Over at the Brazilian Portuguese blog, there’s an interesting link on 45 stories recorded with audio and transcribed which deal with how learners of Brazilian Portuguese started out and why they are studying it. The format, of what seems to have been an academic project by Professor Vera Menezes of UFMG, doesn’t always follow the previous narrative’s outline but all in all, it’s an interesting gathering of viewpoints. Most of those interviewed are from either Puerto Rico or Germany but sprinkled in between are narratives by people from Japan, Colombia, Canada and Italy. It should be taken into consideration that the interviews are mostly done in Portuguese since they are all transcribed, it’s easier to follow along. For foreigners learning Portuguese, scroll down to the bottom of the link where it says ‘aprendizes de português como língua estrangeira’.

What I find the most interesting is the fact that these second-language learners of Brazilian Portuguese seem to have skipped English, the much touted international language…at least, I would like to think they skipped it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my own language but I’ve never supported it as an almighty universal means of communication. I think there’s room for more than one language at the top of the linguistic totem pole.

The narratives are ultimately just a tease as the notion that these people would choose Portuguese as a serious choice makes them a lot more interesting to me. Before learning Portuguese, I always had to learn about Brazil (and the cultures of other countries) through the English language but once I learned Portuguese, I realized I can learn about other cultures through the lens of the Portuguese language.