Also Known As:
Macao Creole Portuguese, Macaense, Macanese, Maquista, Makista, 澳門土生葡語
Dialects & Varieties
personal communication on Patuá
David Bradley. March 31, 2014. "Personal Communication on Patuá."
Critically Endangered
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~ 50
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 5
A small percentage of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing very rapidly.
5
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 5
Used only in a few very specific domains, such as in ceremonies, songs, prayer, proverbs, or certain limited domestic activities.
5
Transmission
Transmission 5
There are only a few elderly speakers.
5
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
60,000 (10,000 in Macao, China; 50,000 elsewhere)
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
Cantonese as the local language in Macao and Hong Kong; Mandarin and Portuguese as the official languages of Macao; English being diglossic high in Macao and Hong Kong; some ethnic immigrants in Portugal; A majority of overseas ethnic Patuá living in US and Canada.
Location and Context
Countries
China; Portugal; US; Canada
Location Description
overseas ethnic Patuá in US, Canada and Portugal; native speakers found mainly in Macao (China), with a few in Hong Kong (China)
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
No results found.
Other Languages Used By The Community
Cantonese; Portuguese; Mandarin; English
Number of Other Language Speakers:
all
Domains of Other Languages:
all domains
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
Latin scripts
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
well-documented: two dictionaries (Senna Fernandes & Baxter 2001; Alan Baxter 2004) and some other studies; has its written literature and song lyrics since 1950
Recent Resources
A Dóci Papiaçam di Macau's version of the patuá song written in patua by the late José "Adé" dos San