Centre for Lusophone and European Literatures and Cultures as an area of specialization. It was also innovative in the way it combined the filological studies tradition with the newness of the structuralist proposals and sociology of reading. Its initial projects dealt with the study of the different Lusophone literatures, such as Portuguese literature, with special emphasis on studies regarding Camilo Castelo Branco, as well as African literature and Brazilian literature, and matters regarding sociology of reading, in a project directed by Jacinto do Prado Coelho. This established route was continued by the centre's following directors and coordinators (Fernando Cristóvão, Maria Lúcia Lepecki, Manuel Ferreira, Alberto Carvalho and Maria
Portuguese language third-most spoken European language in the world in terms of native speakers, and the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the most spoken language in South America and the second-most spoken in Latin America after Spanish, one of the 10 most spoken languages in Africa and is an official language of the European Union, Mercosur, OAS, ECOWAS and the African Union. When the Romans arrived at the Iberian Peninsula in 216 B.C., they brought the Latin language with them, from which all Romance languages descend. The language was spread by Roman soldiers, settlers, and merchants, who