Angolan Portuguese
Angolan Portuguese is a group of dialects and accents of the Portuguese language used mostly in Angola, where it is an official language. In 2005 it was used there by 60% of the population, including by 20% as their first language. The 2016 CIA World Fact Book reports that 12.3 million, or 47% of the population, speaks Portuguese as their first language.
However, many parents raise their children to speak only Portuguese. The 2014 census found that 71% speak Portuguese at home, many of them alongside a Bantu language, breaking down to 85% in urban areas and 49% in rural areas.
There are different stages of Portuguese in Angola in a similar manner to other Portuguese-speaking African countries. Some closely approximate Standard Portuguese pronunciation and are associated with the upper class and younger generations of urban background.
Phonology
The standard phonology in Angola is based on the European standard, as in the rest of Lusophone Africa. Vernacular accents share similarities with Brazilian Portuguese and these similar features have historical reasons. However, the contemporary Standard European Portuguese is the preferred pronunciation, as such it has become a transitional dialect somewhat midway between the European and Brazilian varieties.Vowels
- The close central vowel occurs only at final, unstressed syllables, e.g. presidente.
- The open vowels and merge to, and likewise appears only in unstressed final syllables, unlike in European Portuguese, in which occurs in all unstressed syllables, e.g. rama. The nasal becomes open.
- In vernacular varieties, the diphthong is typically monophthongized to, e.g. sej <.
- In vernacular varieties, the diphthong is typically monophthongized to, e.g. sou <.
Consonants
- is often realised as, e.g. ninho, which also nasalizes the vowel that precedes it.
- Word-final is dropped, especially by people who speak Portuguese as their second language.
Lexicon
Angola | Portugal | Brazil | Translation | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
bazar | ir embora, bazar | ir embora, vazar | to go away/home | cacimba | poço | cacimba, poço | well | chuinga | pastilha elástica, chiclete | chiclete | chewing gum | garina | rapariga, miúda, garina, gaja | garota, guria | girl | jinguba | amendoim | amendoim | peanut | machimbombo | autocarro | ônibus | bus | candongueiro | carrinha | van | van | ngongo | país | país | country | musseque | bairro da lata | favela | slum quarter |
Younger Luandese, who speak primarily Portuguese, have even a wider lexicon of slang. It does not correspond to a dialect, but a sociolect. Because of immigration and because of the slang's novelty, the younger generations in Portugal often adopt its use. Angolans in Lisbon also have a tendency to create new words for use socially and as group expressions, and often even newcomers from Angola cannot understand them. The newcomers are known as exportados.
The following list has Luandese followed by Standard Portuguese:
- não tem maka – não tem problema
- está anduta – está fácil
- apanhar uma tona – apanhar uma bebedeira
- kota – velho.
- iofé – feio.
- mboa – mulher.
- piô, candengue – criança
- pitéu – comida.
- latona – mulata.
- mboio – comboio.
- tape – televisão.
- bila, bilau – camisa.
- bóter – carro.
- cubata 'house'
- muamba 'chicken stew'
- quinda 'basket'
- pogiumbo 'machete'
- umbanda, milongo 'medicine'
- quituxe 'crime'
Impact
In Brazilian Portuguese, there are a large number of words whose origins lie in Angolan languages. Various aspects of Brazilian culture – samba, candomblé and capoeira – all bear linguistic traces of this contact.
In Portugal, Angolan Portuguese has had a large influence on the vernacular of the younger population, contributing significant amounts of lexicon. Examples include:
- bazar
- garina
- bumbar
- bué
- iá
It is also commonly seen as the African accent of Portuguese, and when dubbing an African character in cartoons and TV and film productions, Portuguese usually mimic an Angolan accent. Many Angolan Portuguese speakers grew up as, or had parents who were, speakers of African languages such as Umbundu, so there is some phonological influence of these local African languages on this form of Portuguese.