I was talking to a language professor who told me that Portuguese no longer serves any purpose, that it is an "archaic" language, and it is destined to serve no purpose in the future. As a speaker of (Brazilian) Portuguese (but even if I weren't one), I have to strongly disagree with this. To begin with, what does she think will happen to the more than 200,000,000 people speaking Portuguese in the present? Will they vanish from the planet as if it were a magician's trick? Will they substitute English for Portuguese? I think that these are pure speculations. Nothing can be said for certain about the future of a language as Portuguese. She also said that it is not in a person's best interest to learn it since it is hardly used, except in Brazil and Portugal. She was right there, but what if the person in question is fond of the language, wants to live in Brazil or Portugal, wants to read authors in the original? Of course Portuguese can't compete with English in the world of business, but I don't think it is a useless language at all. Realistically, she mentioned that Portuguese has no distinct advantage that will make it a language that will survive for years to come. What apparently makes her so angry with Portuguese? What does she base her argumentation upon? She sounds unrealistic and pessimistic. Does she have a crystal ball?
What is your opinion on this topic? Is Portuguese one of the world's leading language, or could it be forgotten with little impact on the globe? If the number of speakers tells you about the importance of a language, then yes, Portuguese is a leading language. Unfortunately, Brazil, where the majority of Portuguese speakers are, is only a developing country, having not a large economical role in the world at large. And Portugal, the cradle of Portuguese, although better-developed, is but a small country. But this can gradually change, who knows for sure? A very rich literature has been produced in Portuguese, so I can't help thinking that there would be real loss if the language were forgotten, if ever this were possible. I know, I know, as a Brazilian, I am very partial to Portuguese, so maybe the opinion of non-speakers is equally important, as long as they know something about Portuguese.