Portuguese vs French

Joao   Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:29 pm GMT
Well, both languages are spoken by some 200 million people. Portuguese, perhaps, a little more.

In theory, French is more important, but it is a language in free fall, and Portuguese is increasing the number of speakers and students around the World.

So, which one will be more important in the near future?
Velaine   Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:33 pm GMT
Le français, toujours, bien sûr...

It's more elegant: some kind of crème de la crème.
Portuguese is nice too, but the economy of Portugal could be compared with the Sierra Leone's one. Sorry.
Guest   Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:47 pm GMT
economy of Portugal could be compared with the Sierra Leone's one. Sorry.


I lol'd
La Verdad   Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:42 pm GMT
Portugal is not Spain: you have to know a foreign language there. Older people will speak some French, and younger people with speak some English.
Joao   Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:51 pm GMT
Whose Joao opened this topic? Joao (Jean in French, Juan in Spanish, John in English, etc) is the most common name in Portugal.

This troll is a different Joao, among thousands.

I am not bothered by this kind of childlish competition. Really do not care which language is more important BS
Joao   Thu Nov 05, 2009 6:00 pm GMT
Or Joao in Brazil...

Well, Velaine, the economy of Portugal + the economy of Brazil will be stronger than the French one in several years...

BTW, your country, France, in a World map is like Sierra Leone, not like Brazil...
João   Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:16 pm GMT
João, not Joao.
versus   Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:45 pm GMT
Descendant of Latin (with little Iberic substratum and Arabic, Germanic superstratum) vs Latin-Germanic mixed language.
Guest   Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:13 pm GMT
Descendant of Latin (with little Iberic substratum and Arabic, Germanic superstratum)

Arabic substratum would mean the peoples who acquired the Latin language in the Iberian peninsula were Arabic speakers. In reality they spoke Celtic languages, possibly an Italic one (Lusitanian), and Iberian. These are substratum. Germanic and Arabic languages are superstratum.
Jose Antonio   Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:03 pm GMT
I'm glad that French is properly compared with other languages at its same level like Portuguese. Immediate rival of French is not Spanish but Portuguese. Both have the same number of speakers.
i-juca pirama   Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:38 pm GMT
<< the economy of Portugal could be compared with the Sierra Leone's one. Sorry. >>

Let's compare the GDP:

Portugal $244.5 billion (2008 est.)
Sierra Leone $1.955 billion (2008 est.)

Source:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2195.html
Joao   Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:10 am GMT
I'm glad that French is properly compared with other languages at its same level like Portuguese.

Even Portuguese is more spoken than French.

Portuguese some 200 million as mother tongue

French, some 75 million as mother tongue


French should be compare with Tagalog, Vietnamese or Korean, but these languages will be more spoken very soon.
Big Willy   Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:23 am GMT
No one of them are really important. English is enough...
Guest   Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:42 am GMT
Do the staff speak English in Euro Disney?.
Guest   Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:49 am GMT
Who cares? Euro Disney is going to close. For French people is disgusting an American resort in Paris. They don't go.

At this moment other Europeans prefer to go to Canary islands or Caribbean.

Perhaps, Americans should set up Euro Disney in other sunny European city.