Where is Portuguese the native language?

Answer 1

Portuguese is the native language only of the country of Portugal. Like Spanish, it traces its origins back to the interactions, in Iberia, between the Latin language of the ancient Romans and the ancient languages of the Iberian Peninsula. From Portugal, the language spread throughout the world by way of the explorations and colonizations of the Portuguese navigators of the 15th century onward. Portuguese colonies were set up in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. In the former colonies, for example, the descendants of ancient immigrant families and those of newly arriving immigrants have become native speakers of Portuguese. For Portuguese became the naturalized language, and stayed on as the official language, in many of the former colonies. And so, for example, Portuguese may be described as the native language of generations of Portuguese speakers in Angola, Cape Verde Islands, Guineau-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and Principe; in Brazil; and in East Timor and Macau. But the language's status is actually as a successfully transplanted, naturalizedlanguage of those countries. And, for example, Portuguese may be described as the native language of generations of Portuguese speaking communities in Argentina, The Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and Uruguay; and in Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, and Senegal. But, once again, the language's status is actually as a successfully transplanted, naturalized language of those countries.