Some 6000 people in Goa said their mother-tongue was English, as per the 1991 census. This number could have increased since. In 2011, I made sure to be one of them!
Unfortunately, due to a misplaced sense of regionalistic sentiments, a lot of people claim their "mother tongue" is Konkani or Marathi, when they may be barely able to speak the language they opt for. (Meaning: many who claim their "mother tongue" is Marathi actually speak Konkani, though they prefer -- for reasons of politics, tradition, caste or religion -- to opt for Marathi for their primary schooling and also as a literary language. The latter is obvious from newspaper circulation figures in Goa.) Likewise, many who claim that their mother tongue is Konkani may be second or third generation speakers of Indian English (due to migration, economic reasons, the British occupation of Goa during the Napoleanic wars, preference for English education since the 1940s in some Goa schools and since over a century back in some parts of migration-oriented Bardez such as Arpora and Saligao -- meaning the Fr Lyons' started St Joseph's and Mater Dei etc). Which is why, as Prof Dennis Kurzon reports, the area of Goa and others in the "Konkani-as-a-mother-tongue" camp report among the best TOEFL scores in the world. The concept of a "mother tongue" is both inaccurate and insufficient to cope with the reality of complex places like Goa. "First language" might be more helpful. Like Sri Lanka, there could also be the possibility of having not just one language as a medium of education in schools, simultaneously. If kids can manage with a multi-lingual setting at home and play, why do we presumed they would be confused by the same in school? FN FN +91-832-2409490 or +91-9822122436 (after 2pm) #784 Nr Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India http://fn.goa-india.org http://goa1556.goa-india.org