Portuguese in Austria

Austrian Portuguese

Luso-austríacos (Portuguese) Portugiesen in Österreich (German)
Total population
7,245
Languages
German, Portuguese
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholicism), noreligion
Related ethnic groups
Other Portuguese people, Portuguese in Germany, Portuguese in Liechtenstein, Portuguese in Switzerland

Portuguese in Austria (German: Portugiesen in Österreich) are citizens and residents of Austria who are of Portuguese descent.

Portuguese in Austria (also known as Portuguese Austrians/ Austrian–Portuguese Community or, in Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Áustria/ Comunidade portuguesa na Áustria/ Luso-austríacos) are the citizens or residents of Austria whose ethnic origins lie in Portugal.

Portuguese Austrians are Portuguese-born citizens with Austrian citizenship or Austrian-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.

There were 7,245 Portuguese people residing in Austria in 2021.^[1] The Portuguese constitute approximately 0.08% of the country's population.^[2] Portuguese tend not to acquire Austrian nationality – only 34 have done so since 2000 – because, in naturalising as Austrian citizens, they would be deprived of their Portuguese passport.^[3]

History

Map showing the location of the two countries within Europe

Portuguese people have had contacts with Austria since the Middle Ages for trade. The connections between Portugal and the then Archduchy of Austria trace back to the 15th century. The presence of a Portuguese Legation in Vienna has been documented since the late 17th century, with the earliest diplomatic mission dating back to April 1696. In addition, members of Portuguese royalty have married Austrian monarchs in many occasions, with one of the first being Eleanor of Portugal.^[1][4]

Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria (née Infanta of Portugal) with her children

Portuguese people have started migrating to Austria – mainly for economic reasons – only recently, with the first immigrants coming in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Portuguese community in Austria isn't expressive if compared to the ones found in neighbouring countries such as Switzerland – where immigration was boosted due to French language being widely spoken in Portugal – or Germany, where many Portuguese moved as guest workers in the 1960s.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Portuguese have starting migrating to Austria in larger numbers since the 2008 Recession. Of the almost 11,000 Portuguese that arrived in Austria since 2002, 83.8% did so after 2008 and 68.3% after 2012, year in which the unemployment rate in Portugal soared to 16.1%.^{[10][3][11][12]}

The first Portuguese immigrants coming to Austria reported racism and discrimination events. As time went by – and especially after Austria's accession to the EU – the situation has improved and Portuguese in Austria now enjoy the same rights of other Portuguese citizens.^{[13][14][15][16]} It is noteworthy that Austrian people have helped Portugal in numerous occasions, just like Portugal did (for instance, during WWII).^[17] The last major contribution of Austrians to Portuguese was when, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, Austrian hospitals offered to host some Portuguese patients.^[18][19]

The two countries enjoy friendly relationships and mutual trust, witnessing increasing trade and linguistic cooperation as well.^[20] Both countries are EU members. They also share a common currency.

The Portuguese community in the country is highly integrated and qualified. For instance, in 2019 Portuguese chemist Nuno Maulide was considered the "Scientist of the year" in Austria.^[21][22] The Portuguese in Austria are a tight-knitted community and host many events to promote their country.^[23][24][25]

Footballers

In recent years some Portuguese international footballers have moved to Austria to play for Austrian clubs. In 2023 these included: Micael Liljenberg (ATSV Fischamend)^[26] and Bruno Casteleiro (SV Pirka).^[27]

Remittances

The Portuguese community in Austria retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2022, it has sent approximately 132.3 million euros (€) to Portugal in remittances. In the same timeframe, Austrians in Portugal (numbering around 1,700 individuals)^[28][29] have sent approximately 5.6 million euros (€) to Austria.^[3]

Portuguese language

Despite the Portuguese language lacking widespread knowledge in the country, interest towards Portuguese culture is increasing. According to a 2012 survey carried out by Eurostat, around 0.29% of Austrians spoke Portuguese. This means that is likely that in the country there were around 25,000–30,000 Portuguese speakers in 2012. Due to globalization and immigration – most notably from Brazil – the total number of Lusophones is now probably higher.^[30]

In fact, as of today, the Portuguese are part of a wider Portuguese-speaking community in Austria, comprising around 760 people from PALOP countries (the majority being from Angola), Timor-Leste or Macau and around 8,000 Brazilians.^{[31][32][33][34]} People from CPLP countries thus number around 16,000 people, accounting for 0.17% of the population of Austria.

In addition, in Austria there are several elderly individuals who possess a desire to acquire proficiency in the language, motivated by their fondness for it, frequent visits to Portugal, or a simple curiosity and interest in engaging in cognitive exercises.^[35][36]

The Portuguese community has strong ties with its homeland and Portuguese is widely spoken, although younger generations tend to prefer German, especially outside of family setting.^[37][38][39] The Portuguese language has been incorporated into the curriculum of foreign languages instructed as a native language (ancestral language) within state schools situated in Vienna. This represents a cost-free and discretionary course, made available commencing from the initial year within the Austrian educational framework. The frequency of instruction is scheduled at either a once-weekly or twice-weekly interval, throughout the academic calendar running from September to June. Furthermore, pupils enrolled in private institutions also hold the opportunity to partake in this particular initiative. There are also many institutions providing Portuguese language lessons throughout the country.^{[40][41][42][43]}

