was portuguese language created before spanish?
491193
Spanish is not exactly a language the correct name is Castilian.
1185924
Many poorly educated and more then likely illiterate early Colonial settlers pronounced the word Niger  ( Latin / Roman for Black ) as N***** . The English and Dutch settlers used the word Niger for imported Black slaves. All romance languages ( French, Spanish, Portuguese ) are derived from Latin, so Negro was the Portuguese and Spanish version for Niger and more heavily used in South America and certain Caribbean Islands were slaves were exported to. The original Latin name can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible ( the Niger River being one of the four rivers flowing from the Garden of Eden ) and is the name of current African countries Niger and Nigeria. The Romans derived the word from the ancient Nubian's who referred to their Emperor as Ngr ( no vowels were used in their ancient language like Hebrew ) which meant the Black God and whom represented God on earth to them. It is actually quite ironic that\na name which basically meant God has come to be known\nas a derogatory word. Then again if Black people\nreally studied there own history, they wouldn't be so easily confused by the fake psycho babble that the word is bad. FYI ... certain acronyms have become racial slurs but once fully explained they actually seem pretty silly. \nExample. Spanish Portuguese Indian Colored  ( SP!@ ) and With Out Papers ( W@P) . Silly but as I stated earlier alot of this stuff is started by uneducated and illiterate people.
1122624
This is a popular notion, and it has actually been tried. Two artificial languages were created, one called Esperanto, which is still in use, the other called Ro, which has pretty much died out. \nThe problem with creating artificial languages, is that you have to make up a grammar to go with it. \nSwahili, for example, is a 'created' language. It began as a lingua franca - or a pidgin language, used by traders to communicate with Africans. As such, it had a few basic words. Very basic. And no grammar. Over time, that wasn't enough, and as different people used the language, they contributed to it from their own languages. Today, Swahili is a mixture of five basic languages, Bantu, Arabic, English, French and German. Traces of other languages have been absorbed into it as well. But the complicating factor is that as each bit of language was added, the grammar attached to that language was added as well. So how you decline verbs, for example, depends on which language the verb came from originally. Today, Swahili is a rich and complex language, and people who learn it from childhood assimilate these grammatical rules without even thinking about it. Swahili worked because it was used in a limited area. But think what would happen if you tried to make a language that incorporated most of the world's languages? It would be so cumbersome as to be unworkable. And whose languages would be ignored? Whose languages would be most prominent? These are serious cultural issues. \nEsperanto, which was created as a completely artifical language, doesn't evolve well. It has difficulty in including modern concepts. And with no one to monitor it, people in various parts of the globe can add what seem to them to be appropriate words to describe new inventions, new situations, slang terms etc. Look what has happened to English over the past few centuries? People in England, Ireland, Scotland, New York, South Carolina, Australia, India all speak English, but it's very difficult sometimes to understand what they are saying because they use regional accents and regional terminology.\nThe notion of one language may seem Utopian at the moment, but given that television is breaking down geographic barriers around the world, it may become the medium that truly does permit international communication. \nAt least, that's my take on it.
962031
portuguese were big traders in asia.  perhaps it comes from them.
311751
Well in all honesty there are many languages you might check out. You see Spanish is a Romance Language, which is derived from Latin. There are many languages similar to this such as Italian, French, and Portugese. If you are looking for a challenge, you might take on Russian. There language is totally different and derived from the cyrilic alphabet. Hope this helps.
644690
Of course it is.  I mean, it's just like how J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books based on the movies; but she decided to add a bunch of other stuff that wasn't included in the movies.  The same thing for the alphabet--someone decided to sing a song, and then write down the letters to form the alphabet. Um...no...\n\nThe Phoenicians made a written alphabet for their spoken languages as a means to keep records of their trading.  Our alphabet and the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Cyrillic and many other languages too.\n\nEdit: \nTo the person above me: it was based on Latin, yes, but where do you think Latin was based on?
