The Macao population is increasingly interested in speaking Portuguese. At the same time, fewer and fewer Portuguese in the territory and less use of Portuguese in the public and private sphere. According to several bilingual speakers heard by PLATAFORMA, the socio-cultural context is essential to build a bridge with Portuguese-speaking countries. On the other hand, they point to an imbalance between the growing supply and little demand for competent personnel in both languages.
The Portuguese language continues to be, along with Chinese, one of the official languages of Macau. However, there are many challenges that its preservation and even development will face in the coming years. There are fewer and fewer Portuguese in the territory, which is a scenario that, for now, seems difficult to get around.
There is, effectively, an increase in the population of Portuguese descent (+0.4 percent) between 2011 and 2021. Even so, they represent only 1.4 percent of the population. Of Portuguese nationality, there are 3,791 more people compared to 2011.
However, the population born in Portugal is moving in the opposite direction: from 0.4 percent, they now represent 0.3 percent of the population, which represents almost 3,000 people. It is estimated that the departure of the Portuguese increased even more with the maintenance of the zero Covid policy until the beginning of 2023.
Miguel de Senna Fernandes, lawyer and president of the Associação dos Macaenses, notes that “there has never been so much discourse from the Government to promote the Portuguese language” and that this, naturally, has been reflected in an “increase in people enrolled in Portuguese courses”.
However, it separates the waters. “There is a difference between the promotion of the language and its practical implementation in everyday life. I do not see this implementation and it is necessary to create these contexts”. Therefore, Senna de Fernandes asks the Government: “What do you really want from the Portuguese language?”. Secondly, “to be a Sino-Lusophone platform, is mere superficial knowledge of the language enough?”.
The official applauds the initiative and the will of the authorities, but stresses that it is “necessary to align the strategy with the objective” which, in his view, “is to effectively use the language”.
Portuguese schools as proof The student composition of schools that teach Portuguese in Macau is proof of both sides of the coin. There are fewer and fewer Portuguese students, but the truth is that these vacancies are being filled by non-native Portuguese speaking students. In the case of the Portuguese School of Macau, it will even have to expand its facilities to meet demand, now that these students already make up “above 40 percent” of the student body, according to the president, José Manuel Machado.
At the D. José Costa Nunes Kindergarten, these students already “represent much more than 50 percent”, says Miguel de Senna Fernandes, also president of the Associação Promodora da Instrução dos Macaenses, which manages the facilities.
Bleeding in Public Service
The loss of Portuguese is also noted in the Civil Service. 316 employees left between 2021 and 2022, with the vast majority dominating the Portuguese language (264), according to the Directorate of Administration and Public Function Services (SAFP).
In total, 9,170 civil servants speak Portuguese, i.e. around 29 percent – a drop of 2.8 percent compared to 2021.
On the other hand, Chinese-Portuguese (oral) bilinguals totaled 8,824, against 9,060 in 2021 – minus 236 or 2.6 percent. Chinese and Portuguese-speaking scribes even less (8,764), a drop of 217 people or 2.4 percent compared to 2021.
PLATAFORMA asked the services if they were concerned about replacing these jobs, but had no response until the close of the edition.
Rita Santos, president of the General Assembly of the Macao Civil Service Workers Association (ATFPM), says that they have “fought for the need to give priority to candidates who master the two official languages so that in public services the Portuguese language can be respected and high in terms of use both internally and externally”. In his view, public services have not been effective in communicating in Portuguese, noting frequent errors and even their absence in certain services. The person in charge says that it is “necessary to hire employees who have a good knowledge of the Portuguese language” and suggests that “priority” be given to these professionals in the positions of managers and supervisors.
Deficits of the bilingual market
Even so, the idea left with is that the job market, public or private, does not look so much for bilingual talents, or at least those who are translators-interpreters.
Leonel Guerra is a young bilingual teacher. In his opinion, mastering the two official languages “is a tool that helps”, but it does not provide guarantees in Macau. “People who learn Portuguese or Chinese-Portuguese translation will have an advantage in the job market. However, this degree is not always relevant at work. I have six colleagues who studied translation with me. Today, only one is working in the field of translation”, he explains.
The reason? “Translation needs a high level of understanding of both languages, which is not enough to start practicing only in higher education”.
On the other hand, more is required than mastery of languages. At Universidade São José, the Portuguese-Chinese Translation Studies course, which by the way is post-employment, “mainly interests second degree students who are already employed and intend to add new skills (…) or, eventually, change jobs. job to work for the Government of Macau,” Tania Ribeiro Marques, coordinator of the institution’s language and culture department, tells the newspaper.
Exactly one year ago, 1,279 professionals were registered in Macao’s Chinese-Portuguese bilingual talent database, more than half of which were registered as translators. Of the bilingual professionals, only 6.94 percent lived in Macau. “There is a lack of Chinese-Portuguese bilingual talent in various professional fields. Despite the fact that the Government attaches great importance to its development”, Ma Io Fong, a member of the Legislative Assembly, told our newspaper at the time.
