Portuguese

Portuguese is a Romance language that grew from the Latin-descende language that was spoken in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia. It also absorbed influences from the Romance and Arabic languages spoken in the areas that were conquered during the Portuguese reconquista. It was spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th centuries as Portugal established a colonial empire that included Brazil in South America, Goa and other parts of India, Macau in China, and Timor in South-East Asia. Many creole languages based on Portuguese have also appeared around the world, in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
With over 260 million speakers, Portuguese is the fifth most spoken language in the world, the most widely spoken in the southern hemisphere, and the third most spoken in the Western world. It has official status in the European Union, the African Union, the Organization of American States, the Latin Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Portuguese Official Language.
Like other languages, Portuguese has experienced a historical evolution, being influenced by many other languages and dialects, as it reached the form known today. Contemporary Portuguese comprises several dialects and sub-dialects, often very distinct, and two internationally recognized standards (European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese).
Today it is one of the world's major languages, ranked seventh according to number of native speakers. It is the language of about half of South America's population, even though Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. It is also a major language in Portugal's former colonial possessions in Africa. There are sizeable communities of Portuguese speakers in various regions of North America, notably in the United States (New Jersey, New England, California and south Florida) and in Ontario, Canada (especially Toronto).

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