ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role Catholic Goan (CG) women played in the use of two second languages of European origin, Portuguese and English, and in the use of Konkani, the vernacular of Goa, descended from Sanskrit. The examination highlights various facets of Portuguese linguistic policy which were directed specifically at Catholics converted from Hinduism. The chapter shows that a section of CG women who played an important role in facilitating second-language acquisition operated within the context of a changing local and global political economy which favoured international migration from Goa. It focuses on the contribution to the spread of second-language use that such women made formally as workers, particularly in the new profession of teaching, and informally as mothers pursuing the new ideology termed as ‘progressive motherhood’. CG women played a crucial role in the displacement of Konkani in various domains and its replacement by a western language in the international CG community.
