Africa-Press – Angola. A conference under the motto “Words and memory: the heritage of Arabic in Portugal and the Portuguese language”, with the participation of the Angolan ambassador to Morocco, Baltazar Cristóvão, marked this Thursday, in Rabat, the World Day celebrations of the Portuguese Language.
According to a press release, the conference took place at the contemporary art space, Villa des Arts, in the Moroccan capital, and its speaker was professor António Lázaro, from the University of Minho (Portugal).
The event served to reflect on the importance of the Portuguese language, its impact across borders and enrichment through the different cultures of speaking countries and beyond.
As it is a language spoken officially in nine countries and secondary in others, in recent decades, this language has attracted a significant number of people interested in learning it, due to its linguistic diversity.
In his speech, António Lázaro referred to the reach and expansion of the Portuguese language, spoken by more than 260 million people, being the 5th most spoken language in the world.
It addressed the legacy left by the Portuguese people in North Africa, as well as the influence of the Arab people in Portuguese territory, which led to constant changes in the Portuguese language.
He emphasized words of Arabic origin that were integrated into the Portuguese vocabulary, and based mainly on religion, cultural, commercial, administrative and military activities.
In addition to the Angolan ambassador to Morocco, Baltazar Diogo Cristóvão, diplomats from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) accredited in the Kingdom of Morocco, academics, among other guests, were present.
On October 17, 2019, the United Nations Department of Public Information approved the decision to celebrate May 5th as World Portuguese Language Day.
The conference was organized by the Portuguese Embassy in the Kingdom of Morocco, which had the collaboration of other counterparts from the CPLP countries in the Kingdom of Morocco, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe.
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