Learning Portuguese - Mozambique

Mozambique ("Moçambique" in Portuguese) is a large country (nearly 9 times the size of Portugal) on the Southeast coast of Africa, which gained independence from Portugal on 25th June 1975. The only official language is Portuguese, but as with the other African ex-colonies, local languages and creoles are also widely used, and Portuguese is the second language of most of the natives. English is also used, especially in business.

Following the granting of independence, the country entered a period of instability and decline - civil war, the mass exodus of Portuguese nationals, drought, and conflicts with neighbouring countries all took their toll. In 1986, the president (Machel) and several other members of the government were killed in a plane crash (which some have attributed to foul play on the part of the apartheid government of South Africa, the victims of which were given refuge by Mozambique).

Machel's successor, Chissano, led a period of reform which resulted in the end of the civil war in 1992, and since then, nearly 2 million Mozambicans who had fled to neighbouring countries have returned. The population of Mozambique is now nearly 20 million.

As with many African countries, life in Mozambique is not easy. Despite substantial improvements since the end of the civil war, and the assistance of other nations, the economy is still very poor, and most of the population live in poverty. Severe droughts, cyclones, floods, and desertification exacerbate these problems.

Life expectancy at birth is 40 years, and infant mortality is around 130 per 1000. As of 2003, an astonishing 12.2% of the adult population had AIDS or HIV (source: CIA Factbook). Hepatitis, typhoid, and malaria are all prevalent as well.

Further reading: (all links open in a new window)

Mozambique Timeline - Key events in the history of Mozambique.
CIA Factbook: Mozambique - Facts and figures about the country.
The Africa Guide - Advice for travellers planning to visit Mozambique.

Comments

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Written by Naysan Sahba on 2009-05-19 05:23:10 IP: 220.227.160.70

Hi,

Could you guide me: is the Portuguese used in Mozambique closer to the European or to the Brazilian? If I'm investing in home-study courses/texts/etc, would I opt for the Brazilian Portuguese courses or the European ones?

Much thanks!

African Portuguese
Written by Administrator on 2009-05-25 09:20:31 IP: 81.103.153.54

The Portuguese used in Mozambique and other African countries is closer to European than Brazilian. However, Brazilian Portuguese would still be understood perfectly well.

Mozambique
Written by Eep on 2010-10-01 10:59:31 IP: 41.220.175.58

The influence of Brazil and Brazilian Portuguese is on the increase.There is a lot of Brazilian investment and on TV Mozambicans can watch Brazilian telenovelas.Especially young people like to imitate Brazilian Portuguese they hear on TV.And don't forget:thousands of slaves were transported from the Mozambican coast to Brazil in the past.So,these two countries are quite close.

Mozambique-Brazilian ties
Written by AfricanScholar on 2011-04-18 20:05:19 IP: 72.219.233.82

@Eep: Please do not mis-educate the public. The cultural ties between Mozambique and Brazil are not based on the slave trade, but on their common history as former colonies of Portugal. There is no historical evidence to suggest that slaves taken from Mozambique (which is on the Indian Ocean side) were transported around the tip of Africa, across the Atlantic and to Brazil. Mozambique was more involved in the Arab world/Indian Ocean slave trade. The people of African descent in Brazil are from the West coast of Africa, places like what is now Angola and DR Congo. In fact, cultural evidence (derived from linguistic patterns and religious practices) suggest a majority of the slaves taken to Brazil were from the Angola area.

Recently visited Mozambique.
Written by Gold Coaster, Australia. on 2011-08-02 08:03:42 IP: 202.81.18.30

I recently spent a month in Mozambique during it's Winter and was exposed to English, Portuguese, Sena & small portions of Ndau while staying in Beira, Manga, and moving out towards Sofala for a time. Comparing Mozambique's version of Portuguese to Portugal or Brazil, is sort of like comparing the accents of England, Australia and America. Whilst they all speak the same language, each country has a very different accent and certain terminologies differ per location. I found that some Brazilian-based Portuguese speakers had miscommunications with local Mozambican speakers of Portuguese, simply due to a difference in pronouncing words and the variances in "flow" of communication as they spoke. For the most part, Brazilian Portuguese works in Moz, but they both have a different "flavour" so to speak. Comparing the language as spoken in Portugal, as opposed to Mozambique, is like comparing England and Australia - Portugal is a more refined version of Portuguese, and Mozambicans tend to run everything together; whereby even the most fluent Portugal speakers may find it difficult to follow a Mozambican in street conversation as they tend to string everything together. I can't make a generalisation for the whole country, but this is what I experienced during my time there. I loved Mozambique and am currently learning Portuguese to work and live there long-term.

Moçambique
Written by Garrett on 2011-10-26 16:42:54 IP: 96.18.254.65

I just returned from a two year stay in the moz. I made friends from Portugal, Brasil, Angola, and of course, Mozambique. I was fortunate enough to speak almost exclusively portuguese during my stay. From first hand experience I can say that the forms of the language are very much a America vs UK difference. The typical mozambican cannot read or write very well. This has led to a decline in the purity of the portuguese language in mozambique. I really like the type of portuguese spoken there. Its more like a central portugal accent with rolling Rs. I think the Lisbon style of portuguese is the most eloquent. Anyone that has a chance to go, should. It is amazing. I too spent the bulk of my time in Manga. I traveled the entire country and that was by far my favorite location. I am looking for people to speak portuguese with now that i am state side again. love the people and the culture, I am eager to go back and help out.

Slaves from Mozambique
Written by Eep Luiken on 2012-05-22 11:03:37 IP: 86.84.122.12

You are right AfricanScholar!Yet,I'd like to add that slaves from Mozambique (in smaller numbers )were transported across the Atlantic between 1760-1850 from harbours like Tungue,I.Ibo,I.Mocambique,Quelimane,Inhambane and Maputo (Lorenco Marques).It is,however,true what you say that the majority came from the West Coast.A song popular in Brasi "Take me to Aruanda" (Luanda,Angola)testifies to that fact.

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