuguese is alive and well alive in Macau. Of course there more English speakers in Macau than Portuguese speakers. If you like it or not English is the World's language, and Macau, being a city of tourism, can't run away from it. Swedish is an official language of Finland but I am pretty sure in Finland you will find more people speaking English than Swedish...

I think nowadays it's more whether simplified Chinese is around rather than English. Generally, I think Macau's English signage is very poor - much worse than Portuguese.

Oh meu amigo, you didn't get the point. I am not here to discuss with you what is the importance or what roles plays the English in Macau.

We are here to discuss the importance of Portuguese in Macau.


I tried to make you understand that the Portuguese is alive and well alive in Macau.
Ok, that may be the case, but as I said earlier, it is only a perceive importance, Macau will continue to function if the government ever decided no more portuguese, you can't say the same thing to English.

Yes, it is alive, but only to a very minor group in Macau, and it will stay that way.

I think nowadays it's more whether simplified Chinese is around rather than English. Generally, I think Macau's English signage is very poor - much worse than Portuguese.

Simplified Chinese was invented 50 years ago in an attempt to increase literacy.

Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are very proud that they can read and understand Traditional Chinese, and demonstrated its superior as its literacy remain ahead of China. SC really serve them no benefit. Our increase usage of computer where interchanging SC/TC is automated means it is even less likely for them to switch. A likely direction is Chinese will be able to use both, we may see more TC in printed media (looks better), while people prefer to use SC in writing (faster).

SC/TC, Cantonese/Mandarin is not going to replace English, English is easier to learn, and lots of English speaking people are very pride and to refuse to learn Chinese, while Chinese are usually a little more humble and often learn a second or third language if they are given the chance.

I think Mandarin / English will be equally dominate within 2 - 3 generations.

Simplified Chinese was invented 50 years ago in an attempt to increase literacy.

Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are very proud that they can read and understand Traditional Chinese, and demonstrated its superior as its literacy remain ahead of China. SC really serve them no benefit. Our increase usage of computer where interchanging SC/TC is automated means it is even less likely for them to switch. A likely direction is Chinese will be able to use both, we may see more TC in printed media (looks better), while people prefer to use SC in writing (faster).

SC/TC, Cantonese/Mandarin is not going to replace English, English is easier to learn, and lots of English speaking people are very pride and to refuse to learn Chinese, while Chinese are usually a little more humble and often learn a second or third language if they are given the chance.

I think Mandarin / English will be equally dominate within 2 - 3 generations.

I think your expectation of English's role in Macau to be too high, as I have noticed in the past few years the quick move to simplified Chinese and Mandarin usage. If you walk into the local restaurants, people readily speak Mandarin to you, and it's not unusual to bump into Mandarin-speaking tourists. Even the Venetian has signs in simplified Chinese. As to whether mainlanders are keen on learning Traditional Chinese and English, I won't be surprised if they do, but ultimately they will use Simplified and Mandarin, and the tourism industry in Macau will need to adapt to that.

Definitely hkskyline is right and said everything. I can't agree more.


Macau will continue to function if the government ever decided no more portuguese, you can't say the same thing to English.

You couldn't be wronger...
If today you remove the Portuguese from Macau map, you will have the chaos. The Macau law is based in Portuguese law (and not easy to translate straight way to Chinese), and the Portuguese still predominant in the courts. On top of that, you still have the most of the public services in same situation. This little territory was ruled five centuries under Portuguese language. Do you think they can delete the Portuguese in 10 years? or even 20? Be smart. If the Portuguese language was not valuable and useful for Macau, Beijing would take it way in two days.

The English will never be an official language in Macau but, of course, like everywhere in the World, you will be to communicate at all the levels (and Macau is no exception) in English. That's obvious.

I think your expectation of English's role in Macau to be too high, as I have noticed in the past few years the quick move to simplified Chinese and Mandarin usage. If you walk into the local restaurants, people readily speak Mandarin to you, and it's not unusual to bump into Mandarin-speaking tourists. Even the Venetian has signs in simplified Chinese. As to whether mainlanders are keen on learning Traditional Chinese and English, I won't be surprised if they do, but ultimately they will use Simplified and Mandarin, and the tourism industry in Macau will need to adapt to that.

Agree, Mandarin/SC is becoming more important in Macau, but this is a real risk here, Macau gambling / tourist industry is too heaviliy depends on the mainland, if the Central government put any restrictions, and together with other SEA countries that start to promote Gambling industry and wnat to steal its glory, it will loose Chinese customers, Macau has to actively promote tourist outside of China.

Cantonese/TC will only get replace when the central government pressure Macau to use Mandarin/SC as official language. which means all school will have to adopt to it.

I don't know what the central government wants to do, but I think the two should coexist, it is important to not do anything to make such a important heritage disappear.

You couldn't be wronger...
If today you remove the Portuguese from Macau map, you will have the chaos. Why? I believe every places already have a chinese name, most sounds very odd, but the local has got use to it,

The Macau law is based in Portuguese law (and not easy to translate straight way to Chinese), So after 500 years of rule, and Protugoese did not insist the local to learn Portuguese, the law has not never been translated.

and the Portuguese still predominant in the courts. On top of that, you still have the most of the public services in same situation.

So do they use Protuguese in court? Isn't everything bi-lingual now. What about the judge, are they still Protuguese, or mainly Chinese.

This little territory was ruled five centuries under Portuguese language. Do you think they can delete the Portuguese in 10 years? or even 20? Be smart. If the Portuguese language was not valuable and useful for Macau, Beijing would take it way in two days.

Ok, maybe there is some truth in this, unfortunately, the locals does not appreciate it as much as you do.