Notable people

• Emanuel Viveiros (1966): Canadian-Austrian ice hockey player and coach

See also

• Austria-Portugal relations
• Portuguese in Germany
• Portuguese in Liechtenstein
• Portuguese in Switzerland

References

1. "Áustria". Portal Diplomático (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
2. "Homepage". STATISTICS AUSTRIA. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
3. "Observatório da Emigração". observatorioemigracao.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
4. TEMPO, ESPAÇO E IDENTIDADE NA CULTURA PORTUGUESA 40 ANOS DE ESTUDOS LUSÓFONOS NA ROMÉNIA : PERSPETIVAS E DESAFIOS (in Brazilian Portuguese). Editura Universității din București – Bucharest University Press. 1 January 2021. ISBN 978-606-16-1264-2.
5. "Enseignement. Au Portugal, "la langue française est de retour !"". Courrier international (in French). 26 September 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
6. Consulting, par Vivre au Portugal (3 October 2019). "La langue française au Portugal • VAP Consulting". vivreauportugalconsulting.com (in French). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
7. "Le grand retour au pays des Portugais de Suisse". rts.ch (in French). 13 February 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
8. swissinfo.ch, <Alexander Thoele>, (Traduction du portugais: Olivier Pauchard) (18 December 2012). ""Avec les Portugais, la Suisse a gagné à la loterie"". SWI swissinfo.ch (in French). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
9. "Ópera e ensino dual na agenda de Passos Coelho". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). 21 February 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
10. "Taxa de desemprego: total e por sexo (%)". www.pordata.pt. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
11. "Emigração portuguesa para a Áustria aumenta pelo segundo ano consecutivo" (in European Portuguese). 15 June 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
12. "Entrada de portugueses na Áustria mantém-se estável". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
13. DIA, BOM (29 September 2013). "Portugueses de Viena temem ultranacionalistas". BOM DIA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
14. "Estela: "Os anúncios de jornal diziam 'não se aluga a estrangeiros' e isso era uma coisa normal"". #sóqnão (in European Portuguese). 31 May 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
15. "Emigrantes portugueses na Áustria indignados com discriminação nos corredores turísticos". Jornal SOL (in Portuguese). 8 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
16. Ataque Viena: ferido português é um estudante que foi baleado e "está a recuperar bem" (in Portuguese), retrieved 25 August 2023
17. "As crianças da Áustria que Portugal acolheu após a II Guerra Mundial". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). 19 June 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
18. ""Por uns pagam os outros": SIC esteve com uma família portuguesa confinada em casa na Áustria". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 24 November 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
19. "Apoio da Áustria ao combate à pandemia em Portugal". www.portugal.gov.pt. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
20. "Portuguesa Magic Beans quer expandir-se para Alemanha e Áustria". Dinheiro Vivo (in European Portuguese). 10 January 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
21. PÚBLICO (7 January 2019). "O português Nuno Maulide é o Cientista do Ano na Áustria". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
22. "Nuno Maulide. A sinfonia da Química". contacto-online (in Portuguese). 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
23. "Casa Portuguesa". CASA PORTUGUESA Austria (in European Portuguese). 6 December 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
24. "Österreichisch – Portugiesische Gesellschaft". Österreichisch – Portugiesische Gesellschaft (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
25. "Mercadinho de Portugal". 13 February 2022.
26. "Kader – KM – Saison 2023/24 – Mannschaften". vereine.oefb.at (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
27. "Kader – KM – Saison 2023/24 – Mannschaften". vereine.oefb.at (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
28. "Sefstat" (PDF).
29. "Auslandsösterreicher:innen". STATISTIK AUSTRIA (in Austrian German). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
30. "Most popular languages in Austria · Explore which languages are spoken in Austria". languageknowledge.eu. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
31. "Brasileiros no exterior" (PDF).
32. "Acquisition of citizenship by age group, sex and former citizenship". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
33. "Population on 1 January by age group, sex and country of birth".
34. "All valid permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship on 31 December of each year".
35. Santos, Paula (11 December 2021). ""Aqui na Áustria fala-se do militar que tem ajudado Portugal a combater a pandemia", Cláudia Fernandes, portuguesa a viver na Áustria, há 18 anos". Júlia, de Bem com a Vida (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
36. "Filme português "Sangue do meu sangue" premiado na Áustria". Jornal Expresso (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
37. Fernandes, Cláudia (5 August 2016). O comportamento linguístico dos emigrantes portugueses na Áustria. ISBN 978-3-631-69330-8.
38. "Alunos portugueses na Áustria reforçam o apreço pela natureza – Uma semana de novas experiências e aprendizagens no âmbito do Projeto Erasmus+ – Agrupamento Escolas Josefa de Óbidos" (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
39. "Curso de Verão luso-austríaco 2022 na Áustria – Observatório da Língua Portuguesa". observalinguaportuguesa.org. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
40. "Ensino da Língua Portuguesa". Ministério das Relações Exteriores (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
41. Fernandes, Cláudia. "Português falado na Áustria". De volta ao futuro da lingua portuguesa. Atas do V SIMELP – Simpósio Mundial de Estudos de Língua Portuguesa.
42. "Áustria". Camões, I.P. (in European Portuguese). 23 June 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
43. "ABM e Áustria promovem o português como língua de herança". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 21 June 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2023.