When you talk about someone leaving or entering a country, does the question of “emigrated or immigrated” arise?
Well, this inaccuracy is not just yours, but thousands of people every day. In historical and journalistic texts the verbs “emigrate” and “immigrate” appear all the time. When we read it, it's easier, the explanation is already there written on the paper! But when it is to use such verbs, the unknown comes and the wrong choice can change the meaning, including of history.
After all, it was the Europeans who immigrated to Brazil in 1870 because of the crisis in Italy.
If I change the verb of the sentence above to “emigrated”, the meaning of the sentence becomes different, and the statement is wrong.
Immigrate I mean enter into a strange country in order to live in it.
On the contrary emigrate which means leave one country and move to another.
Therefore, the action of leaving a country in order to settle in another is emigration:
The) They emigrated from Italy and went to Brazil.
B) Some birds emigrate from their natural habitat in search of warmer places.
And if someone enters a country with the intention of living in it, we say: immigration.
The) Several European immigrants worked on coffee plantations in Brazil, because in fact there was no other job.
B) The percentage of immigration was higher during the wars.
Remember that no one emigrates to but from somewhere. Likewise, it is not possible to immigrate from, but to a certain location. Memorize the meaning of a verb that, consequently, will know the meaning of the other, because as we have seen, “to emigrate” and “to immigrate” are antonyms.
Important:Migration it corresponds to both “emigration” and “immigration”, as it means the act of moving from one region to another.
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By Sabrina Vilarinho
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
VILARINHO, Sabrina. "Emigrate or immigrate? "; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/emigrar-ou-imigrar.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.