Oh meu amigo, you are a little stubborn, or you don't want to see the facts in front of your nose. I don't want to be rude, but it seems you have a lot of difficulties to understand Macau's reality... or even the reality.

Portuguese rule in Macau was never a dictatorship. Portuguese Govt in Macau never imposed the Portuguese language to the Chinese people. Both languages could share the same space together. Exactly as it happens now. They could have done it (if you don't speak the language, we throw you way to the other side of Portas do Cerco) but they didn't. China and Portugal enjoy a 5 centuries friendship and the cooperation and understanding of both parties make the success of today's Macau.

The law in Macau is bilingual. Got it? The judges in Macau are Portuguese and Chinese. And even if you have a Chinese or a Portuguese judge, it doesn't mean he can't speak both languages. The system itself is based in the Portuguese system, so it makes sense if you want to understand it deeply, you need Portuguese language knowledge. Compreendido?

BTW which locals are you talking about? The lawmakers who were complaining about juridical problems MSAR faced caused of the Portuguese language? If you are talking about them, after Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit, we never heard from them again...

One last question to you. What were the benefits of Macau without the Portuguese as second language?

This is exactly what I say, the legal system and everything else has always be bilingual, and the sky will not fall if the government decided to remove Portuguese altogether.

While the local (I refer to the resident of Macau, born and live in Macau, possibly also the 70-80000 foreigner working in Macau) knew they have been ruled by Portuguese laws for almost 500 years, but they have very little interest to understand it deeply. Which rise a question, do you need to be fluent in Portuguese to study/practice law in Macau, now?

There may not be any benefit to remove Portuguese as an official language, And I don't suggest to remove it, I do think removing (or perhaps phrase out) it does not have as much impact as you think.

This is exactly what I say, the legal system and everything else has always be bilingual, and the sky will not fall if the government decided to remove Portuguese altogether.

Wrong, and wrong. 20 years ago everything related to the Govt was in Portuguese. Before the handover the Portuguese Govt of Macau decided to start working on bilingual. This mission is far to be accomplished.


While the local (I refer to the resident of Macau, born and live in Macau, possibly also the 70-80000 foreigner working in Macau) knew they have been ruled by Portuguese laws for almost 500 years, but they have very little interest to understand it deeply. Which rise a question, do you need to be fluent in Portuguese to study/practice law in Macau, now?

Two different things here. First, a Macau native can survive without the Portuguese. I give you that! Second, if you want to be a judge or a good lawyer you'll need the Portuguese skills to succeed.

There may not be any benefit to remove Portuguese as an official language, And I don't suggest to remove it, I do think removing (or perhaps phrase out) it does not have as much impact as you think. I might give you reason in twenty years time. As of today, you would create a chaos in Govt bureaus.

Couldn't Macau try to position itself as a gateway/hub for Brazil? It seems a logical step to capitalise on what makes them different from all the other cities in China.

Couldn't Macau try to position itself as a gateway/hub for Brazil? It seems a logical step to capitalise on what makes them different from all the other cities in China.

Its what Macau is doing. Beijing wants the teritory as bridge to the Portuguese speaking countries.

Its what Macau is doing. Beijing wants the teritory as bridge to the Portuguese speaking countries.

I wonder if it actually makes any difference to ... say Brazil.

Muchenyi, do you mind telling us something about yourself, You are so fluent in Portuguese I don't think you are Chinese. Are you a judge or some other public servant in Macau, or perhaps you are Mr Vieira.

I wonder if it actually makes any difference to ... say Brazil.

What does make difference for you? Get ride of the Portuguese from Macau? Sorry to tell you. You will have to wait 39 years more.

Muchenyi, do you mind telling us something about yourself, You are so fluent in Portuguese I don't think you are Chinese. Are you a judge or some other public servant in Macau, or perhaps you are Mr Vieira.

I and my life stay at the door of this forum. No, I am not Chinese. I am Macanese.

What does make difference for you?

You said China want he teritory as bridge to the Portuguese speaking countries. I think China and Brazil has already got a reasonably strong trade relationship, I am not so sure if Macau ever play a significant role in these, if it did, will it continue to play and any role between the two countries.


I and my life stay at the door of this forum. No, I am not Chinese. I am Macanese.

Hmm, Macanese, exactly what I thought.

Get rid of the Portuguese from Macau? Sorry to tell you. You will have to wait 39 years more.

Doesn't bother me, you are Macanese, you are the one that have to wait. Portuguese eventual stay or go will definitely affect you more then the Chinese.

You said China want he teritory as bridge to the Portuguese speaking countries. I think China and Brazil has already got a reasonably strong trade relationship, I am not so sure if Macau ever play a significant role in these, if it did, will it continue to play and any role between the two countries.

So, the Chinese Govt is stupid, and you are the smart guy!



Hmm, Macanese, exactly what I thought.

No, you thought I was a terrible Portuguese colonizer!




Doesn't bother me, you are Macanese, you are the one that have to wait. Portuguese eventual stay or go will definitely affect you more then the Chinese.

I have no fear. I know what Beijing wants for Macau. No worries. Hope you have learn something with this discussion (which I doubt)!

So, the Chinese Govt is stupid, and you are the smart guy! No, you are the smart guy, you live in Macau, must be heavily involved in the upper governments level, and know everything about Macau, Portugal, and China.

No, you thought I was a terrible Portuguese colonizer! whatever.

I have no fear. I know what Beijing wants for Macau. No worries. Hope you have learn something with this discussion (which I doubt)!
I will definitely remember your opinions, and because of you, I spend a little more time reading other online articles (other opinions).

As Macau has been the a important link between Europe and Asia for 400 or so years, China want it to continue, but all because of its historical links, it say very little about the language itself.

