Languages of Brazil

Languages of Brazil
English, Portuguese and Spanish welcome signs in Acaiaca
Official	Portuguese - 98%
Main	Portuguese[1][2][3]
Indigenous	Apalaí, Arára, Bororo, Canela, Carajá, Carib, Guarani, Kaingang, Nadëb, Nheengatu, Pirahã, Terena, Ticuna, Tucano, Tupiniquim, Wanano, Ye'kuana
Regional	German, Italian, Lombard, Venetian, Neapolitan, Japanese, Spanish (border areas), Polish, Ukrainian, English,[4] East Pomeranian, Romani
Vernacular	Brazilian Portuguese
Immigrant	German, Italian, Lombard, Venetian, Neapolitan, Levantine Arabic, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, English, Chinese, Hebrew
Foreign	English, Japanese, Swedish, German, Italian
Signed	Brazilian Sign Language Ka'apor Sign Language Terena Sign Language
Keyboard layout	Portuguese keyboard layout

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Portuguese is the official and national language of Brazil^[5] being widely spoken by most of the population. Brazil is the most populous Portuguese-speaking country in the world, with its lands comprising the majority of Portugal's former colonial holdings in the Americas.

Aside from Portuguese, the country has also numerous minority languages, including indigenous languages, such as Nheengatu (a descendant of Tupi), and languages of more recent European and Asian immigrants, such as Italian, German and Japanese. In some municipalities, those minor languages have official status: Nheengatu, for example, is an official language in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, while a number of German dialects are official in nine southern municipalities.

Hunsrik (also known as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch) is a Germanic language^[6] also spoken in Argentina, Paraguay and Venezuela,^[7][8] which derived from the Hunsrückisch dialect. Hunsrik has official status in Antônio Carlos and Santa Maria do Herval, and is recognized by the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina as part of their historical and cultural heritage.^[9][10]

As of 2023, the population of Brazil speaks or signs 238 languages, of which approximately 217 are indigenous and others are non-indigenous .^[11] In 2005, no indigenous language was spoken by more than 40,000 people.^[12]

With the implementation of the Orthographic Agreement of 1990, the orthographic norms of Brazil and Portugal have been largely unified, but still have some minor differences. Brazil enacted these changes in 2009 and Portugal enacted them in 2012.

In 2002, Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) was made the official language of the Brazilian deaf community. The Brazilian Sign Language also has official status at the federal level.^[13]

On December 9, 2010, the National Inventory of Linguistic Diversity was created,^[14] which will analyze proposals for revitalizing minority languages in the country.^[15] In 2019, the Technical Commission of the National Inventory of Linguistic Diversity was established.^[16][17]