Angolan Portuguese
Angolan Portuguese is a variant of the Portuguese language used mostly in Angola. Normally, Portuguese speakers call it an "accent" (not a dialect). It is generally used in Angola by 60% of the inhabitants, with around 7,5 million first language speakers.
History
Portuguese was inherited from Portuguese colonization of Africa. The Portuguese language, although spoken earlier, has largely entered Angola during the 19th century, after the division of Africa between the former colonial powers. For the Africans to be considered Portuguese, they had to be Catholics and speak Portuguese. These conditions made a rush between Africans to speak proper Portuguese, thus a local language variant did not arise, and a competition between the various rival tribes had arisen to provide their children the best education along with speaking the best Portuguese, which is still common today. The local languages became known as inferior by both colonizers and locals, similar to several other colonies worldwide. In late 20th century, the language became an instrument for independence, has it was perfectly spoken by the African native and political elite, becoming a symbol of national identity unifying the various rival tribes into the same goal, independence. The language is still seen as something that unifies Angola. The Angolan government relies on it because it is a widely spoken, unifying element, as well as being a fairly widely spoken international language. Although Angolans hear a dialect very similar to their own when watching Brazilian soap operas , the population still prefers to learn standard Portuguese and not Angolan or Brazilian dialects.
Phonology
In many ways, compared to Brazilian Portuguese, Angolan Portuguese is very similar. For example, in the word corresponding to "boy", the word in standard Portuguese is "menino". However, in Brazil and Angola, it is pronounced [mininu] or [meninu], while in standard European Portuguese it is known as [mɨninu] (the non-standard pronunciation can be heard in some areas of Portugal). Due to the fact that the Standard Portuguese is the preferred pronunciation, it has become a transitional dialect somewhat midway between the European and the Brazilian varieties, and it is very common to hear [mɨninu] today. In its phonology, Angolan Portuguese is not very influenced by the local languages. The standard phonology in Angola is the European/African standard, like in Portugal and the rest of Africa.
Angolan Lexicon
Although most of the vocabulary is the same as in Portugal or Brazil, there are some differences. This lexicon is due to the influence of several African languages spoken in Angola. Each area has different lexicon, originated by the distinctive languages. In the capital city of Luanda a very standard Portuguese is spoken, and tribal culture and languages are practically non-existent. This lexicon is not used in documents or in business, for example, as it is mostly seem as slang, but there are exceptions such has muceque. Most of this lexicon is mostly used by younger Angolans and younger Portuguese, similarly to younger Afro-Americans in the USA.
| Angola | Portugal | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| anhara, chana | savana | savanna |
| bazar | embora | to go away/home |
| cacimba | poço | well |
| chuinga | pastilha elástica, chiclete | gum |
| farra | festa | party |
| garina | rapariga, moça | girl |
| jinguba | amendoím | peanut |
| mataco, bunda | rabo, cu | ass (either "donkey" or "buttocks") |
| machimbombo | autocarro | bus |
| muceque | bairro de lata | slum quarter |
Loan words
Many words of Angolan origin have reached other countries or regions where the Portuguese language is used. Some of these words include: bunda (ass), farra (wild party), fubá (sort of cake), moleque (kid), samba and several others. Angolan Portuguese has had a large influence on the vernacular of the younger population in Portugal, contributing significant amounts of lexicon. Such lexicon includes: bazar (to go away/home), garina (girl), bumbar (locally changed to bombar; "working" in Angola, "partying" in Portugal), farra (party in Angola; wild party in Portugal), and numerous other examples. This lexicon reached Portugal in the decolonisation period, 1970s, when Portugal became influenced by returning Portuguese Angolans (Portugueses de Angola in Portuguese), that brought their distinctive life style and culture from Africa.