This articles is a good read, that answer the OP's question. It is written by a persumably a Macanese.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e30de410-1991-11dc-99c5-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=317b8b3a-1766-11dc-86d1-000b5df10621.html#axzz1BqJEkwUX

I have not see any articles that see the importance of the Portuguese language as well as you do.

Thanks for the link but I will not waste my time reading american propaganda. Dot.

Isso é triste, ver um país como Macau perder parte de sua história , infelizmente acho que o português esta morto em Macau.:cripes:

Isso é triste, ver um país como Macau perder parte de sua história , infelizmente acho que o português esta morto em Macau.:cripes:

See, even a Portugese (or Macanese) thinks that way.

Isso é triste, ver um país como Macau perder parte de sua história , infelizmente acho que o português esta morto em Macau.:cripes:

:lol::lol: Deve ter morrido hoje de manhã, porque ontem à noite estava bem vivo..

See, even a Portugese (or Macanese) thinks that way.

What way?

:lol::lol: Deve ter morrido hoje de manhã, porque ontem à noite estava bem vivo..

What way?

Talvez apenas em sua parte de Macau, mas a maioria das pessoas não concordam com você.

Hey dude, please don't use the google translator! We can't understand a shit!

Read this : http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/interview/21227-Chang-Hexi-China-Lusophone-links-clear-mutual-benefit.html

Or this (use your google friend): http://www.jtm.com.mo/view.asp?dT=366403003

The number of Portuguese students increases at 9% per year !!!

I think your expectation of English's role in Macau to be too high, as I have noticed in the past few years the quick move to simplified Chinese and Mandarin usage. If you walk into the local restaurants, people readily speak Mandarin to you, and it's not unusual to bump into Mandarin-speaking tourists. Even the Venetian has signs in simplified Chinese. As to whether mainlanders are keen on learning Traditional Chinese and English, I won't be surprised if they do, but ultimately they will use Simplified and Mandarin, and the tourism industry in Macau will need to adapt to that.

In the casino area of Sofitel Macau @ Ponte 16, the same was definitely true. And yeah, it's most likely cause mainlanders form a huge portion of the gambling crowd over there (and yeah, some of them spit on the carpet :bash:).

But yeah, we may see more Simplified Chinese usage in Macau.

BUT

As raised by many people (from the Cantonese Sheik forums), any increase usage and shift towards SC will put traditional chinese at risk. In addition, any increase will also threaten Cantonese language in Macau as well (similar to what happened in Guangdong last year..........but thankfully the locals fought back against sole Mandarin usage on radio and local TV).

Still, my suggestion against any possible attack against Traditional Chinese and Cantonese in Macau stems on the people to protect their dominant language (which currently is spoken by more than 85% of the total population of Macau)

Anyways, now back to Portuguese language in Macao

Hmm........
Interestingly, I did encounter a first local Macau person who was Portuguese. He was an immigration officer in one of the immigration counters at HK Macau Ferry Terminal (aka Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal).

Anyways, there are Portuguese locals in Macau but yeah, those people are smaller in numbers compared to the general populace which is dominated by Chinese people (and Cantonese language at 85% or more).

Right now, it obviously at appears that there are more English speakers than Portuguese speakers. As of year 2007, the Portuguese speakers represented only less than 1% of the total population that time. Whether that numbers grows or decreases now and in the future depends on how or what Portuguese and will be to the Macau people now until the future.

Anyways, that's just what I think so far.

Still, I'd want to witness a Chinese person from Macau speak Portuguese. If that happens, then I'll "shit bricks" :lol::nuts:

On a random note
Here's another random street sign
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Macau_street_sign.JPG/800px-Macau_street_sign.JPG

Cantonese and Traditional Chinese are in final countdown too. As I said before sooner or later Mandarin and Simplified Chinese will take over the place in the public administration. In the streets, Cantonese will long live.

There are more Chinese natives Portuguese speakers than Portuguese natives in Macau.
If you don't see one, try to do an effort.

Muchenyi, vou para HK com minha esposa em Maio e, obviamente, visitaremos Macau por dois dias. Tenho muita expectativa de trocar ao menos algumas palavras básicas em Português com os Macaenses. Acha que vou me frustrar?
Abraços!!!

Caríssimo André, apanhará uma desilusão se for tentar falar português com o motorista de autocarro (que nasceu e viveu toda a vida nos confins da Mainland), com os funcionários dos Casinos e provavelmente até com os taxistas. Agora se for a uma instituição pública (Correios, Polícia, Hospital, etc), a um museu, a um restaurante macaense/português, com certeza que não terá dificuldades em encontrar alguém que fale a nossa língua. Provavelmente irá encontrar alguns compatriotas seus também. Tenha presente que os chineses que falam português ocupam posições de topo na hierarquia social, pois o domínio da língua da administração pública abriu-lhe outras portas.

If Macau want to be just another chinese city, with their trade simply based in gambling they should encourage the learn of English.

If Macau want to be the China first channel to a world of opportunities with almost 250 million people, 8 different countries in Europe, Africa and America, including rising superpowers on their continents (Angola) and world (Brazil) they should continue and encourage Portuguese (the fourth most learned language in the world actually).

If Macau want to be just another chinese city, with their trade simply based in gambling they should encourage the learn of English.

If Macau want to be the China first channel to a world of opportunities with almost 250 million people, 8 different countries in Europe, Africa and America, including rising superpowers on their continents (Angola) and world (Brazil) they should continue and encourage Portuguese (the fourth most learned language in the world actually).

fourth, is this what they teach you in Portuguese school?

mandarin and english is 1st and 2nd place, then
we have spanish, french, arabic, indian, possibly russian, french and german that have more speaker then Portuguese.

