Very clear and critical of what has happened to Konkani in Goa. There is more from Karnataka and Kerala and Mumbai etc. William Robert Da Silva
On Fri, Nov 1, 2024 at 12:39 AM Goanet Reader <[email protected]> wrote: > A REVIEW: AUGUSTO P INTO > PLSI's (People’s Linguistic Survey of India) > The Languages of Goa > > People's Linguistic Survey of India, Volume Eight, Part Two, > The Languages of Goa, Chief Editor: G.N. Devy, Volume > Editors: Madhavi Sardesai and Damodar Mauzo, Bhasha and > Oriente Black Swan, Hyderabad, 2019. A Review > > Introduction: The PLSI Project > > A Konkani journalist once told me: "I don’t give much > importance to what academicians and other researchers write." > I looked at him in bafflement, as what academicians write > frequently become the basis for policy makers' decisions and > hence thought he wasn't wise, to put it politely. > > I introduce this review with this thought because the book in > review The Languages of Goa, Vol 8, Pt. 2 of the > multi-volume People's Linguistic Series of India (PLSI) that > came out in 2019 with little fanfare, is likely to become an > important tool with regard to language policy making in Goa. > > What is the People's Linguistic Series of India (henceforth > PLSI)? PLSI began as an attempt to map all the living > languages of India as they existed in 2011-12. One of the > main reasons behind this venture, that is being promoted by > the NGO Bhasha Research Centre which is run under the > leadership of Ganesh N. Devy, is the belief that the > languages of the people is a treasure trove of wisdom and > knowledge, its greatest "cultural capital". This cultural > capital takes at least five thousand years to develop and if > it disappears then it leaves behind a huge loss which may > never be recovered. > > The project works on the assumption that every language > shapes the way we think and that if we lose a language then a > way of looking at and thinking about the world gets lost. It > has been estimated that out of the approximately 6000 and odd > living languages that we have today, only about 300 will > survive the twenty second century. If we are to preserve > this cultural heritage, we must first know what we possess > and for this reason the PLSI intends to map out the various > languages of India, many of whom, especially those which are > only used in an oral form, are in danger of being wiped out. > > The PLSI project isn't the first to attempt to draw a > linguistic map of India. Last century, under the direction > of Sir George Grierson, the monumental Linguistic Survey of > India (1894-1928) had been compiled; and later surveys were > conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of > India which had also attempted mapping out the languages of > India. However, the PLSI differs from them in that it is a > people-centric project aimed at preserving what often has > been ignored by the more official surveys. > > This review of The Languages of Goa, the PLSI Vol 8, Pt. 2 > (henceforth TLOG) will first look at the aims and objectives > of the PLSI project as recounted in the Foreword and > Introduction of the PLSI series and which are common to all > the volumes of the series -- but with reference to Goa. The > following parts will look at the matter compiled in TLOG > itself. Part I -- Aims of the PLSI: > > At this point it may be worth noting that the PLSI > volumes (with some exceptions) list out the > languages as they are classified in the different > States and Union Territories of India. This > organising principle though helpful in some ways > creates certain problems in other ways. In the > PLSI volume under consideration - The Languages of > Goa - Konkani, Goa's State's Official language, is > a major focus. However, Konkani is a language > spread over at least three other states not to > mention it being used by migrants abroad. Hence > the description of Konkani in TLOG is a partial > one. It should also be supplemented by PLSI > accounts of Konkani in The Languages of Maharashtra > (where in fact Konkani does not feature); and also > The Languages of Karnataka and The Languages of > Kerala and Lakshadweep (where Konkani does feature, > but perfunctorily.) > > Besides the Foreword and the General Editor's Introduction, > TLOG consists of 22 chapters. Part I of this review will > deal with PLSI's aims and its implications for Goa. The rest > of the book will be dealt with in three further parts: Part > II on chapters dealing mainly with Konkani's history as a > ‘language'; and Part III with chapters on the dialects of Goa > and the culture of Goa; and with other languages spoken in > Goa. > > In the Foreword written by the PLSI's National Editorial > Collective Convenor D.P. Pattanayak, it is stated that the > aim of the PLSI "is restoring the self-confidence of the > people that their languages are good for education, > administration and mass communication." In doing so he is > critical of the penchant of the Indian intellectual for > "mainstreaming" which is "excluding, marginalising and > demolishing smaller languages and cultures. It is another > word for genocide". Tribals in particular, but other smaller > groups too, have