Macau

To which language should you translate to localize in Macau?

Macau’s linguistic heritage is closely interlinked with the city’s history as a former Portuguese colony. It has two official languages: Chinese and Portuguese. Macau Chinese, which utilizes standard written Chinese for formal written communication and Cantonese for spoken communication, is the language that closely connects with the Macanese. Cantonese is the most widely spoken language used in everyday life, while Portuguese having a significant presence in legal, governmental, and cultural contexts. With the influx of gaming finance into the city, English has also come to a role of increasing prominence especially in casino resorts and main tourist areas. There are also substantial number of Filipinos working in the city who speak Tagalog as their primary language. 

In terms of writing system in Chinese, Cantonese Chinese in Macau uses traditional characters, similarly to Hong Kong, while Mandarin Chinese in Mainland China uses simplified characters. The Cantonese spoken in Macau also has a distinct accent and vocabulary compared to other Cantonese-speaking regions. It is also interesting to note that the language has a large number of loanwords from Portuguese, such as 馬介休 (‘bacalhau’), 葡萄牙 (‘Portugal’), and 前地 (‘largo’).

Traditional Chinese (Cantonese)

澳門的語言局面與其作為葡萄牙前殖民地的歷史密不可分。澳門有兩種官方語言:中文和葡文。
在正式書面交流中,澳門人會使用標準書寫中文;而在口語交流中,則使用廣東話。廣東話是澳
門日常生活中最廣泛使用的語言,而葡文在法律、政府和文化背景下佔有重要地位。隨著賭博娛
樂和金融業的湧入,英語在賭場、度假村酒店和主要旅遊區扮演着重要的角色。除此之外,亦有
大量的菲律賓人在澳門工作,他們會以他加祿語為主要語言。
在中文的書寫系統方面,澳門的廣東話使用繁體字,與香港一樣,而在中國大陸的普通話則使用
簡體字。澳門的廣東話口音和詞彙與其他廣東話使用地區也有所不同。有趣的是,澳門的廣東話
有許多來自葡萄牙語的借詞,例如「馬介休」(bacalhau)、「葡萄牙」(Portugal)和「前地」
(largo)。

Piyen Ho, Translator

Official language

Chinese (92%), Portuguese (2%)

Actual languages

Chinese (92.0%), English (2.3%), Portuguese (2%), Tagalog (1.7%), other (2.0%)

What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Macau

(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)

• 18/150 localize by translating into Traditional Chinese
• 3/150 localize by translating into both Traditional Chinese and Portuguese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into both Simplified Chinese and Portuguese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Simplified Chinese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Traditional Chinese, Portuguese and Tagalog
• 1/150 localizes by translating into Traditional Chinese, Semplified Chinese, Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Korean