I sort of agree with what you say,ability to speaks Portuguese should give you a little advantage over other parts of the world, but that advantage is only little, but view it from the other side of the coin, from Portugal, isn't ability to speaks Chinese/English more important, you create yourself a opportunities to well over 1billions people.

fourth, is this what they teach you in Portuguese school?

Hey dude, there is something wrong with you. If you have something against the Portuguese, please let us know. Stop trolling. That's it!

mandarin and english is 1st and 2nd place, then
we have spanish, french, arabic, indian, possibly russian, french and german that have more speaker then Portuguese.

Wrong, wrong wrong, ignorance at top level.

1st Chinese Mandarin (if you believe all of them can speak mandarin),
2nd Hindi (not Indian),
3rd Spanish
4th English (ups...)
5th Arabic
6th Portuguese
...




I sort of agree with what you say,ability to speaks Portuguese should give you a little advantage over other parts of the world, but that advantage is only little, but view it from the other side of the coin, from Portugal, isn't ability to speaks Chinese/English more important, you create yourself a opportunities to well over 1billions people.

Dude, think twice! If "everybody" can speak Chinese/English, and there are just few speaking Chinese/Portuguese, those will benefit from their skills to profit.

^^ wtf source please, portuguese is not 6th, according to wiki, the top are english, mandarin, hindi, spanish, french, arabic, no portuguese

heres a source but its not too good

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

Hey dude, there is something wrong with you. If you have something against the Portuguese, please let us know. Stop trolling. That's it!

Sir, I got nothing against Portuguese, just against people that place the importance of Portuguese to such a high level.

Wrong, wrong wrong, ignorance at top level.

1st Chinese Mandarin (if you believe all of them can speak mandarin),

even at 40% discount, it beats 2nd by miles.

^^ wtf source please, portuguese is not 6th, according to wiki, the top are english, mandarin, hindi, spanish, french, arabic, no portuguese


Check your sources and let me know where French stays... You are somewhere lost in UN... :lol:


Sir, I got nothing against Portuguese, just against people that place the importance of Portuguese to such a high level.

Sir, you can't bear with the reality that the Portuguese language can play a very important role in Portuguese speaking countries. Compreendido?


even at 40% discount, it beats 2nd my miles.

Are you sure 60% of Chinese people can speak Mandarin? Well, we are diving to another subject.

Sir, you can't bear with the reality that the Portuguese language can play a very important role in Portuguese speaking countries. Compreendido?


I understand what you mean, my point is...

If, (just if) China/Macau decide to remove Portuguese as its official language (tomorrow, or prehaps slowly over next 10, 15 years). How will it change
the relations between China/Portugual Speaking countries change? And if there is any changes, who will lose more? China or Portugual Speaking countries.


Are you sure 60% of Chinese people can speak Mandarin? Well, we are diving to another subject.

What is your estimate?

If, (just if) China/Macau decide to remove Portuguese as its official language (tomorrow, or prehaps slowly over next 10, 15 years). How will it change
the relations between China/Portugual Speaking countries change? And if there is any changes, who will lose more? China or Portugual Speaking countries.


This is not a win or lose relationship. This is a win-win situation!

Anyway China wont decide to remove the Portuguese as official language because China is proud to respect their agreements.

[QUOTE=Muchenyi;71704963]Check your sources and let me know where French stays... You are somewhere lost in UN... :lol:

did i not say this source is no good, i studied in year10 in AUSTRALIA that the top 3 european languages are english, spanish and french,

This is not a win or lose relationship. This is a win-win situation!

Anyway China wont decide to remove the Portuguese as official language because China is proud to respect their agreements.

The win-win situation happens because of Macau's historical relationship with Portugals. The language itself may play a part, but is not necessary important to achieve this win-win situation.

[QUOTE=Muchenyi;71704963]
did i not say this source is no good, i studied in year10 in AUSTRALIA that the top 3 european languages are english, spanish and french,

I highly "advise" you to go back to school then! :lol::lol::lol:


The win-win situation happens because of Macau's historical relationship with Portugals. The language itself may play a part, but is not necessary important to achieve this win-win situation.

You can't get the full picture, can you?

BTW what is Portugals? :D:lol:

Check your sources and let me know where French stays... You are somewhere lost in UN... :lol:

In terms of most influential, according to the following page, French is ahead of Portuguese, (check the very last ranking, in terms of influential)

http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm

It may be a little outdated, in terms of number of speakers, the ranking should not change that much, but in terms of most influential language, with the growth of China, India, and Portuguese speaking coutntries, the ranking may be very different now.

OK, Muchenyi, you are not going to read my link, Why don't you show us your source?

You can't get the full picture, can you?

Let just say I got your point, but I don't agree with everything you said.

Ow, my God! Portuguese is the 6th most learned language in the world in terms of native-speakers. Virtually nobody learns Portuguese as a foreign-language. It's so far behind German, French and Spanish as we cannot even compare. Italian, for example, is much more taught as foreign-language than Portuguese.

How many people in Macao can speak Portuguese? 5%? Portuguese language is completely irrelevant to Macao.

It may be a little outdated, in terms of number of speakers, the ranking should not change that much, but in terms of most influential language, with the growth of China, India, and Portuguese speaking coutntries, the ranking may be very different now.


I am talking about numbers and you are talking about influence... for God sake... make a point!


Ow, my God! Portuguese is the 6th most learned language in the world in terms of native-speakers. Virtually nobody learns Portuguese as a foreign-language. It's so far behind German, French and Spanish as we cannot even compare. Italian, for example, is much more taught as foreign-language than Portuguese.

Amigo Andrade, what do you want to prove with your "wise" comment?


