DILI, 06 may 2024 (TATOLI) – The National Parliament, on monday, approved a vote of congratulations for the celebration of World Portuguese Language Day.
The Secretary of the National Parliament, Virgínia Ana Belo, said that May 5th has a particularly special meaning for Timor-Leste, not only because it celebrates the Portuguese language, but also because it is the date of the signing of the agreement to hold a referendum on the country’s self-determination.
“The heroic journey towards independence has allowed the Timorese to draw the lines of their future with freedom and also to adopt Portuguese as the country’s official language, an intrinsic element of Timor-Leste’s identity and its position in the region and the world,” she said.
She said may 5 unites Portuguese-speaking peoples on the Asian, African, European, and American continents and celebrates the diversity of accents, expressions, and sounds of all those who express themselves in that language.
“Timor-Leste, the representative of the Portuguese language in Asia, spread the Portuguese language to Southeast Asia,” she added.
“Belonging to this family also brings economic opportunities in that, through East Timor, it boosts trade and investment relations between the CPLP and the Southeast Asian states. Portuguese is, along with Tetum, the language of all Timorese,” she said.
Belo said: “The increase in the number of Portuguese speakers in Timor-Leste can only be achieved alongside the national goal of raising the level of education and the effective use of the Portuguese language as a language of knowledge, science, culture, teaching, and learning.”
Belo believes that the state should promote increased political and economic relations with other Portuguese countries to help strengthen national identity.
Maria Angelina Sarmento, one of the members of parliament who proposed the vote of congratulations, also congratulated the Timorese and all other Portuguese speakers.
“Today, the Portuguese language continues to be promoted in the education sector, in work, in commerce, and the development of the country as part of Timorese culture,” she said.
The date of 5 May was officially established in 2009 by the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) – an intergovernmental organization that has been in official partnership with UNESCO since 2000, and which brings together peoples with the Portuguese language as one of the foundations of their specific identity – to celebrate the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures.
In 2019, the 40th session of UNESCO’s General Conference decided to proclaim 5 May of each year as “World Portuguese Language Day”.
The Portuguese language is not only one of the most widespread languages in the world, with more than 265 million speakers spread through all continents, but it is also the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. Portuguese remains, today, a major language of international communication and a language with a strong geographical projection, destined to increase, according to UNESCO.
Journalist: Domingos Piedade Freitas
Editor: Isaura Lemos de Deus
Translation: Camilio de Sousa
