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Joke about “Brazilian” Portuguese imagines Portugal as ‘Brazilian Guiana’ and exposes historical tensions, prejudice and risk of xenophobia.
“Brazilian” Portuguese has become the center of controversy on social media in recent days. A “battle of memes” has begun on the internet. The main joke imagined Portugal as a new Brazilian state, “Brazilian Guiana”. The trigger was a disagreement over the use of the Portuguese language by a Spanish club. However, the online discussion ended up revealing deeper social and historical tensions between Brazil and Portugal, raising debates about “Brazilian” Portuguese.
The “battle of memes”: Portugal reimagined as a Brazilian state
The controversy about the differences The linguistic differences between Brazil and Portugal generated a wave of creative memes. Brazilian internet users, in particular, began to imagine Portugal as part of Brazil. The most popular name was “Brazilian Guiana”, alluding to the border with Spain.
Other humorous suggestions included “Pernambuco em Pé” or “Mato Grosso do Norte”. The creativity showed that, when it comes to memes, “the sky is not the limit”. Some Portuguese users also joined in the fun. However, not all reactions were positive, indicating the sensitivity of the topic.
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How it started: the post that sparked the “Brazilian” Portuguese controversy
The starting point for this recent wave of memes and discussions was a post from a Spanish women’s football club. When announcing the signing of a Portuguese player, the team posted a photo of her with the caption “Hey guys!”
Portuguese users reacted negatively. They argued that this expression is characteristic of “Brazilian” Portuguese and is not used in Portugal. They accused the Spanish club of linguistic disrespect. In response to these criticisms, Brazilian users started the “meme battle”, including the idea of “Portuguese Guiana”.
“Brazilian” Portuguese and Portuguese from Portugal: the same language?
The controversy also reignited a recurring linguistic debate: the “Brazilian” Portuguese and the Portuguese spoken in Portugal are the same language? A professor at USP (University of São Paulo), as cited in the source, argues that, despite the differences (such as slang and accents), one still cannot speak two distinct languages.
However, he points out that the grammatical constructions and vocabulary are becoming increasingly distant. This could eventually lead to two separate languages in the future. The professor also highlights that it is natural for the greater emphasis to be placed on “Brazilian” Portuguese on the world stage, due to the size of the Brazilian population. He even suggests, perhaps provocatively, that Brazilians would now be the “owners” of the Portuguese language.
