Centre for Lusophone and European Literatures and Cultures to literary studies, with the same age as Democracy in Portugal. It was established in 1975 by Jacinto do Prado Coelho. Since 2010, it's integrated in the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon, and funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), previously known as the National Board of Scientific Research (JNICT). It's the first national research unit to be directed by a Researcher (from the "Science" Program 2008), José Eduardo Franco, since 2012. Since its establishment, CLEPUL has been a pioneer in the research of Lusophone literatures, also contributing to its integration in the Portuguese academia
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