789760
That person is a LATINO because portuguese is a Latin lenguage, same way with spanish and italian.\nA Brazilian person cannot be Hispanic, because Hispanic people come frome countries whose lenguage is Spanish.\n\nIt dosent matter if you are Palestinian, Black, White, Yellow or Blue, you are still a Latino
330112
The Phoenicians came up with the first alphabet, but it was really the Greeks who placed in the alphabet in more or less the order it is used in English.\nThe Romans really finalized the alphabet, and most of English is derived from Latin, French, German and Greek.
163696
I believe its portuguese for "song"
344745
The first form of alphabet that was used by the natives was the Alibata.\n\nAnd then it was followed by an alphabet containing the following letters: A B K D E G H I N L M Ñ NG N O P R S T U W Y\n\nThen the Americans added these letters to the previous alphabet: C F J Q V X Z\n\nThat's all I can remember. Pardon me if my previous answer wasn't clear enough.
210531
Maybe you mean Maltese? Check here: http://www.ethnologue.com/language_index.asp?letter=M\n\nThis site has the history of thousands of languages.
987462
Hello,\n\nThat is cool, that you want to learn Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese is slightly different from the Portuguese spoken, in Portugal with pronunciation, syntax and also word order and some words are said different.\n\nPimsleur recorded books and rosetta stone are what people are using now, i have used the Pimsleur recorded book it is great because it is like recorded conversations. It is expensive so i borrowed it from my local library. \n\nIf you want something free from the internet, try www.byki.com and remmeber to click on Brazilian Portuguese.\n\nTo tell you the truth me being an English speaker it wasn't hard at all, it was very interesting because i am facinated by Languages and also Culture. My advice to you is take your time and pace your self and learning.\n\nTeach yourself brazilian portuguese, is also great if you want to travel
469451
In large part because of its mixed history.  It is, at base, a Germanic langauge (Anglo-saxon) which then became mixed with a Northern Germanic language (with the Viking invaders), and then with a Romance language (with the Norman invasion.)  There are dollops of other languages as well.  This melange has created a language with inconsistent rules and practices (exaggerated by the fact that some parts of the language have evolved over time more than others, and because so many different parts of the world now speak English.)
1013017
Your question really deals with the development of language.  Etymology is the study of the origins of words.  It's been suggested that, at one point, there was a common spoken language.  If a common language did exist, it's origins lay in East Africa, over 150,000 years ago.  Since recorded history only deals with the last five thousand years, our attempts to find the origins of words is difficult, at best.\n\nIn your particular case, Cats were first domesticated some 8,000 years ago in Egypt, most likely from the African Wild Cat.  Since that's 3000 years before recorded history, we have a significant challenge in learning the origin of the word Cat.  Dogs were probably domesticated long before Cats, as well.\n\nThe below link may be of some help however, in dealing with modern languages.
816352
Brazil was still under Portugal in 1800.\nThe connection between Portugal and Brazil was severed when Napoleon I and his armies invaded Portugal and Spain in 1807 and 1808. Napoleon, who had become emperor of France following the French Revolution (1789-1799), deposed and imprisoned the Spanish king Ferdinand VII in 1808. This left the Spanish American colonies isolated from royal control and set off a chain reaction that led to a series of long and bloody wars for independence. Brazil avoided a similar fate when the monarchy fled Lisbon shortly before French troops entered the city in 1807. With the help of their British allies, who were fighting Napoleon’s forces, the royal family and 10,000 Portuguese followers made an unprecedented voyage across the Atlantic to Brazil, transferring the center of the empire to Rio de Janeiro. For the first and last time in Western history, a European monarch would rule his empire from the colonies
952141
Chinese might be the Oldest . But languages in Ancient Scriptures found for Ancient Egyptian and Indus Valley Civilizations might also be older than Chinese. And so could be predecessors of Greek and Latin . So it is an Open ENDED Question  !!!
827731
Check your history moron all this belonged to Spain and Mexico at one time so Spanish was spoken here long before you were a wet spot.