The data, in his opinion, proved two things: “Macao’s industry is not diversified enough to absorb relevant talent” and that “the monolithic and non-localized nature of our bilingual professional force, in the long term, will not be conducive to the development of platform between China and the Portuguese Speaking Countries (PLP).”
A year later, the situation has improved. There are over 635 bilingual talents registered on the platform, and 7.68 percent reside in Macau (+0.74 percent). Those enrolled as just translators also dropped a percentage point.
“It seems to me that the Government has understood the need to diversify the development of bilingual talents in the territory, and recently we have seen new subsidy programs launched by the authorities, aimed at students studying in Portugal, and which have begun to cover new areas such as technology and science,” says Dinis Chan, member of the Portuguese Translator Association (APT) and the Association of Translation and Interpreting Professionals in Portugal (APTRAD).
Too many talents?
The truth is that Macau is turning away bilingual talent from abroad. To PLATAFORMA, there are two residents from the interior of China who confirm the refusal of a residence permit because there are people with the same qualifications at the domestic level.
Viviana Chan, a journalist with academic qualifications as a Chinese-Portuguese translator, is one of them. In 2018, when she was working at the Tribuna de Macau, she filed an application with the Macau Institute for the Promotion of Trade and Investment (IPIM). In 2021, the answer came. Among the various justifications for the refusal, the written hearing mentions: “He does not have much experience in the exercise of the profession”; “there are no documents proving your qualification”; and “there are no certificates, honorary titles, or medals of merit”.
“When I applied, I already had seven years of experience. When the answer was submitted, I already had 10. I handed over the documents proving my higher education qualifications as a Chinese-Portuguese translator-interpreter, along with two or three journalism awards from Fundação Oriente”.
However, that wasn’t enough. The answer also reads: “Looking for work with identical qualifications are 19, of which at least 12 candidates are looking for the same type of work.” The authority indicated that between 2014-2015 and 2018-2019 there were a total of 734 graduates in the field of Chinese-Portuguese translation.
Another case is that of a teacher who has been working at a higher education institution in Macau for six years, with a ‘blue card’.
PLATAFORMA accepted the interviewee’s anonymity as he still belongs to the staff. He graduated in Portuguese Studies at the University of Macau, did a master’s degree at the University of Lisbon and is now finalizing his doctoral thesis at the same Portuguese university. He submitted the request for resident fixation to IPIM in 2018 and the refusal came in… 2023. The professor complains that, during the five years, IPIM never asked him for additional documents to justify his quality.
“In my opinion, Chinese and Portuguese bilingual talents no longer fit within the scope of talent sought by the Macao SAR. Four most important sectors were defined in the new regime”. The teacher refers to the four emerging industries to achieve economic diversification: big health; modern finance; cutting-edge technologies; and conventions, exhibitions and trade.
Culture “at the language level”
Leonel Guerra states that “the promotion of Portuguese culture at school is still at the language level”. “When I learned Portuguese, I didn’t learn anything about the culture of other Portuguese-speaking countries, but that subject was in the book!”, He highlights.
Dinis Chan considers this a flaw that the reduction of the Portuguese community only exacerbates. “Regular contact and close interaction with the target community are fundamental and essential for learning any language, and, certainly, familiarization with that same culture are core elements of this process.
From a pragmatic point of view, it is not possible to completely master a language without knowing its culture”.
“Absolutely impossible”, reacts Miguel de Senna Fernandes, adding that, therefore, “a socio-cultural context has to be created” conducive to the implementation of the use of the language and the training of bilingual staff.
Future of portuguese
“The Portuguese language seems to be being reduced to a mere formality, instead of being something of material or substantial utility. Even if the local administration is willing to promote it, the final result will always depend on the social dynamics in which these initiatives are inserted”, adds Dinis, warning of the consequences that this brings in terms of relations with the PLP. “Macau has an innate advantage due to its historical-political ties with Portugal, however, over time, this history could be diluted and weakened if we do not strive to preserve it, especially with the emergence of new players on the scene”.
Rita Santos, also president of the Regional Council for Asia and Oceania of Portuguese Communities, calls for “greater dissemination of the Portuguese language as the official language of the Macao SAR, so that parents feel that, by learning Portuguese, their children can have a better future for fulfilling their role service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in the Macao SAR”.
Miguel de Senna Fernandes says that to fulfill the agenda “it will take time”, but that it could take even longer if the strategy remains unchanged, pointing to the continuous creation of courses. “Are there few Portuguese courses? I think that’s not the problem. It seems to me that if the idea is to go beyond general knowledge, the plan has to be adapted to that reality.” In this sense, the official said that a phased and transparent plan should be drawn up for the implementation of the Portuguese language in Macau.
