Portuguese language in Goa

The Portuguese of Goa refers to the Portuguese language spoken in Goa, India.

Background

The history of the Portuguese dialect began in Goa due to Portuguese rule in the region that lasted for over 450 years. During the existence of the Portuguese State of India, Portuguese was used extensively, in government or in the education system. In addition to the official government media, it was also used by [[missionaries in their missions, although the Portuguese language coexisted with other languages.

After 1961

However, after the Indian invasion of Goa, Daman and Diu by the Indian Army in 1961, bringing an end to Portuguese rule, there was a very complicated impasse halting use of Portuguese, which ceased to be the official language. O Heraldo, the Portuguese language daily newspaper in Goa switched from Portuguese to English in 1983, becoming known as The Herald.[1]

Only with the resumption of diplomatic relations between Portugal and India in 1974, including the installation of Portuguese institutions like the Consulate-General in Panaji in 1992, followed by the Instituto Camões and the Fundação Oriente later on, was there a resumption for the demand for the Portuguese language.[2][3]

Other legacies

The long presence of the language in this Indian state, plus a small number of speakers, left other legacies. For instance, street names, the name of the most populous Goan city -- Vasco da Gama—and family surnames like Mascarenhas and Souza, which is quite common in this territory.

However, in Goa, unlike other regions of India—as well as in Africa, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Macau (China), Malacca (Malaysia), Indonesia and East Timor—where there were several locally based creole languages in Portuguese due to the permanent contact of this language with local language—though these are dying out over the centuries in most cases—it is debatable whether the Goan territory have formed an Indo-Portuguese Creole.

Some authors such as Theban (1985) and Thomas (1995) consider, unlike Holm (1989) and Clemens (1996, 2000), that the very strong pressure from the Portuguese, in the official language and education, would have prevented the formation of a creole Portuguese in Goa.[4]

However, according to Rita Marquilhas (1998), in places where it has remained under the administration of Portugal until the mid-twentieth century—such as Goa—there was a "de-Creolisation" since various language structures were approaching the Portuguese spoken in Portugal and only traces remained in what is now the variety of Portuguese spoken by some Goan communities.

The very Goan identity remains linked to several other legacies left by Portuguese colonization, as the characteristics of Goa, as a way of life different from the rest of the country.

In addition, the presence of architectural elements and a large and significant Catholic community, despite the religion of the majority of the Indian population is Hinduism, an estimated 25% to 30% of the 1.4 million Goans are Catholic.

Churches, convents and Portuguese forts are scattered throughout the territory of Goa, which gives an air even more diverse for a country that is already full of contrasts as is the case in India.

Current situation

Despite several centuries of domination exercised by Portugal, unlike what happened in other Portuguese colonies elsewhere, the Portuguese language never spread among the vast majority of the population, remaining as the language of administration and a small literate elite.

Today, the Portuguese situation in Goa is much more dramatic. Generation after generation, the number of speakers were decreased dramatically. Since the military conquest of the colony by India in 1961, the Portuguese language has been progressively replaced by Konkani (the official language of Goa) and the English (one of the two official languages of the federal administration of India).

Currently, the Portuguese language is spoken by a small community in Goa, although it is not possible to know the exact number of people in Goa who can speak this language. Recently, attempts are now made to revive the language in Goa, including project-tests in secondary schools and artistic entities, or those of a tourist nature. Currently the Portuguese language is learned in official and private education.

After 1961, Portugal did not know how to do this in Goa. In the decades after decolonization, Portugal failed to support the teaching of Portuguese in the Goan schools.

This started a trend that only begins to be reversed now. The Portuguese has been again driven in schools, with the support of the Orient Foundation, and the University of Goa which has a master's degree in Portuguese Studies since 1988. There are also many free courses to promote the Portuguese language, such as English Language Center Instituto Camões, in Panjim, the capital, the Language Centre and the Portuguese Culture Chowgule College in Margao, the Friendship Society Indo-Portuguese (Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society) and Communicare.

According to the director of Camões of the Portuguese Language Centre and reader at the Goa University Delfim Correia da Silva, there is a gradual and steady increase in the number of pupils learning Portuguese in Goa, in a trend that has been found to significantly over the last eight to ten years. This trend is driven mainly by cultural and professional reasons, for opportunities linked to Brazil, Portugal and Angola.

In Goa, the small number of Portuguese language speakers are united by a desire to affirm their identity, and strengthen the bonds of their long encounter with the Portuguese. Even today, the Portuguese language is a sign of prestige and social status: one who speaks Portuguese is considered to come from a good family. Currently, the Portuguese is spoken and learned as a second language for a small section of the Goans.

References

  1. ↑ Where East Looks West: Success in English in Goa and on the Konkan Coast, Dennis Kurzon, Multilingual Matters, 2004, page 60
  2. ↑ "1.500 pessoas estudam português em Goa". Revista Macau. 2 June 2014.
  3. ↑ ""Macau pode servir de modelo para Goa"". PontoFinalMacau. 27 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Pereira, Dulce. "Crioulos de base portuguesa". http://cvc.instituto-camoes.pt/. Instituto Camoes. Retrieved 24 February 2017. External link in |website= (help)
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