How many people in Macao can speak Portuguese? 5%? Portuguese language is completely irrelevant to Macao.

It's not how many, but how important it is! Read the whole topic before you start another shower of non-sense comments.

Reading this topic and few comments, I'd say everybody in Mainland' Central Government is wrong, and just a few guys here in the forum really understand the reality of Macau... :lol::lol:

I highly "advise" you to go back to school then! :lol::lol:lol:

I still go to school its called the University of Technology, Sydney

I am talking about numbers and you are talking about influence... for God sake... make a point!


It's not how many, but how important it is! Read the whole topic before you start another shower of non-sense comments.

Make up your mind, are you saying how many, or are you not.

It's not how many, but how important it is! Read the whole topic before you start another shower of non-sense comments.

You quote me on something i did not write.

Make up your mind, are you saying how many, or are you not.


In the world ... is how many!
In Macau ... is how important!

Did you get the picture now?


You quote me on something i did not write.

:lol::lol: Mea culpa! My mistake!

Amigo Andrade, what do you want to prove with your "wise" comment?

Well, I thought it was obvious, so let me spell: the number of native-learners it's not a good way to measure the importance of a language. Virtually nobody learns Portuguese as a foreign language, so there is no economic need at all for Macanese to learn it. And about Brazil, people are clearly overstating the importance of the country. It represents only a tiny portion of world's GDP and even a smaller of global trade.

Virtually nobody learns Portuguese as a foreign language, so there is no economic need at all for Macanese to learn it.

So you are the wiseman and the guys in Beijing are a bunch of idiots, right?

^^ come on not many people want to learn portuguese as second language

...and not many people want to learn cantonese as second language

...and not many people want to learn french as second language

...and not many people want to learn german as second language

...and not many people want to learn italian as second language

...and not many people want to learn russian as second language


...and what is your point?

^^ what that got to do with the subject??? you started an arguement but drifted elsewhere :ohno:

I did not start an argument. I did give you guys a clear explanation about the subject. Like the old portuguese saying... "the blindest is the one who dont want to see"...

I did not start an argument. I did give you guys a clear explanation about the subject. Like the old portuguese saying... "the blindest is the one who dont want to see"...

Yes, you have make your point, you knowledge may seems to suggest the language is important, but majority don't agree with you, the majority do not think the language is important, even if what you say might be true.

Finally we start to agree mrfusion...

But you should add to your wise sentence that the majority don't live in Macau and have no idea of the necessities of the territory.

The necessities of the territory from a commercial point of view is that everybody should speak mandarin, english and cantonese start with. Portugues can be optional for the ones how are interested in Macau's roots and history.

The necessities of the territory from a commercial point of view is that everybody should speak mandarin, english and cantonese start with. Portugues can be optional for the ones how are interested in Macau's roots and history.

Wrong.

You are not going to argue with me that Macau needs Portugues to function. Its an historical language. Thats it.
The times of Vasco da gama are long gone. Look at todays Portugal and you know enough.

You are not going to argue with me that Macau needs Portugues to function. Its an historical language. Thats it.
The times of Vasco da gama are long gone. Look at todays Portugal and you know enough.

It has its historical significance, it stay somewhat important probably because it doesn't want to loose this heritage. And I agree, there is probably nothing to gain to officially remove it.

In practice, Macau and China will do just fine without it.

But you should add to your wise sentence that the majority don't live in Macau and have no idea of the necessities of the territory.

While this might be true, the majority don't live in Macau, but I do believe great majority that does live in Macau does not care about its importance.

You are not going to argue with me that Macau needs Portugues to function. Its an historical language. Thats it.

Take a bit of your time and make an effort reading all my posts. Macau NEEDS the Portuguese to function. That's the whole Government machine ...
Of course I am not going to argue with you that Macau needs Portuguese to function. I live and work here (Macau) for more than 30 years and in privilege position to enlighten you.


The times of Vasco da gama are long gone. Look at todays Portugal and you know enough.

At least they have Cristiano Ronaldo and José Mourinho...but this is a discussion for another topic.

Portugal has around 240 million speakers in the world right now and contrary to what that Andrade says, it is the 4th most taught (foreign) language in the world. I believe it is in Macau's benefit to keep Portuguese as an official language and to promote there for two reasons:

1) It is a way for Macau to stand out in China and in the World. If Macau replaces Portuguese with English, it will become a poor man's Hong Kong (which is already losing it's status to cities like Shanghai). Having this mix of European+Asian culture for a city of it's stature will make it unique and increase the charm of the city. This will lead to more tourism and in the end more money for them.

2) It put Macau in a position where it gets access to an emerging market, ie Portuguese speaking countries. We already know about Brazil growing importance but the Portuguese African countries have some of the fastest growing economies in the continent right now. China is already involved in many projects in Africa and it would be beneficial for China and Macau to tap into that market. These countries are growing and need investors, and China has plenty of money. Sure they could all speak broken English to each other when doing business but it is more beneficial to speak the language of your client as it makes them more comfortable and more prone to have confidence in you since you have already shown a certain amount of interest and commitment to them by learning their language.

People speaking Portuguese is not likely going to increase tourism as the bulk of tourists come from China, and they speak Mandarin. It looks interesting to have Portuguese as part of the local signage, but I doubt whether people actually use it or not matters.

Macau itself has very little outbound investment dollars. In fact, it's the other way around - global gambling companies are investing in Macau to build casinos. Whether the use of Portuguese in Macau can improve relations with other Portuguese-speaking countries is highly questionable, as we don't see key decision-making bodies that actually impact trade relations relocating to Macau either. So is aid to former Portuguese colonies in Africa now being decided out of Macau not Beijing? Are Macau investors making a big impact in these countries or are the major players still the typical large Chinese corporates based in the mainland? Are mainland companies sending droves of their employees to Macau to learn Portuguese?

