Angolan Portuguese
| Angolan Portuguese | |
|---|---|
| português angolano, português de Angola | |
| Native to | Angola |
|
Native speakers
|
20% of the population (2005) |
|
Indo-European
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| IETF | pt-AO |
Angolan Portuguese (Portuguese: Português de Angola) is a group of dialects and accents of the Portuguese language used mostly in Angola, where it is an official language. It is used in Angola by 60% of the population, and by 20% as their first language.
There are different stages of Portuguese language in Angola in a similar manner to other Portuguese-speaking African countries. Some closely approximate Standard Portuguese pronunciation and are associated with upper class and younger generations of urban background.
Vernacular accents share similarities with Brazilian Portuguese and these similar features have historical reasons. 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. In its phonology, Angolan Portuguese is not significantly influenced by the local languages. The standard phonology in Angola is the European standard, like in Portugal and the rest of Africa. But there are some phonological features similar to Brazilian dialect, such as that ⟨nh⟩ is pronounced as a nasal palatal approximant [j̃], which nasalizes the vowel that precedes it, and dropping of word-final /r/ ([ɾ] and [ʁ]), especially for people who speak Portuguese as their second language. 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 the phonological influence of these local African languages on this form of Portuguese would be strong.
Although most of the vocabulary is the same as in Portugal or Brazil, there are some differences, many due to the influence of several languages spoken in Angola. Each area has different lexicon originating from the distinctive languages. In the capital, Luanda, a very standard Portuguese is spoken, and tribal culture and languages are practically nonexistent. Still, there are several Kimbundu influences. This lexicon is not used in documents or business, for example, as it is mostly seen as slang, but there are exceptions. Most of this lexicon is mostly used by younger Angolans and Portuguese, similarly to younger African-Americans in the US.
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