欧洲
在
欧洲，以葡萄牙语为第一语言的人口包括葡萄牙的1030万人和西班牙的290万人，同时也在受到葡萄牙影响的国家使用，包括超过10%人口的卢森堡和安道尔。 在比利时、法国、德国、泽西岛及瑞士等地区也有大的葡萄牙语社群，但是因为葡萄牙往这些地方的移民减少的原因，某些地方的葡萄牙语使用者人数可能会减少。一个例外是卢森堡，葡萄牙语在卢森堡札下了根，大部分葡萄牙裔的卢森堡人可以说流利的葡萄牙语，当地有葡萄牙语广播电台及电视台，在一些学校里也教授葡萄牙语。2003年一月时，14.3%的卢森堡人口是葡萄牙裔。在西班牙也有些地方说葡萄牙语，特别是加利西亚（官方称加利西亚当地的语言为加利西亚语）、Olivenca、Vale do Xalima（在当地称为法拉语（Fala））。葡萄牙语也是欧洲十一个国家的选修学习语言（其中九个国家是欧盟成员）。
在某程度来说，与
葡萄牙语同源的
加利西亚语(
Galeg')可被视为一种与西班牙语较接近的葡语方言。现时，
加利西亚自治政府为加利西亚语设立了一套独立的语言标准，使加利西亚语跟葡萄牙语保持距离之余，在书写上与西班牙语更为接近。与此同时，在某些政圈及大学里却奉行另一套标准，视加利西亚语为葡萄牙语的一种有些微分别的方言。
Most linguists have always recognized the unity of these linguistic varieties (for instance,
Joan Corominas,
Lindley Cintra,
Coseriu), as they were once just the same language and both are relatively conservative varieties. However, in practice, they are normally treated as different languages by both populations mainly due to sociolinguistic factors. During the
Middle Ages, Galician and Portuguese were undoubtedly the same language, nowadays known as
Portuguese-Galician, a language used for poetic works even in Castile. The Galician deputies in the
European Union Parliament,
Jose Posada (1994–1999) and
Camilo Nogueira (1999–2004), spoke in Portuguese and said that his language is already official in the EU, that is Portuguese. There are many Galician groups that demand the reunification of the language.
非洲
In sub-Saharan Africa, Portuguese is a growing language and is projected by UNESCO to be one of the most spoken languages within 50 years. As the populations of
Angola and
Mozambique continue to grow, their influence on Portuguese will becoming increasingly important. Angola and Mozambique, along with
Sao Tome and Principe,
Cape Verde and
Guinea-Bissau are known as the
Paises Africanos de Lingua Oficial Portugues' (Official Portuguese Language African Countries) or
PALOP, forming a community of some 16 million speakers (9 million use it has first or only language, the rest are bilinguals, using the language daily). The Portuguese language especially grew in use after the independence of Portugal's former colonies. Independence movements from Guinea-Bissau to Mozambique saw it as an instrument to achieve their countries development and national unity. Portuguese is spoken and a learning language in
Malawi,
Namibia,
Senegal,
South Africa, and
Zimbabwe. Spoken by 20% of the population of Namibia and by more than one million people in
South Africa.
In the south of
Senegal, known as
Casamance, an active Portuguese creole community linked culturally and linguistically to Guinea-Bissau, learning the history and language of Portugal is popular, and people feel they are learning part of their own background, since they are desdendants of both Portuguese and Africans. A
Portuguese creole linked to Sao Tome and Principe is the language of the island of
Annobon,
Equatorial Guinea.
In
Angola, Portuguese is quickly becoming a national language rather than only an official language or a
cohesion vehicl'. By the census of 1983, in the capital,
Luanda, Portuguese was the first language of 75% of a population of 2.5 million. In the entire country 60% of the 12.5 million inhabitants spoke Portuguese as their main spoken language . Most younger Angolans can only speak Portuguese. Angola receives several Portuguese and Brazilian televison stations. There are also many other native languages in Angola, some words from those languages have been borrowed by Portuguese, when the
retornado' returned to Portugal after Angola's independence. Words like
i' (yes),
bu' (many) or
baza' (going away), common in the young and urban Portuguese population have their origin in Angolan languages, used in
Angolan Portuguese.
Mozambique is among the countries where the Portuguese has the status of official language, being spoken essentially as a second language. However, it is the main language in the cities. According to the Census of 1997, Portuguese speakers account for more than 40% of the population, this number rises to more than 72% in the urban areas. But only 9% consider Portuguese as their main language (26% in the cities). All the Mozambican writers write in Portuguese, it has become attached to the colour and texture of the Mozambican culture.
In
Cape Verde and
Guinea-Bissau, the most widely spoken languages are Portuguese creoles known as
Crioulos, and the informal use of the Portuguese language seems to decrease. Most Cape Verdians can also speak Standard Portuguese, used formally. There is some decreoulization due to education and the popularity of Portugal's national TV channels. The case is a bit different in Guinea-Bissau where, Portuguese and its Creole is spoken by more than 60% of the inhabitants, of which Portuguese itself is only spoken by 14%.
In
Sao Tome and Principe, the Portuguese used by the population is an archaic Portuguese, known as Sao Tomean Portuguese, presenting many similarities with Brazilian Portuguese. Politicians and the upper classes use the modern European Portuguese variety, much like the other PALOP countries. Three different Portuguese creoles are also spoken in Sao Tome and Principe. Usually, Children can only speak Portuguese, because of their parents preference, and not because of school, by the time they are adults they usually have learned a Portuguese Creole known as
Forro. But more than 50% of the population keeps using Portuguese informally and its use seems to increase. Almost all the population can speak Portuguese.
