# Language



## attagirl

I have a friend who went on his mission He said it was lovely and a great place to live. I am thinking about a possible move here to portugal. I would love to know if I will need to speak the language or are there many English speaking individuals.


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## odysseus

Depends where in Poertugal you are going. Away from the cities and tourist areas then you definately need to speak the language. In the cities and in the Algarve the language is less of a problem and you could could get by very well with just English


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## jsar

Hi,

In my experience, the Portuguese people love practising their English, which they're usually very good at but will respect you forever if you try to learn some Portuguese.

I agree, it depends where you want to move to. It also depends on if you'll have to work or not. I'd be very difficult/impossible to find a job or run a business with no Portuguese.


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## ROYPEREIRA

attagirl said:


> I have a friend who went on his mission He said it was lovely and a great place to live. I am thinking about a possible move here to portugal. I would love to know if I will need to speak the language or are there many English speaking individuals.


For someone who was born there in Portugal, moving to America at a young age, I married someone that does not speak the language, taking my in laws to Portugal to visit, to their amaize, they were able to comunicate with the locals, due to the fact that there were alot of people that speak the English as a second language in Portugal, so don't feel presured to learn how to talk Portuguese, and at the same token, there are alot of towns that are very rare to find someone to speak the language, duo to population size and background, I.E: if the town is famous for fishing and farming, most likely you will have a hard time finding someone that speaks other second languages.


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## LostAgain

I made the assumption that if I pronounced the Portuguese words like they were Spanish then I would be understood. Strangely, I was understood but the feeling wasn't mutual. I found the Portuguese accent impenetrable (same problem I have with Dutch), coming to the conclusion that I was actually talking to Poles or Estonians. Fortunately their English was considerably better than my Portuguese and I got by without problem, but the "Learn to Speak Portuguese" book was discarded.


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## GINGER BASTOS

*American Just Moved To Portugal..*

Hello , My Name Is Ginger I Recently Moved Here And I Moved To A Small Town In Portugal. Well, Regarding The English Language I Have To Agree With Everyone Else On Depending On Where U Live. I Have Been Here For 3 Months Almost And I Have Come Across A Few People Who Speak English Somewhat. We Have Alot To Learn From Oneanother. My Husband Is Portuguese And We Have 2 Children Who Are Small And Speak Nothing But English. Its Hard To Ajust All In All. But In Time U Will.its Beautiful Here And I Am Starting To Ajust. My Problem Has Been The Isloation From People.well. Goodluck If U Decide On The Big Move.


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## Paula

Hi everyone,
Ginger, I can tell you that I'll be as the same position as you. My boyfriend is portuguese and I want to move to Portugal, but I don't speak portuguese at all. I'm terryfied because I really want to find a job there and live with my boyfriend and I see that the economical situation in Portugal will not help me. I'll be living in Porto. Do you think it will be possible to find job in the nearest future there? (I'm M.Sc in chemistry). I'm reading a lot about Portugal marked and I don't kow if I should start to cry now or when I leave my country...


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## Merian

GINGER BASTOS said:


> Hello , My Name Is Ginger I Recently Moved Here And I Moved To A Small Town In Portugal. Well, Regarding The English Language I Have To Agree With Everyone Else On Depending On Where U Live. I Have Been Here For 3 Months Almost And I Have Come Across A Few People Who Speak English Somewhat. We Have Alot To Learn From Oneanother. My Husband Is Portuguese And We Have 2 Children Who Are Small And Speak Nothing But English. Its Hard To Ajust All In All. But In Time U Will.its Beautiful Here And I Am Starting To Ajust. My Problem Has Been The Isloation From People.well. Goodluck If U Decide On The Big Move.


Hi Ginger!
I am from Finland and I live in small town here in Portugal too. I have been living in here about one month now. I have find it hard to get to know local people, because they don´t speak english. So don´t have any friends from here. When I was in Lisbon it was much easier to find people who speak english or some other young people from other countries


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## Mamacats

I would advise learning Portuguese, you never know when you will be in a situation where it is absolutely necessary.

Lisbon University of Languages has a one month intensive program in Aug. that teaches foreigners Portuguese. 
They also offer a course from September thru June that is less demanding.

Diane aka Mamacats
Ragdoll Breeder
Portugal


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## ARKMIRVIS

attagirl said:


> I have a friend who went on his mission He said it was lovely and a great place to live. I am thinking about a possible move here to portugal. I would love to know if I will need to speak the language or are there many English speaking individuals.


You will need to know portuguese language.
You may find peoples speaking English, mostly young and in or close to cities.
There are schools teaching Portuguese, but they are very few and, like it is everything else in Portugal, most of the teachers are not professionally equipped to teach foreigners. Unless you want to spend thousands of dollars studying in prestigious schools in Lisbon.
Language is archaic and very difficult to learn.
Good luck. A. M


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## Mamacats

Lisbon University of Languages is not thousands of dollars.
Best to check the prices before considering a private run school which could much more than a state University such as the one I have mentioned.
Let me know if you need the contact information.
Diane of Diane's Pride
Ragdoll Breeder
Portugal


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