A Linguistic Map of Mozambique:
You can see from this map how the provincial boundries loosely follow the linguistic regions. The Portuguese langauge unites the country and gives support to the idea of Mozambique as a nation. But the African languages seem closer to the heart; people sing, speak to their children, pray in these languages.
Learn your animals in Swahili!
(ok, not that many people people speak Swahili in Moz, only in the far North. But it is close to Macua...)
Portuguese
is a romance language.
It is the 7th most widely spoken language in the world with around 170 million speakers. It even out-ranks French. And yet, this beautiful language doesn't get the credit it deserves. The Portuguese were once a powerful nation with sailors and explorers who pushed the boundries of the world known to Europe, taking their language with them.
Portugal may have been one of the worst colonial powers in Africa, but in the present day, Portuguese-speaking countries belong to group unique in its cultural awareness and it's interconnectedness. India and South Africa aren't of special interest to America because they were once British colonies too. Language doesn't bind us together. But among the former Portuguese colonies, there is a shared history and, though they are all distict, they even have a common popular culture, a rich musical tradition: Mozambicans dance to Cape Verdean music, watch Brazilian telenovelas, eat Indian food.
