This accessible book provides a comprehensive introduction to the linguistic structure of Portuguese. Clearly organised, it covers the central topics of syntax, phonology, morphology, semantics and pragmatics, and explores the social and historical background of Portuguese, its development and spread in the world, and related sociolinguistic issues such as dialect variation and language planning. It also includes a chapter on Portuguese in Brazil, where approximately 80% of Portuguese speakers live. Assuming very little prior knowledge of linguistic terminology, Portuguese: A Linguistic Introduction is designed to help intermediate and advanced students of Portuguese understand how the language functions at all levels, and to give students of linguistics a useful starting point for work on the structure of Portuguese. Keeping linguistic theory to a minimum, it focuses on presenting the linguistic facts in a clear and lucid way, providing a useful global overview of the Portuguese language and its surrounding issues.