http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/23/world/americas/23brazil.html?em&ex=1161748800&en=30d4477d3cc2cdb2&ei=5087%0A What do you think?
Portuguese is a rich language indeed. The Brazilian "accent" is a myth; it was inevitable that in a nation as vast as Brazil, regional dialects would arise. The paulistano's style contrasts with the dragging R's of the carioca; the slow and slightly country-like drawl of the mineiro is easily distinguishable from the intonated inflection of the gaucho. But Portuguese getting global recognition? I think it's a daunting task to say the least. Spanish is already recognized as the primary language of Latin America; there are I think 500 million speakers. English and French, we all know. Italian and German are still taught and sought after. In the world of business, the 1980s saw the ascension of Japanese and now with China's emergence, Chinese has gained in popularity. It's great though that an effort is being made.
No one can really disagree that Brasil's influence both in culture and sports is still making o português relevant to the world today "Spanish, badly spoken"...? putz! rsrs (BTW: i didn't know Chile bordered us?!?!?!? rsrs) i was really somewhat impressed when i went to that border city in Paraguay two months ago... and most of the store workers spoke português (or perhaps portunhol! haha) Yeah, i'm sure most of us brasileiros are probably biased in this debate, but i'd much rather prefer our "colourfully casual version" of português than espanhol And sadly, i'd have to agree with Century here that it would probably difficult to make português an officially recognised language of the UN or for international recognition