23 Mar What Does ‘Porglish’ Mean?

Also referred to as Portuglish (or “Portinglês” in Portuguese), it refers to any unsystematic combination of words from both Portuguese and English languages. It is used in regions where the two languages come in contact or are used interchangeably.

It is a combination of the words “Portuguese” and “English” as used to refer to the two languages, while the Portuguese version is a fusion of Portuguese words “Português” and “Inglês”.

In the US, ‘Porglish’ is most associated with the Brazilian community and is Portuguese-based rather than English-based. The “language” is mostly a creation of Portuguese speakers incorporating and mixing words from English into their language rather than translate them to Portuguese.

In terms of lexicon and grammar, ‘Porglish’ is similar to Spanglish, and is essentially a combination of both English and Portuguese lexicon housed in a Portuguese grammar. Words in ‘Portuglish’ range from an improvised macaronic admixture of the two languages, as well as code-switching between them.

In the US, ‘Porglish’ is used both by bilingual and partially bilingual speakers, and can range from basic trans-panting of English words into Portuguese to more or less stable patterns of usage.

Albeit,  rarer than observed in the Brazilian American community, other places where ‘Porglish’ is spoken include in the former Portuguese colonies of Macau in China, East Timor, as well as Goa, Daman and Diu in India. ‘Porglish’ is also spoken among English-speaking expats and tourists in both Portugal and Brazil, as well as Portuguese speakers in other parts of the world.

Examples

– Bootar or butar: to boot, for instance a computer (used instead of the Portuguese “iniciar”).

– Apontamento: appointment (proper Portuguese words are “horário” or “encontro”).

– Escanear or scanear: to scan (Portuguese proper: “digitalizar”, “varrer”, or “examiner”).

– Attachar or atachar: to attach (Portuguese proper: “anexar”).

– Chattear: to chat (Portuguese proper: “converser” or “bater papo”).

NOTE: The Portuguese word “chatear” (with one “t”) means to annoy or to nag someone.

So, next time you are practicing your Portuguese language, you will know what to look out for!  What unique ‘Porglish’ will you become acquainted with?

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