I chose to interview my great-aunt, Ruth Cordeiro. She is Portuguese and still lives in Portugal to this day. I conducted this interview by telephone. In this interview I focused on the following points, language and verbal communication, non-verbal communication and family communication. I feel like I now know more about my great aunt's Portuguese culture and how it differs from my own in America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayMy great aunt and her culture mainly speak the Portuguese language. This language is known as a Romance language, meaning it evolved from Vulgar Latin. It is strongly influenced by Arabic; many words of Arabic origin remain in everyday words. The example Ruth gave in the interview was the word “bottle”, “garrafa” in Portuguese. Portuguese is a fairly common language, contrary to popular belief. It is the fastest growing European language in the world, after English. There are a very large number of Portuguese speakers, around 206 million in total. Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language. According to UNESCO, it has the potential to become a “language of international communication” at the rate it is spreading. In comparison, English is already a “language of international communication”. Portuguese has had its influence on other languages, including English. An example is the word “embarrass.” Ruth said it derives from the Portuguese word “embaraçar”. A major difference between English and Portuguese, however, lies in the conjugation of Portuguese words. Each verb has six different conjugations for a variety of pronouns in Portuguese. Another major difference is that Portuguese only had 23 letters in its alphabet until 2009. Additionally, most Portuguese people tend to avoid discussing business in social situations. When it comes to business, they prefer to do it with those they are comfortable with and trust. They also prefer face-to-face business meetings rather than over the phone because they are very impersonal. My great aunt said this phone interview wouldn't have happened if it was business. This differs greatly from American culture, which relies heavily on the telephone and conducts many business that way. I also discussed non-verbal communication in Portugal. Interpersonal communications in Portugal differ from those in the United States. Once brought together, the women greet each other with two kisses on the cheek, starting on the right side. We call this “beijinhos” (“little kisses”). Only women do this and only to other women, never to a man. Depending on the location and circumstances, they may kiss two, three, four times or, in some places, not at all. Not many Americans do this, I have to say I'm glad my culture is different in this situation. I would feel extremely embarrassed having to greet someone that way. Portuguese and American greetings are similar in that they both use handshakes with those you don't know very well, but the Portuguese may say "bom dia." Eye contact must be maintained, a principle observed in American and Portuguese cultures. Portuguese speakers generally do not use nonverbal gestures when speaking verbally. According to my great-aunt, most people of her species will mistake people who talk with their hands as being too demonstrative. Americans, on the other hand, tend to speak with their