Portuguese should not simply be a tool for official communication in Macao but needs to be promoted as a language in daily life, according to the consul general of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, Alexandre Leitão.
Speaking during a forum on the evolution of Portuguese culture in Macao, Leitão underscored the importance of the Portuguese language in the city, pointing out that studying the language “makes more and more sense… [as] the territory still uses Portuguese as an official language.”
He added that a more integrated approach was required in the Greater Bay Area when it comes to the promotion of the language, which he said should not be treated as “a monument.”
The head of the Macanese Youth Association, António Monteiro, supported Leitão’s contention, urging the government to implement measures that will allow learners, especially younger ones, to develop a genuine interest in Portuguese, rather than learning it as “an obligation.”
“We celebrate the gastronomy, the patuá, the architecture, but we should also celebrate the people,” André Ritchie, a Macanese architect, said. “The Portuguese are still here, and we want more Portuguese, more generations to be here in Macao.”
Patuá, or Macanese patois, is a Portuguese-based creole language with a substrate from Cantonese, Malay, and Sinhala, originally spoken by the Macanese community in Macao.
Although Portuguese remains an official language of Macao, it is spoken by only about 2% of the city’s residents. Despite this, a study published this year found that the Portuguese community remains an integral part of Macao society.
Since the handover of the administrative rights of Macao to mainland China in 1999, the government has taken steps to help preserve Portuguese use in the city, which include Portuguese courses in local schools and the development of a new Portuguese school.
