Portuguese 1

This course aims at proposing an approach to Portuguese language, and it is reserved to first-year students. The course aims to introduce the history of the Portuguese language, from its birth until the contemporary period, with a comparative approach between European Portuguese and Brazilian. The concept of the Portuguese language as a pluricentric language will also be discussed, studying the variants of Portuguese in Africa and Asia, where Portuguese is the official language, debating about the power relations that led to peculiar situations.

Knowledge and understanding: to acquire the essential concepts of sociolinguistics applied to the Portuguese language; the highlights of the evolution of the Portuguese language; to identify the main differences between the European and Brazilian variant; to understand the dynamics that make Portuguese a pluricentric language. Applying knowledge and understanding: to know how to grasp the historical, cultural and social implications of the evolution of the Portuguese language; to place over time the main linguistic changes studied; to recognize and explain similarities and differences between the European and Brazilian variant of the Portuguese language; to apply the basic notions of sociolinguistics to the Portuguese-speaking worlds. Achievement of A2 level (and B1 not yet complete for all linguistic-communicative activities) of CEFR.