What do you speak when in Goa?

Konkani is the state spoken language in Goa and is also the official language of the state.Most native Goans speak Konkani. However English, Hindi, Marathi and Portuguese are also known by many sections of Goan society. Portuguese is still spoken in many Goan homes especially in those places where the elite and former privileged class or the olden generation of Goans reside and among those who studied in the era of pre-1961 Portuguese-ruled Goa.

However, the approach to languages is different for different purposes in Goa. If you are in Goa you have to hear Konkani to know that you are in the state.. However while Konkani is most widely spoken, the bias for reading is towards English and Marathi which are most widely read in Goa. Most of Goa’s newspapers are read in these two languages. There are atleast 4-5 news publications in Goa catering to English readers while a couple of Marathi publications cater to the Marathi readers. There is incidentally just one edition in Konkani called "sunaparant " which caters to the Konkani lovers in Goa

For primary schooling, education had earlier to be imparted in "local regional languages" (i.e. Konkani or Marathi) to be entitled to receive government grants, on the argument that elementary education is best imparted in the "language of the child". However since 2011, with local Goans arguing their case, English has also been granted similar status for primary schooling as is the case with Konkani and Marathi schools At middle and high-school, and college too, education is almost wholly imparted in English.

In Konkani, also there are two distinct versions used in Goa. The Romi Konkani which has the Romi script is largely used by the Catholics in Goa for their prayer services and for general conversation as well. For the Hindus conversation is normally in Devnagari Konkani while their prayers are normally recited in Marathi. The administration language is however uniform and is largely conducted in English, which is also used as the language of publication of the official gazette, and the majorly used tongue in the courts of the state.

Konkani as a language in Goa can be quite a daunting task to learn by itself. It is written in over four to scripts all over India and beyond Goa. While Devnagri is the official script in Goa, Romi Konkani is widely spoken in Goa, Kannada script also exists and is used across Goa in Mangalore, the Malayalam script has popularity in Kerala down south India and there is the Perso Arabic script known to be used by the Miuslim populations along the Indian west coast.