Colonialism, communication and cultural politics: language and the reproduction of caste and class privilege in Goa, India

ABSTRACT

Although Goa was subject to Portuguese colonial rule for 450 years, it is now English rather than Portuguese that dominates the linguistic fabric of the state. Using a postcolonial framework drawn from the writings of Said and Gramsci, this article asks what the spread of the English language means in the Goan context. It begins by exploring the ideologies historically used to portray English as an instrument for development, mobility, communication and education rather than as a neo-colonial threat to local languages. As a consequence, it is shown that affluent families with generational expertise in English have greater access to high-quality secondary and tertiary education in Goa, which in turn results in improved professional opportunities. The article concludes that English is a vital component in the construction of a multidimensional European-adjacent identity that indexes superior social status in comparison with Goans who cannot claim fluency or literacy in the language.

KEYWORDS:

• Goa
• India
• language ideologies
• social inequality
• medium of instruction
• caste privilege
• identity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.