... I believe it is in Macau's benefit to keep Portuguese as an official language and to promote there for two reasons:

1) It is a way for Macau to stand out in China and in the World.


It is not going to stand out in anyway if the general population don't use it.


If Macau replaces Portuguese with English, it will become a poor man's Hong Kong (which is already losing it's status to cities like Shanghai). Having this mix of European+Asian culture for a city of it's stature will make it unique and increase the charm of the city.

I do agree Macau's historical past has is unique, but it is not driven by the language. Not anymore.

This will lead to more tourism and in the end more money for them.
Macau has plenty of tourism, and it has got nothing to do with the language.

2) It put Macau in a position where it gets access to an emerging market, ie Portuguese speaking countries. We already know about Brazil growing importance but the Portuguese African countries have some of the fastest growing economies in the continent right now. I don't believe Macau and China is going to gain any advantage in the world market by speaking Portuguese.

I was in macau last week and tried to speak in portugueses and english with some bus drivers and shop employees, but nobody understood me...
only calculator language


Its a true, its rarely to see local people or workers speak Portuguese in Macau. Most of us speak Cantonese or Mandarin or English.

^^ come on not many people want to learn portuguese as second language



I learnt Portuguese language before but I found it was not quite useful for daily life or works, except you work in government

The Portugese in Macau are probably 2nd or 3rd generation Portugese, and besides their looks, are very much a Chinese now.


I think so. :)

I learnt Portuguese language before but I found it was not quite useful for daily life or works, except you work in government

. And yes, a policeman has to speak Portuguese, or else, how can he read your rights?

Hey, macau girl, seeing that you are from macau, can you confirm this^^?

Hey, macau girl, seeing that you are from macau, can you confirm this^^?


Its not necessary for policeman to speak Portuguese since less people speak Portuguese here, but some policeman do speak Portuguese so they can solve out problem. I believe almost 95% policeman speak Cantonese/ Mandarin.

Realmente uma pena. Ver tantas fotos de lugares com heranca portuguesa extremamente visivel, nao se falar mais quase o Portugues.

Is a shame, but is also the truth.

Is a shame, but is also the truth.


yes :)

Enfim... seja a língua portuguesa ativamente falada em Macau ou não, ela ainda será a "última flor de Lácio" por muito tempo. Mas é realmente triste ver que nesse ponto do mundo, outra língua minoritária morre, por concorrer com uma língua de maior prestigio.

De todo modo, vão-se os anéis, ficam-se os dedos. E ao menos as construções, provando que há uns 500 anos um país praticamente despovoado conseguiu controlar boa parte do comércio mundial, permanecerão por muito tempo.

Portuguese is so "useless" and "forgotten" that Guangdong Pronvince Govt asked Macau to study the feasibility of jointly organising Portuguese-language education courses and cooperation in vocational training.

Portuguese is so "useless" and "forgotten" that Guangdong Pronvince Govt asked Macau to study the feasibility of jointly organising Portuguese-language education courses and cooperation in vocational training.

It is probably not feasibile.

If it is so useful, there will be no need to do any feasibility study to organise anything, desprite what the government think, it is what the enduser think that is important.

Indeed. Guangdong Government are a bunch of idiots and mrfusion is a smart ass - candidate to a Nobel!

Representatives of five Portuguese-speaking countries take field trip to Macau

Representatives of five Portuguese-speaking countries will be in Macau until Thursday as part of a colloquium on making trade easier with Portuguese-speaking countries, organized by the Chinese Trade Ministry.

The colloquium, which is given by the International Academy for Trade Authorities of the Chinese Trade Ministry, includes a trip to Macau and field trips to Beijing and Shenzhen, the special economic region next to Hong Kong.

According to a statement from the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macau), which is the co-organiser of the colloquium, there are representatives of Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and Portugal taking part.

During its stay in Macau, which began on 14 August, the delegation will visit the Macau Centre for Business Support of the Macau Institute for Promotion of Trade and Investment, the Macau Cross-Border Industrial Park, the Macau Customs Service and the Macau Economic Services Directorate, with a view to understanding more about Macau’s economic and social development, as well Macau’s role as a services and trade platform for China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries.

(in macauhub)

The Relationship.

I have to add to my previous post that the colloquium was organised by the Chinese Trade Ministry, with the support of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries.

Realmente uma pena. Ver tantas fotos de lugares com heranca portuguesa extremamente visivel, nao se falar mais quase o Portugues.

Concordo com você.

‘Hoje Macau’ marks 10th anniversary


Portuguese-language daily newspaper Hoje Macau celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday with a special 40-page edition. It included a supplement of every September 5th front page since 2001.

In an editorial, director Carlos Morais José stressed that Hoje Macau was born out of an earlier venture. Macau Hoje opened in 1990 during the Portuguese Administration and closed in August 2001, after the transition.

Hoje Macau was first published the following month. “We were the first [newspaper] to define ourselves as a local Portuguese-language newspaper, not a Portuguese newspaper,” Morais José wrote.

“In the end what is left is the news, our independence, our vision of journalism that also bets on opinion, analysis and criticism,” he wrote.

“Everyone knows we are not an ordinary and regular medium. We often like madness and nonsense but we have a specific and well-defined spot for it. We like to laugh. We like what is wise and what is beautiful,” Morais José added.