been affected by this drive to force people > "to use the dominant regional language as their mother > tongue". > > Pattanayak puts several seemingly commonplace > notions about language and linguistics into > question. One of these is that of the ‘language' > versus ‘dialect' distinction which he states is a > notion of hierarchical order which was imposed by > "pundits" when actually all languages are dialects; > or if one pleases all dialects are languages. > > Pattanayak also points out how the PLSI gives important clues > into the manner in which language is acquired. The notion of > a single ‘mother tongue' is put into question. Firstly, the > notion of a first language and second language learnt > serially is rejected and all language learnt till the > preschool age is the mother tongue and this in most modern > contexts is multilingual. In a Goan context what this means > is that if a child has Konkani, English, and Marathi plus any > other parental mother-tongue used around him or her then > elements of all these languages will become part of his/her > mother tongue/first language. > > Secondly a language learnt in school which is also used in > the surroundings is a second language; whereas a language > that is only confined to the classroom is a foreign language. > In a Goan context, where Konkani is the dominant language but > where English or Hindi or Marathi are spoken in the > environment, when a student is introduced to any of these > languages formally in school, they become a second language; > whereas if Sanskrit or French which the student does not hear > in everyday life is taught in school this becomes a third > language. These propositions have important implications for > language instruction and state policy. > > The prime mover behind the PLSI project, G.N. Devy in his > General Editor's Introduction ‘A Nation Proud of its Language > Diversity' elaborates on Pattanayak's questioning of the > linguistic assumptions that have hitherto guided our policy > makers and re emphasises the PLSI's rejection of the language > v/ s dialect distinction. He suggests that ‘dialect' is > primary in driving the developments of ‘language'. Devy also > notes how the science of linguistics is yet to be able to > explain many of the mysteries of human language: for instance > why human beings have used sound as a means of conveying > meaning. Further even as he also points out that another > level of representation, writing, becomes a surrogate of > sound for some languages, he notes that there is insufficient > theorisation as to how human beings have acquired this > ability of recognising letters and numerals as substitutes > for sound. > > Devy denounces the ‘phonicide' (murder of language) that is > going on in the name of development for which humans are > responsible. His greatest fear is for the languages which > are not written and which are at greatest risk of being > murdered. He criticises the Census of India which used to > enumerate the ‘mother tongues' of people till 1961 but which > since 1971 mentions only languages with more than 10,000 > speakers while treating all those less than this as ‘Other'. > > And he notes that while in 1961 there were 1652 > mother tongues, in 1971 only 108 languages spoken > by more than 10,000 speakers were officially > acknowledged. In other words more than 1500 mother > tongues were officially wiped out of existence. > > Devy also notes a phenomenon which he terms as ‘partial > language acquisition' where a person otherwise highly > literate cannot read the language s/he claims to be her > mother tongue. This is a phenomenon that is increasingly > seen in Goa where those educated in the English medium do not > write and sometimes do not even read in the other languages > they speak such as Konkani, Marathi, Hindi and the other > languages of Goan migrants. > > He examines the relationship between dialects and ‘standard > language/dialect' -- a dialect which for political or > historical reason is given primacy. He states that it is the > dialects which constantly expand the scope of the language. > > Regarding standard dialects it was thought, for > instance, that the dialect of the dominant class > would acquire the status of a standard language. > But Devy shows that while this might be true of > English in England, it is not the case in India. > For instance, he points out that if this had been > the case the Hindi of politically important Hindi > speakers would have become the standard language > and the Marathi of the Marathi rulers would have > been the standard form of Marathi. But this isn't > the case. (However, it can be argued that in Goa, > the Antruzi Konkani spoken by the small but > economically and politically powerful Saraswat > Brahmin caste and a few others and written in the > Devanagari script has been conferred the status of > the standard language). > > Devy posits a link between the language of a people and its > collective consciousness. He suggests that a language > embodies the ideology of a people. Hence if a people abandon > their language in favour of another, as is happening > frequently in India where people are abandoning their > languages in favour of English, then it is not just the > medium but the world view of the people that will change. > > If a community believes that "the human destiny is to belong > to the earth, and not to offend the earth by claiming that it > belongs to us, the language of this community cannot be > preserved when we invite the community to share a political > imagination that believes in vandalising the earth's > resources in the name of development. In such a situation > the community will have two options: it can either reject the > worldview that asserts the right to exploit the natural > resources and turn them into exclusive commercial > commodities, or it can reject its own utopian worldview that > believes for example that nature belongs to the entire > community and step out of the language system that binds it > with the world view". > > Part II: Konkani > > This section of the review deals with TLOG chapters that > include Damodar Mauzo's ‘Introduction'; Madhavi Sardessai's > ‘Diglossia and Konkani Identity'; Uday Bhembre's ‘Revival of > Konkani: Important Milestones'; and Rocky V. Miranda's ‘The > Konkani Language' and ‘Konkani Grammar and Lexicon: > Contribution of Missionaries'. > > The Introduction of TLOG is by Damodar Mauzo who > took over the editorship of the volume after the > sad demise of Dr. Madhavi Sardesai. In it he > tries to give a brief description of languages and > cultures of Goa from the Mauryan times of 3rd > century BC to the present. In his Introduction, > Mauzo concentrates on Konkani which is the first > language of most Goans, but gives short shrift to > other languages that have been used through the > ages in the territory which now is called Goa -- > including Marathi, Kannada, Portuguese and now > English in comparatively recent times; but > languages like Mundari which were spoken by the > tribal groups who populated this territory at > periods from around 10,000 B.C. onwardsprior to > the settlement of Indo- Aryans here are omitted. > > The first essay of the volume is by the late Madhavi > Sardesai, ‘Diglossia and Konkani Identity'. Diglossia is a > term that refers to the use of two languages within a speech > community for different purposes, often by the same speakers. > She uses this term for Goa to describe the use of Marathi, > the ‘high' literary language at a time prior to and > subsequent to the entry of the Portuguese into Goa; and > Konkani, the ‘low' language of everyday use. > > Various forms of diglossia prevailed at different times: > during the Portuguese era, while Marathi remained the ‘high' > language for Hindus while Konkani was the language for > everyday use for all; while in later stages many elite > Catholic families used Portuguese as a ‘high' language of > prestige when various Portuguese regimes sought to suppress > Konkani. This changed after 1961 when English replaced > Portuguese as the high language of administration and > education. But diglossia could also be used to describe the > state of language flux that occurred when the Prakrit that > became Konkani entered and encountered the languages of the > tribal people who already lived here. > > Sardesai credits Konkani's official revival to the 19th > century administrator and scholar J. H. da Cunha Rivara for > his narrative in An Historical Essay on the Konkani Language > which exhorts Goans to adopt their mother-tongue Konkani. > She endorses Rivara's description of the futile attempts by > various Portuguese authorities to suppress Konkani among the > masses; even while acknowledging the success Portuguese had > among the elite Christians of becoming the ‘high' language, > where Konkani remained ‘low', albeit a vigorous and robust > oral tongue. > > She describes how the non-elite Christians began using > Konkani in the Roman script for written communication when > they emigrated from Goa, and also how some Christians like > Eduardo Bruno de Souza (editor of Udentichem Salluk, the > first Konkani newspaper who also wrote the first Konkani > novel Kristanv Ghorabo) began to publish newspapers and > novels in Bombay; and others used it for recording theatrical > productions (tiatrs and kantars). Sardesai acknowledges the > "Christian linguistic ethos" in the the development of the > language up to the initial decades of the twentieth century > among the Christian masses. She writes: "For the majority of > the Goan Christians Konkani was ‘the language of religion' - > one could pray, confess and listen to sermons in Konkani". > > Konkani was also the language of mass entertainment > like tiatr. However, she notes, quoting Cunha > Rivara and E.B. de Souza, that people felt that > this Konkani was "impure". Her brief mention of > the Konkani written in the Roman script suggests > that it was used only by Christians who had > emigrated to Bombay and other areas of the British > Empire. > > At this point Sardessai's narrative appears to veer > away from the general aims of the PLSI project of > recording all the languages/dialects of Goa; and > turns towards a project that not only glorifies one > particular version of the history of Konkani, that > of the GSBs who used the Brahmin/Antruzi dialect > and wrote in the Devanagari script, but also > glorifies the efforts of these writers of the > Antruzi Konkani language > > This is first done by uncritically describing the life and > career of the great Konkani promoter Vaman Varde Valaulikar > (alias Shenoy Goembab, the pseudonym he gave himself and by > which he is popularly known today) crediting him with the > beginning of the process of changing its status to what it is > today. However she sidelines the efforts of others like Dr. > Jose Gerson da Cunha and Mons. Sebestião Rodolfo Dalgado who > did much for Konkani. > > Sardesai credits Valaulikar as being the one who turned it > into a language that could be taught in the classroom because > he had written a grammar for it as well as several works of > fiction and non-fiction in order to enrich the language and > prove that Konkani could be used for education and > administration. Incidentally the PLSI project as G.N. > Devy's ‘General Introduction' explains, contains the premise > that any and every language/dialect can be turned into one > that can be written and used for official purposes including > education and administration but Valaulikar was following the > elitist presumptions that elaborate grammars, dictionaries > and ‘literature' are required to promote a language > > Uday Bhembre in his article ‘Revival of Konkani: > Important Milestones', like Mauzo in his > introduction and Sardessai in her article, makes > notes on the history of Konkani. However, like > Mauzo and Sardesai, Bhembre's article also is more > concerned about written language, meaning the > literature of Antruzi Konkani, and particularly > that written in Devanagari and by and large > replicates the views expressed by Mauzo and > Sardesai. To reiterate, they all worry about the > state of written Konkani seemingly ignoring the > primacy that PLSI project gives to oral language. > > Much of the accounts on Konkani's history concentrate upon > the period from around the arrival of the Portuguese. > However, what these essays pay little attention to is the > history of how Konkani as a language evolved from ancient > times. For languages do not emerge out of an egg or womb > fully developed, but evolve through encounters between > people. And if one is to believe histories of what is now > Goa, there have been many groups of people who had inhabited > these territories from times immemorial and they have > encountered and intermingled with one another. > > For instance, A.R.S. Dhume in his account of Goa's history > from 10,000 BC mentions various tribes including the Kols, > Mundaris, Kharvis, different tribes of Gavdes, Velips, > Hebars, Mhars and so on. Later groups of Indo-Aryans with > their varied forms of Prakrit intermingled with these earlier > groups and what is now Konkani gradually evolved through the > intermingling of these various groups; and recent studies of > the DNA of Indian peoples suggest that there indeed was a > physical intermingling before the endogamous caste system > became entrenched fairly recently (in generational terms that > is). There is little mention of the encounters of Prakrits > and Mundari and other tribal languages that engendered modern > Konkani. > > Incidentally with regard to the evolution of Konkani, and its > place among modern Indian languages, Sir George Grierson in > the Language Survey of India (1928) places Konkani among the > External languages and of a sub-category which includes > Marathi and Sinhala. There is little mention of the implicit > linguistic evolution that Grierson posits. > > Also instead of concentrating upon the fact that > Konkani is a language that was primarily a spoken > language and a robust spoken language of the common > people that could not be destroyed by various > rulers from neighbouring territories who ruled what > is now Goa or by edicts of the Portuguese banning > it, Mauzo, Sardesai and Bhembre indulge themselves > in their concerns about written Konkani -- concerns > that can be seen to be elitist -- without > sufficiently dwelling upon how the life of the > language lives on the lips of the people who > although often illiterate, are nevertheless highly > skilled in their hold over the language. > Incidentally in these historical accounts, there is > insufficient mention of people like Dr. J. Gerson > da Cunha and Mons.Sebastião Rodolf Dalgado who did > much to reestablish the status of Konkani or for > that matter scholars like Dr. S.M. (Sumitra > Mangesh) Katre (1906-1998). > > Having said this, if the concerns of these writers > were objectively about Konkani literature per se, > then surely there should have been some mention of > literature in the Roman script of modern times, for > mention of this script ends with Eduardo B.Da > Souza's Kristanv Ghorabo, the first Konkani novel > although there was a flourishing genre of fictional > writing known as the Konkani Romans well through to > the 1970s and 1980s and there continues to be > writing in this script and others like Kannada till > now. > > There should also have been mention of the conflict > that arose among the Hindu and Christian Konkani > speaking populations after the adoption of