The first Portuguese-Vietnamese thematic dictionary has been published.

This dictionary will contribute to enhancing exchange and understanding on politics , economics, and culture between Vietnam and Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

On September 6th, in Hanoi , the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship and Cooperation Association, a member of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, held a ceremony to launch the Portuguese-Vietnamese thematic dictionary (Portuguese-Vietnamese Thematic Dictionary).

Cuốn từ điển chủ đề Bồ Đào Nha-Việt Nam lần đầu được xuất bản

The Portuguese-Vietnamese thematic dictionary, published by The World Publishing House, was reintroduced at the launch ceremony. (Photo: Le An)

Attending the ceremony were Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations; Mr. Marco Farani, Ambassador of Brazil to Vietnam; Mr. Nguyen Van Lang, President of the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship and Cooperation Association; and representatives from the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism… along with representatives from research institutes, businesses, and socio-political organizations in Vietnam.

According to Dr. Nguyen Van Lang, President of the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship and Cooperation Association, Portuguese is spoken in over 8 countries and territories, with approximately 280 million users, making it the 6th most widely spoken language among the 10 most popular languages in the world.

However, this language barrier has hindered peaceful relations, friendship, solidarity, people-to-people exchanges, and mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and Brazil – an important partner of Vietnam in Latin America.

Currently, the teaching and learning of Portuguese in Vietnam is still quite limited. The only publications used for teaching and learning Portuguese are the "Portuguese-Vietnamese Dictionary," an internally published work for the purpose of exporting labor, printed in 1989 by the Federation for Technical and Expert Cooperation with Foreign Countries – Hanoi Foreign Language Training Center, in a small print run.

Therefore, the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship and Cooperation Association has taken the lead in compiling this dictionary to contribute to strengthening exchanges and mutual understanding in politics, economics, and culture between Vietnam and Brazil in particular, and Portuguese-speaking countries in general.

Accordingly, the Association mobilized and gathered Portuguese language lecturers and researchers from universities, diplomatic agencies, and various other organizations to form a compilation group.

During the process of compiling the dictionary, the Association received support and encouragement from many agencies, departments, and organizations, both in spirit and in material terms, especially the Brazilian Embassy in Vietnam.

Associate Professor Dr. Vu Kim Bang, Head of the Editorial Board, also stated that the Portuguese-Vietnamese thematic dictionary was created to meet the needs of many people who love and wish for the Portuguese language to be widely disseminated and used in Vietnam.

This book is compiled using the latest materials and methods, aiming to serve both the learning and teaching of Portuguese in Vietnam, and to provide practical assistance to Vietnamese people who need to work, do business, visit, or travel in Portuguese-speaking countries.

The Portuguese-Vietnamese Thematic Dictionary is a basic Portuguese language textbook for Vietnamese speakers, structured in three parts as follows:

Part one provides a general introduction to the phonetic, morphological, and syntactic characteristics of the Portuguese language and the community of Portuguese-speaking countries worldwide.

This section provides readers with a general overview of the typological characteristics of Portuguese, a Romance language belonging to the Eurasian language family. Furthermore, it offers a glimpse into the distribution of Portuguese-speaking countries across continents.

Part two of the dictionary is compiled with 17 communication topics related to the most essential issues concerning political institutions, socio-economics, and cultural life. Each topic has a tight structure, arranged in a scientific order.

The topics are selected based on their practical applicability to users. People who work or travel can immediately apply the Portuguese phrases, words, and sentences from each topic to real-life communication situations.

Part three presents a basic Portuguese-Vietnamese vocabulary list containing approximately 15,000 common words and phrases, along with relevant examples appropriate to their context, enabling readers to look up and understand the meanings of essential words.

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