The language has been recorded as “critically endangered” by UNESCO. In fact, chances are that only a handful of speakers remain in Macau<\/strong>, and perhaps a few hundred overseas among the Macanese diaspora.<\/p>\n Dona Aida de Jesus - AFP<\/p><\/div>\n Facing the Chinese empire, which took over the city in 1999, and finding a place in the world’s largest gambling city, is obviously an uphill battle.<\/p>\n But the main reason speakers of Patua have given up their language for dates way further back, in the 19th century, when Portuguese-language schools<\/strong> banned the use of what was seen as a debased language. Followed a process occurring in countless areas across the world: the rejection of the language by its very own speakers, who ended up considering it worthless.<\/p>\n As education spread in the 19th century, Patua declined, and by the start of the 20th century it had become a women’s language<\/strong>. It was spoken in homes, with children and sometimes on the street, but never in schools or workplaces.<\/p>\n Today the language as well as the identity of Macau are increasingly diluted: only 8,000 natives still live there, while a majority left before the handover to the People’s Republic of China, and most now define themselves as Chinese.<\/p>\n Still, a few of remain at work in trying to have their language saved despite its vulnerability and unfavorable environment. Lawyer Miguel Senna Fernandes is one of them. Fernandes writes and directs a satirical play in Patua every year, drawing interest reaching to young budding actors who don\u2019t necessarily speak the language, but are willing to learn. Might they make a lie out of UNESCO forecasts?<\/p>\n \n \n![\"Dona](\"http:\/\/www.sorosoro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dona-Aida-de-Jesus.jpg\" "\\"Dona")