What is the difference between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese?

Languages grow and evolve over time relative to the regions in which they’re spoken. The Portuguese language has changed a lot since colonial times when Portugal was a major ocean-going power. Today, although there are many linguistic similarities between Brazil and Portugal, two of the largest Portuguese speaking countries in the world, there are quite a few variations in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, expression, and spelling which must be taken into consideration when translating and localizing. In order to achieve the best customer experience in Brazil and Portugal with localized products, companies should never translate into one version of Portuguese and use it for the other and vice versa. Doing so only serves to create poor brand image in the target market. The good news is that translation services like Stepes have developed specialized processes to allow our professional native translators in both counties to more efficiently adapt and repurpose Portuguese text for the best results.

What Is Portuguese Language Reform?

Popularly called the Portuguese Spelling Reform, the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement was created in 1990 and began implementation among Portuguese speaking countries in 2009 after the initial transition period. Official documents and publications from government institutions began adopting the new writing standard in 2012. It formally came into law in 2015.

The reform aims to unify the different spelling systems and certain grammar rules used among Portuguese speaking countries (Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé & Príncipe, and East Timor) to make the language more universally accepted among the world’s 270 million Portuguese speakers. In terms of language translation services, the reform makes it easier for translating for the worldwide Portuguese market.