Macau Daily Times would like to congratulate all the staff working at Hoje Macau during its first decade of existence, and especially its director Carlos Morais José.


in Macau daily Times


Para quem gosta de ler em português... www.hojemacau.com.mo

DEFENDE EMBAIXADOR CHEN DUQING
RAEM tem “vantagens únicas” no ensino do Português

A RAEM deve continuar a potenciar as suas vantagens singulares como plataforma entre a China e os países lusófonos, nomeadamente ao nível do ensino da língua portuguesa, considera Chen Duqing, antigo embaixador da China em Moçambique, Timor-Leste e Brasil

VIVIANA CHAN

Macau contribuiu muito para a formação de funcionários em língua portuguesa e deve continuar a reforçar o seu papel de plataforma entre a China Continental e os países lusófonos, defendeu Chen Duqing, em entrevista ao jornal “Ou Mun”. Ao destacar a importância do papel desempenhado por Macau, o diplomata recordou mesmo a sua experiência pessoal, uma vez que foi no território que aprendeu a falar Português.
Em 1964, Chen Duqing, então com 17 anos de idade, integrou uma turma de mais de 30 alunos que vieram estudar para Macau durante dois anos e meio, e a partir aí a língua portuguesa mudou a vida do futuro diplomata.
Ao longo de 18 anos de carreira diplomática, Chen Duqing já foi embaixador extraordinário e plenipotenciário em Moçambique, Timor-Leste e Brasil e não se tem cansado de realçar o papel de Macau como ponte de comunicação entre as culturas oriental e ocidental, em respeito pelo princípio “um país, dois sistemas”.
Neste seu regresso a Macau, o diplomata, que desempenhou funções de comissário-geral adjunto do Governo da China na Expo 2010 de Xangai, exortou ainda a nova geração de Macau a adoptar uma “visão estratégica” no planeamento do seu futuro, tendo em conta, por um lado, a ligação entre a China e a Lusofonia e, por outro, a intenção de transformar a RAEM num Centro Mundial de Lazer e Turismo.
Reconhecendo que, apesar dos esforços já empreendidos, Macau carece de funcionários bilingues (chinês/português), Chen Duqing sugeriu que as instituições competentes deverão tentar criar mais oportunidades para que os jovens possam frequentar programas de estágios no Interior da China, onde mais de 20 instituições de ensino superior dispõem de cursos de língua portuguesa, sem que a oferta seja suficiente para satisfazer a procura.

in Jornal Tribuna de Macau

China's deputy commissioner general for World Expo 2010 Chen DuQing said to Chinese language Oumun Daily newspaper that Macau has unique advantages of having the Portuguese...

Chefs, craftsmen at Lusofonia Festival


07/10/2011


This year’s Lusofonia Festival will run from October 20 to 30 and will introduce several new activities, including a food promotion event, a handicraft and arts fair, art exhibitions and parades.

The 2011 Lusofonia Festival will kick off on October 20 for the first time in a different place with a Lusofonia food presentation at the Macau Tower’s 360º restaurant. The restaurant’s menu will be overwhelmed by Portuguese-speaking nations and regions traditional cuisines made by 10 chefs specifically brought to Macau up until the end of the festival.
A handicraft and arts fair will open on October 21 for three days near the Taipa Houses-Museum, at the Carmo area. Ten craftsmen from each nation and region will display artwork made from wood, fabric, ceramics, glass, jewellery and more. Last year, a similar activity was held near the Old Taipa village market but critics complained that it was too far from the major event in the Carmo area.

The Taipa Houses-Museum will remain open until midnight to receive partygoers over the weekend. The site’s exhibition venue will also house art exhibitions from artists from Guinea Bissau and East Timor.

The traditional party with sports, food and cultural activities will take place from October 21 to 23, while the event will spread to the Macau Peninsula the following week.

Musicians and dancers from the Chinese province of Jilin, Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Goa, Damão e Diu (India), East Timor, Mozambique, Portugal and Macau will perform over the weekend and the following week in Senado Square and at the Iao Hon park.

Two ‘Lusofonia Parades’ will be organised in Taipa and Macau bringing together many artists from Macau and abroad.

For the first time, there will be a closing ceremony at the Iao Hon Park where artists will perform from all participating countries and regions, on October 29, from 3 pm to 8 pm.
“IACM [Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau] and Forum Macau have been trying to bring the party to the heart of the local community and also to attract tourists,” deputy general-secretary of the Forum of Rita Santos told reporters yesterday at a press conference.

IACM’s budget for this year’s event will be MOP 1.7 million while the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macau) will allocate over MOP 6.8 million to organise Lusofonia Cultural Week.
For the third year in a row, the festival will be combined with Chinese and Portuguese Speaking Countries Cultural Week, organised by the permanent office of the Forum Macau.

in Macau Daily Times


Festa da Lusofonia continua à grande...

More and more Chinese learn Portuguese...

http://novarevistamacau.com/?p=2221

Nearly 1/4 of Macau's population speaks English
2012/04/16
MacauNews

Nearly a quarter of Macau’s population uses English as their first or second language, according to the preliminary results of the 2011 Census released by the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC).

According to the findings, 2.3 percent of the population aged at least three years uses English as their first language, up from just 0.7 percent in 2001 when the previous census was held.

Last year’s census shows that apart from their first language (mostly Cantonese) 21.1 percent of the population also speaks English, up from just 13.5 percent a decade earlier.

Cantonese is the first language of 83.3 percent of the population, down from 87.9 percent in 2001. A total of 90 percent of the population speaks Cantonese.

Putonghua (Mandarin) is the first language of five percent of the population, up from just 1.6 percent in 2001. A total of 41.4 percent of the population speaks Putonghua, up from 26.7 percent a decade earlier.

Fujianese and Portuguese are the first language of 3.7 percent and 0.7 percent of the population, respectively.

