Native to India Linguasphere 51-AAC-agb | Region Daman and Diu | |
Native speakers 4,000 in Daman and ca. 180 in Diu (2010) Language family Portuguese Creole
Indo-Portuguese
Northern Indo-Portuguese
Daman and Diu Portuguese Glottolog dama1278 (Daman-Diu Portuguese) | ||
The Daman and Diu Portuguese or Daman and Diu Indo-Portuguese, known to its speakers as Língua da Casa (Portuguese for "Home language"), is a Portuguese-based creole spoken in Daman and Diu. Before the Indian annexation of the territory, the Daman creole went through a profound decreolization by Standard Portuguese of Goa, a phenomenon whereby the Indo-Portuguese creole reconverged with Standard Portuguese.
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Origins
The Daman creole is a descendant of the Norteiro creole, spoken originally by the Norteiros on the Coast from Chaul, Baçaim, Bombay, Daman and Diu.
The superstrate language is Portuguese. The substrate of the Daman creole is likely to be Konkani. Gujarati has also been suggested as a possible substrate, but this is doubtful, since the Gujarati people moved into the region only after the Portuguese arrived.
Diu Indo-Portuguese
The Diu Indo-Portuguese or Diu Portuguese is spoken in Diu, India. It is a creole language based mainly on Portuguese and Gujarati. It is a member of the larger family of Indo-Portuguese creoles, particularly close to the variety of Daman. There is a considerably vital oral tradition in this language, with songs regularly performed in Diu, elsewhere in India and among Indo-Portuguese communities abroad.
Widely spoken in the past, it was first documented in the 19th century by the initiative of Hugo Schuchardt. At present, the language is spoken natively by most of the local Catholics, numbering about 180, but is potentially endangered by the pressure of other languages such as Gujarati, English and standard Portuguese.
Number of speakers
The Portuguese heritage in Daman is more common and lively than in Goa and this helped to keep the language alive. The language is spoken by an estimated number of 2,000 Damanese. However, the Damanese Portuguese-Indian Association says that there are 10– 12,000 Portuguese speakers in the territory of 110,000 residents. Sunday Mass is celebrated in Portuguese.
Besides the lingua da casa, Gujarati and Portuguese are also found in the territory.