Page 35 - Macau_Group Project

Languages
Historical background,
Languages in Macau indicated the sporadic legacies inherited from the
geographical and natural
colonial era. Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages in Macau.
Even though Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese are gradually replacing
features of the city
Portuguese except during non-Chinese official decorum, the official Basic
Law is still singly authorized the Portuguese version. Together with
abundant places and street named in Portuguese, the quaint balance of

Chinese and Portuguese maintains the cultural uniqueness of Macau even
after colonial rule and ongoing sinicization.

Self-recognition: Chinese, Macau Chinese and Macanese

According to an interview conducted by Eric (2016), Macau residents

showed a tight belongingness to China. 88% of them considered
themselves “Chinese of Macau” or “Chinese,” while only 12% answered

“Macau,” showing a much high identical recognition to China, contrast to
their counterpart, Hong Kong, with 49% of interviewees recognized

themselves “Chinese” (HKUPOP, 2016). The major affecting factor of their
self-recognition is length of residence – immigrants after 1999
characterized themselves “Chinese” more often.

Macanese is an emergence of distinctive ethnic group of Eurasians with
close connections to the Portuguese-based communities in Macau, who

largely depends on the individual’s relationship with Portuguese heritage,
e.g. language, Catholicism and phenotypic appearance.

.

The Famous band

from Macau, Soler,

is the exemplary

example of

“Macanese.”