亚洲
在
亚洲，也有葡萄牙语使用人口，特别是
东帝汶、印度的
果阿、
达曼和
第乌以及中国的
澳门。在果阿，葡萄牙语的使用人口非常少，并通常被认为是“祖父辈的语言”，因为学校已经不再教授葡萄牙语，而且葡萄牙语在当地也不是官方语言。在澳门，虽然只有很少澳门人或欧亚人口使用葡萄牙语并且只有一间葡萄牙语中学，但是它仍然保持着和
中文一样的官方地位。在
马来西亚、
泰国和
越南，仍然有学校教授葡萄牙语。
In
Malacca in
Malaysia, there is a Portuguese creole known as Cristao or
[Kristang' still spoken by some of the Eurasian population. There are also active
Portuguese creoles, especially in
India and
Sri Lanka. In
Japan, Portuguese is spoken by Brazilians of Japanese descent, known as
[dekassegui', who number approximately 250,000 people.
In
East Timor, the most spoken language is
Tetum, an
Austronesian language, but it has been heavily influenced by Portuguese. The reintroduction of Portuguese as an official language has caused suspicion and resentment among some younger East Timorese who have been educated under the Indonesian system, and do not speak it. Portuguese in East Timor is spoken by less than 20% of its population, mostly the elder generation, though this percentage is increasing as Portuguese is being taught to the younger generation and to interrested adults. East Timor asked the other CPLP nations to help it to reintroduce Portuguese as an official language. East Timor uses Portuguese to link itself to a larger international community and to differentiate itself from Indonesia.
Xanana Gusmao, president of East Timor, believes that Portuguese will be widely spoken again within 10 years.
官方地位
The
CPLP or
Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries is an international organization consisting of the eight independent countries which have Portuguese as an official language. Portuguese is also an official language of the
European Union,
Mercosul and the
African Union (one of the working languages) and one of the official languages of other organizations. Except for the Asian territories (East Timor and Macau), Portuguese is the sole official language in each country.
方言
请参看：[葡萄牙语方言'
Portuguese language speakers do not understand their dialects as "dialects", but as "accents" (Port.
sotaque') or even pronunciation (Port.
pronunci'), even if in different countries, but especially within the same. Mostly because the term "dialect" has been used to classify a language without prestige.
Standard
European Portuguese has changed more than the other varieties. Still, all aspects and sounds of all Portuguese (nation) dialects can be found in some Brazilian (nation) dialect. African Portuguese especially
Sao Tomean Portuguese has many similarities with
Brazilian Portuguese, also Southern Portugal dialects presents many similarities, especially, the excessive use of the geround. In Europe, Alto-Minhoto and Transmontano are very similar to Galician.
Even with independence of the former African colonies, the standard Portuguese of Portugal is still the preferred standard for the African Portuguese countries. Thus, Portuguese has only two learning accent standards, the European and the Brazilian. Note that: in Portuguese there are four preferred accents:
Coimbra's,
Lisbon's,
Rio de Janeiro's and
Sao Paulo's and these four influence most other dialects.
主要的葡萄牙语方言：
巴西 - Caipira — not actually a particular regional dialect, this term roughly means "rustic" or "yokel" and is sometimes used to refer to the way people from the countryside or from some regions of agricultural background speak (eg. Goias, Minas Gerais); some people might find the term offensive
- Cearense — [Ceara'
- Baiano — Region of [Bahia'
- Fluminense (listen) — States of Rio de Janeiro and [Santo' (the city of Rio de Janeiro has a particular way of speaking)
- Gaucho — [Grande do Sul'
- Mineiro — [Gerais'
- Nordestino (listen) — northeastern states of Brazi' (the interior area and Recife have particular ways of speaking)
- Nortista — Amazon Basin state'
- Paulistano — 圣保罗'
- Sertao — States of Goias and [Grosso'
- Sulista — 巴西南'
葡萄牙 - Acoriano (听) — [Azores'
- Alentejano (听) — [Alentejo'
- Algarvio (听) — [Algarve' (there is a particular small dialect in the western area)
- Alto-Minhoto (听) — North of Braga (interior'
- Baixo-Beirao; Alto-Alentejano (listen) — Central Portugal (interior'
- Beirao (听) — central Portuga'
- Estremenho (听) — Regions of Coimbra and Lisbo' (can be subdivided in Lisbon Portuguese and Coimbra Portuguese)
- Madeirense (听) — [Madeira'
- Nortenho (听) — Regions of Braga and [Porto'
- Transmontano (听) [Tras-os-Montes'
安哥拉 - Benguelense — Benguela provinc'
- Luandense (听) — Luanda provinc'
- Sulista — South of Angol'
其他地区
- Caboverdiano (听) — 佛得'
- Guineense (听) — Guinea-Bissa'
- Macaense (听) — Macau, Chin'
- Mocambicano (听) — Mozambiqu'
- Santomense (听) — Sao Tome and Princip'
- Timorense (听) — East Timo'
- Galician — Galiza, Spai'
不同大洲各异的葡萄牙语：安哥拉（非洲）、葡萄牙（欧洲）和巴西（南美洲）。
走'
- 安哥拉: baza', ir embor'
- 巴西: ir embor', (or "vazar" as a slang);
- 葡萄牙: ir embor', (or baza' among teenagers);
巴'
- 葡萄牙: autocarr'
- 巴西: onibu'
- 安哥拉: machimbomb'
slum quarte'
- Angola: mucequ'
- Brazil: favel'
- Portugal: bairro de lat'