Some 6.9 percent of the population speaks Fujianese and three percent speaks Portuguese as a second language.

Just 4.4 percent of the population aged at least 15 is illiterate, according to last year’s census.

According to The Macau Post Daily today Macau’s population stood at 552,503 at the end of last year, when 59.1 percent was born outside Macau, mostly in the mainland and Hong Kong. A total of 46.2 percent of the population was born locally.

Among last year’s population, 14,544 were born in the Philippines and 6,269 in Indonesia.

The number of Portuguese and Macanese (people of mixed Portuguese and Asian extraction) stood at 8,106 last year, or 1.5 percent of the population.

Ethnic Chinese account for 92.4 percent of the population.

Que pena que a população macaense seja tão pouca =/
oxalá que talvez com a chegada de cada vez mais portugueses e brasileiros,consigam aumentar a comunidade de macaenses e falantes do português:)

Using ghosts to bring laughter to a multi-language public: Patuá theatre “Dóci Papiaçám” launches new play at CCM
Viviana Seguí
11 May 2012

The Patuá theatre group “Dóci Papiaçám di Macau” is going to launch its new play “Aqui tem diabo” (in English “Spooky-Do”) tonight at the Macau Arts Festival. Miguel de Senna Fernandes is a founding member, the director and scriptwriter of the by now 19 year-old group. He explained how he deals with theater as a non-professional to Macau Daily Times while discussing the new play, which includes students from the Portuguese School.

“Our aim is to make people laugh”, says Miguel de Senna Fernandes. Concerning the topic of the new play he only reveals “we use ghosts as an excuse, so it’s about ghosts, but it’s also much more than that.” Quickly, he ads, “of course, we are not really talking about ghosts, because we have some respect. In Macau, you have a culture of respect of ghosts, so we don’t want to mess with it. But we use ghosts as an excuse to talk about a lot of other things. When we talk about ghosts, it means something will scare you and we might trigger a lot of jokes, a lot of laughter.”

He goes on explaining, “Patuá theatre is the theatre to make fun of a lot of situations in Macau.” These social issues are for example “banning smoking, the use of video cameras” or “Chinese tourists and their quite unusual behavior in Macau. “In this year, the group chose to include students from the Portuguese School into the play. “First of all”, says Senna Fernandes “every year, we include new people and this time we have seven who will go on stage for the first time. Four of them are from the Portuguese School.” The second reason for the participation of Portuguese School students is the intention to make youngsters participate in the Patuá theater. “It’s important to let the youngsters know, it’s fun,” Senna Fernandes says, there was no selection criteria for the students, on the contrary “three of them saw our show last year and after it, they went backstage and said to me ‘next year, we want to try it’.”

But despite having much fun with the theater, the group also deals with some obstacles: “The problem that we are facing every year is that we still don’t have a place to rehearse”, says the director. “But after the show, we are planning to really find a place and we are going to ask the government to help us.” He explains, so far, the group has always rented a place for the rehearsals, but “after a while you get tired of the same place. This year, we had to stay there [on a room that belongs to Riquexó restaurant] for the whole two months.”

Another challenge for all members of the group is of course the language. Patuá being a creole language, derived mainly from Malay, Sinhalese, Cantonese, and Portuguese, and was originally spoken by the Macanese community, Senna Fernandes explains, is something that many of the actors “ knew nothing about and had to learn. I had to train them to pronounce words. For the dialogs to make sense for them, I had to give them a rough course.” But he himself had to study a lot before writing the scripts, as he reveals: “I’m not a native speaker of Patuá. My dad knew Patuá, but he never spoke Patuá with us. I’ve learnt a bit with my grandma.” So, how does he manage to write the scripts? “Trying and trying and trying,” he jokes. “For producing the scripts, I conducted a lot of research and then I have to read it out for other members. Some of them are very versed in Patuá, then they told me: ‘No, that’s not well said, you have to say it in another form.” Although knowing that Patuá “is not useful anymore. You cannot use it for your daily necessities”, the director explains, adding that he was always very fascinated about people speaking Patuá.

The last Patuá speakers

Therefore, he opted for a theatre group in this language and never thought about creating a group in Cantonese, English or Portuguese. “I knew it was a very old language, so I wanted to learn it. There are still people speaking Patuá in Macau. But the problem is, they know how to speak, but they don’t know how to teach. So I had to read a lot of dialogs and tried to imagine how things were said. I still might make mistakes.”

About his choice to start a theater group at all, Miguel de Senna Fernandes, who actually works as a lawyer, says, “I never acted before, never had theater training. I was venturing. We thought it might work.” He admits “I don’t know, ‘what is theater?’, ‘what is performing?’ I think I know something about performing arts, it’s more like I’m guessing I’m right.” Finally he ads “but who cares? As long as I put in on the show and people enjoy it.”

In the new play more than 25 people are going to act, from the original founding members only five are left. For the future, Senna Fernandes plans to restructure the group, do video exhibitions and training workshops. But for that, the group needs a place to meet and rehearse.

As to the question if he would like to act outside Macau, he confirms that “Dóci Papiaçám” acted outside Macau many years ago, appearing in Portugal, Brazil and San Francisco. “I’m still dreaming. I’m thinking about ‘doing something that works outside Macau. When you want to take your theater out, you have to think about what kind of public you are going to face. According to this, you have to conceive your play. We have to think about something that everybody can identify with,” replies Senna Fernandes. He thinks it’s possible, as also in Macau “Chinese and Portuguese people come to see the theatre. They know nothing about Patuá, but they go and enjoy it. Because it’s funny”.

http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/35765-Using-ghosts-bring-laughter-multi-language-public-Patu-theatre-Dci-Papiam-launches-new-play-CCM.html