UM holds Portuguese Language Day

The University of Macau’s (UM) Department of Portuguese held the Portuguese Language Day on 10 April 2015. Part of the internal non-academic activities organised by the Department of Portuguese, this annual event aims to stimulate the students’ interest in the Portuguese language and the diverse cultures of the nations whose official language is Portuguese.

On the Portuguese Language Day, all bachelor’s students of Portuguese studies from the Department of Portuguese put on a variety show that includes poetry reading, short theatrical works, and songs from the various Portuguese-speaking countries. 

This year’s event kicked off with a language and culture relay competition on the campus. This is the first time that master’s students of translation studies participated in the event. These students presented the translation of a poem by the Chinese writer Jia Pingwa into Portuguese, as well as a poem by the renowned Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, into Chinese. Besides the presentation of short sketches created by the students, one group of undergraduates performed a play by the Brazilian playwright Nelson Rodrigues.  Other novelties in this year’s event included a short film produced by a group of undergraduates and the dubbing of a short animated film into Portuguese, done live on stage, by third-year students.