37. (Inglês) English Language Learning Through Presentation of Differences between Portugal and Brazil
Data da publicação: Março de 2020
Author: Lieutenant Colonel José Diniz
- Retired Brazilian military air force Lieutenant Colonel
- Bachelor of Business Administration from the State University of Ceará and the Catholic University of Goias
- Postgraduate degree in sciences from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) thesis on Operational Research-Modeling and Analysis of Public Budgets
- Secretary for the Anápolis Commission- Goias Air Force Base
- Former director of the Alvorada Faculty of the Federal District
- Lecturer at the University of Brasilia in the Administration Course
- Head of Data Processing Service of the Presidency of the Republic (1988-89)
- Undergraduate and Post-Graduate lecturer on courses in Business Administration at Uni-CEUB and at AEUDF
- Portugal has 20 districts
- 18 continental districts and 2 in the Atlantic Ocean, the islands that make up the Archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira
- Districts divided into towns (Concelhos) and these into parishes
- Queijas one of the important parishes in the Portuguese town of Oeiras, in the Lisbon district
- Brazil is divided into 26 states and 1 Federal District
- States are divided into cities or towns
- These are divided into villages and farms
- Portugal is a sovereign country located in southwestern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula in the North Atlantic
- It is bordered on the north and east by Spain and on the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean
- It is comprised of a continental part and two autonomous regions: the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira
- Portugal is the westernmost nation on the European continent
- The name of the country comes from its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin-Celtic name was Portus Cale
- Human Development Index (HDI) is very high. The country was ranked 19th in quality of life in 2005
- One of the best health systems on the planet
- One of the most globalized and peaceful nations in the world
- the United Nations (UN)
- the European Union (EU) including the Eurozone and the Schengen Area
- the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP)
- Portugal also participates in several United Nations peacekeeping missions
The Lisbon District is the most important among the 20 Districts of Portugal.
Shown here is the important Portuguese council area of Oeiras.
It can be observed that Oeiras has borders with Lisbon, Amadora, Sintra, Cascais and the Atlantic Ocean.
Oeiras has beautiful beaches.
Queijas- A town in the Oeiras Council Area
It also shows the location of Queijas.
This is a small residential area.
It is an attractive town but quite small.
The people who live in Queijas have beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean.
They can see the towns of Carnaxide and Linda-a-Velha among others.
The Coat of Arms of the town of Queijas.
Queijas-a Portuguese town in the Oeiras Council District- Lisbon
- A lot of Brazilian people live in Queijas.
- The there two good schools for children and adolescents.
- There is a health centre, a police station and there are other federal governmental buildings in the town.
- In the centre of the parish of Queijas you can find the Real English Academy. This is a modern centre for teaching and learning the English language.
- In the town centre can also be found supermarkets, restaurants, bars, clinics, pharmacies etc.
- In short, everything the residents need for a good quality of life.
- There is also a very attractive church in the centre of the town.
Two districts in Portugal –Lisbon and its connection with Setúbal.
The Lisbon District is the most populous in the country. Setúbal is the fourth most populous district.
The two districts are connected by two modern bridges over the Tagus river estuary:
Ponte 25 de Abril and Ponte Vasco da Gama
These are among the 15 most beautiful in Europe. The Vasco da Gama bridge is the longest bridge in Europe with a total length of 12 kilometers and 345meters.
The first map shows the connection between Lisbon and the district of Setúbal. The second shows the district of Setúbal.
The Grandola Vila Morena council district shown on the second map became one of the most famous towns in the country because of the famous song which became the emblem of the Portuguese carnation revolution in 1974.
It both generated the famous song and became the emblem of the revolution.
The April 25 Revolution, also known as the Carnation Revolution or the April Revolution, refers to a historic event still proud in the history of Portugal. It was the result of the political and social movement which took place on April 25, 1974. This overthrew the dictatorial regime of the New State of Antônio de Oliveira Salazar, in force since 1933, and which started a process that would end with the implementation of a democratic regime and the entry into force of the new Constitution on April 25, 1976.
The Federal Republic of Brazil
A comparison of geographical and political divisions of Portugal and Brazil from the perspective of a Brazilian citizen staying in Portugal.
The first map shows the five regions of Brazil. The second shows the twenty-six states and one federal district. The third shows the eighteen continental districts of Portugal and the two autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. The final map shows the seven touristic regions of Portugal.
Brazil has a total land area of 8, 515, 767 sq. kilometers.
The population of the country is approximately 210, 147, 125.
The city of São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It has a population of approximately 12 million inhabitants. (2019)
This compares with the total land area of Portugal at 92, 090 sq. kilometers and a population of around 10.28 million inhabitants. (2020)
Some Comparisons
- Portugal is divided into districts and Brazil into states.
- Continental Portugal has 18 districts and the regions of Madeira and the Azores.
- Brazil has 26 federal states, 5,570 municipalities and one Federal District.
- Districts in Portugal are divided into 282 municipalities (‘Vilas’) and these are divided into approximately 3, 091 parishes.
- Brazil is also divided into 5 regions and Portugal into 7 touristic regions.
- The Portuguese Republic is a sovereign unitary country located in southwestern Europe, while the Federal Republic of Brazil is located in South America.
- The Portuguese Republic has a President and a Prime Minister while Brazil is officially a Federal Republic with a President.
- While public safety, health, education and public transport are highly developed in Portugal, I believe that Brazil has some improvements to be made in these areas.
- Phonetic differences
- Morphological and lexical differences
- Syntactical differences
An example of a cultural aspect of Portugal from one district
‘Grândola, Vila Morena’ is a song composed and sung by José Afonso which was chosen by the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA) to be the second signaling signal of the Carnation Revolution. At midnight and twenty minutes and eighteen seconds on April 25, 1974, the song was transmitted by the independent program Limite through Rádio Renascença as a signal to confirm the beginning of the revolution. For this reason too, it became a symbol of the revolution, as well as the beginning of democracy in Portugal.
Lyrics
Grândola, Vila Morena
Terra da Fraternidade
O povo é quem mais ordena
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
Em cada esquina, um amigo
Em cada rosto, a igualdade
O povo é quem mais ordena
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
Juro em ter a companheira
Azinheira
Que já não sabia a idade
Grândola, Vila Morena
Terra da Fraternidade
O povo é quem mais ordena
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
Juro em ter a companheira
À sombra de uma azinheira
Que já não sabia a idade
Rationale-reasons for writing
- This article was written on my third trip to Portugal in March 2020, when I was surprised by the coronavirus pandemic.
- This forced people to be quarantined in the places where they were at that time. I was in Queijas in Portugal, where I remained. I was visiting my daughter Carol who lives there.
- I took this opportunity to take an online English course at the Real English Academy.
- Thanks for the contribution of Antony Winn (MA Applied Linguistics) for revision of the English language and for formatting the PowerPoint itself.
- My objective in this presentation was also to show the syllabus learned during the 3-month English language course of about 24 classes. I am very grateful for his assistance.