Aida de Jesus, 103, grew up hearing Portuguese in the alleyways and speaking Patua, a creole language, with her grandmother at home in Macau. Photo: Goldthread
Patua, Macau’s dying language, and the 103-year-old Macanese woman who speaks it
- As a young girl, Aida de Jesus spoke Patua with her grandmother at home. Today, only 50 people speak the critically endangered creole language
- Her daughter feels she is witnessing the last chapter of their people, the Macanese – people in Macau with mixed Chinese-Portuguese ancestry
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Macau
Aida de Jesus, 103, grew up hearing Portuguese in the alleyways and speaking Patua, a creole language, with her grandmother at home in Macau. Photo: Goldthread