Language usage in Macau: Portugese and Cantonese

[AsianDragons]

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

[Muchenyi]

...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?

[AsianDragons]

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

[Muchenyi]

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"...

[mrfusion]

Originally Posted by Muchenyi

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.

[Muchenyi]

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.

[pearl river]

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.

[Muchenyi]

Originally Posted by pearl river

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.

[pearl river]

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.

[mrfusion]

Originally Posted by pearl river

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.

[mrfusion]

Originally Posted by Muchenyi

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.

[Muchenyi]

Originally Posted by pearl river

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.

Originally Posted by pearl river

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.

[TugaMtl]

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.

[hkskyline]

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?

[mrfusion]

Originally Posted by TugaMtl

... 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.

[Macau_gal]

Originally Posted by jlvillalba

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.

[Macau_gal]

Originally Posted by AsianDragons

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

[Macau_gal]

Originally Posted by mrfusion

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

I think so.

[mrfusion]

Originally Posted by Macau_gal

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

Originally Posted by Muchenyi

. 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?

[Macau_gal]

Originally Posted by mrfusion

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.