Goa is a multi-lingual state,
thanks to its chequered history of thousands of years,
which has seen people of various regions, ethnic races
and religions from India and abroad coming over to and
settling in Goa, while influencing the local language.
At present, Marathi and Konkani are two major languages
of Goa.
Hindi, the national language of India, is well understood
in Goa. In major towns, English is widely used in writing
and conversation.
Goa being a major tourist place offers a tourist-friendly
medium of interaction through English. |
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On the other hand, Portuguese, the language of the colonial
rulers and the official language till 1961 before liberation,
notwithstanding the official patronage and a compulsory medium
of study, failed to make a dent in the mind of the majority
of Goans. It remained only the language of the elite but alienated
the masses. Thus just after the departure of the Portuguese,
Portuguese lost all its favour and usage. However, very few
- particularly the older or pre-liberation generation - still
use Portuguese.
Konkani and Marathi, much related, survived in Goa by secret
studies at home, in temples and public places in villages.
Both Konkani and Marathi are derived from Sanskrit, the mother
of majority of Indian languages. These two languages use Devnagari
(literally meaning the city of God) script like Sanskrit.
Hindi is also written in Devnagari script while Roman script
is used for English and Portuguese.
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