Within-language variations in reading acquisition: the case of Portuguese

Literacy became essential for any human being. Beyond the social and cultural aspects of reading and writing, many studies have examined how these abilities are acquired and have shown that for a given language they may be learned in different ways and reach quite different mastery levels. Here we discuss variations in literacy levels within the same language, Portuguese, more specifically between the European and Brazilian varieties. We first discuss the notion that variations in literacy levels across languages may in principle result from linguistic and sociolinguistic parameters, socioeconomic differences, and teaching methods. We then argue that, in the present case, it is these last two factors that are responsible for the differences in reading achievement between Brazil and Portugal reported in international surveys. To this aim we present recent information on reading score differences, examine the major differences and similarities in orality and orthography, and discuss the quite different socioeconomic situations, educational policies, and methods adopted by the two countries in the last 20 years that may explain the reading performance differences between the two countries.