the > Official Language Act of 1987 was passed defining > Konkani in the Devanagari script as the official > language of Goa whereas Marathi (no script > mentioned) becomes for all practical purposes an > official language (without calling it so). Thus, a > strange situation can occur when a book written in > the Roman script is ignored, but the same book is > given Sahitya Akademi awards when transliterated > into Devanagari! > > What the definitions in the Official Language Act 1987 thus > did was to legitimise Marathi as an official language while > delegitimizing the Konkani dialects spoken by Christians > which were written in the Roman script (and misleadingly > labeled Romi Konkani). This despite the popularity of these > dialects amongst them where the Povitr Pustok (the Holy Bible > in Konkani) which along with the Gaionacho Jhelo (Garland of > Hymns, the official hymnal of the Archdiocese of Goa) are the > books in the Konkani language that contain the highest print > runs and have a tremendous influence among the Christian > masses due to their use during their religious services. > Marathi however can have Goan Marathi books nominated for > such awards. > > Nor is there any mention of the Dalgado Konkani Akademi or > the Tiatr Akademi of Goa which print literature in the Roman > script. (Kannada and other scripts of Konkani could of > course be legitimately ignored as this book is limited to the > languages of Goa and these scripts are mostly used in other > states.) > > There is another issue in TLOG which the three writers > mentioned above do not deal with explicitly and this is the > ‘standard dialect' of Konkani although it is implicit in > their writings. However, this issue has been dealt with by a > writer who perhaps makes the most influential pronouncements > in this volume, the Mangalore-origin linguist Rocky Miranda > who after teaching in Goa for a while had retired as > Professor of Historical and Indo-European Linguistics at > Minnesota University, USA. > > There are two chapters by Rocky Miranda, one of which is on > the historical contribution of Christian Missionaries to > Konkani where the scripts, dictionaries, grammars and other > pedagogic and religious literatures produced by them are > discussed. However, the more important chapter by Miranda is > on ‘The Konkani Language' which apart from describing the > grammar of the Konkani language also delves into its history > and the dialects of the language; as also the various > controversies related to the language such as script issue. > > Miranda lists Konkani dialects as consisting of Goa Hindu > Konkani; Southern Saraswat Konkani of Karnataka and Kerala; > Bardez Christian Konkani; Saxtti Christian Konkani; and > Karnataka Christian Konkani. Is his classification correct? > > Arguably he equates the Antruzi (predominantly > Saraswat Brahmin) dialect Konkani with the ‘Goan > Hindu' dialect which he then treats as ‘standard'. > Miranda's treatment of the ‘Goan Hindu' dialect > that he uses as a ‘standard' may displease many. > For by doing this he was following Valaulikar alias > Shenoi Goembab essentially privileging the Antruzi > dialect or what is more commonly called by people > as Bamnachi bhasha or the dialect of the GSB > community. In reality the dialects used by Goan > Hindus of non-Brahmin castes are different from > those of the GSBs as will be seen when we look at > the dialects listed in TLOG and which Vishnu Wagh > celebrated in his controversial poetry collection > Sudhirsukt. > > Instead of this he could have used Grierson's analysis of > Konkani dialects in the monumental Linguistic Survey of > India; or S.M.Katre's analysis of 20 dialects in his > Comparative Glossary of Konkani. However, Miranda may have > been following Katre's limiting of Konkani dialects into five > types in The Formation of Konkani but it must be remembered > that Katre had done so for the sake of convenience in order > to describe the structure of Konkani. > > Miranda after choosing the ‘Goan Hindu' dialect as the > standard then goes on to describe its features like grammar > including phonology; parts of speech; morphology (word order > and agreement); the gender system; negation; and copula > deletion in Konkani. Miranda also deals with grammatical > changes that have occurred in Konkani after first considering > its place among the Indo-Aryan languages. This includes a > section on Old Konkani; and another on the evolution of > modern Konkani dialects; and the influence of other languages > like Kannada and Portuguese upon Konkani (although the > current influence of English should have been included too). > > Part III: Konkani "Dialects" and other > Languages of Goa > > The editor/s of TLOG using Miranda's scholarship apparently > establish to their own satisfaction what a ‘Standard Konkani' > is -- and that is Goan Hindu Konkani which arguably is > Antruzi Konkani -- and proceed to list out some of the other > ‘languages/dialects' of Konkani. > > If Miranda's logic was correct then these dialects should > have followed the four other dialects he lists besides ‘Goa > Hindu Konkani': 1) Southern Saraswat Konkani of Karnataka and > Kerala; 2) Bardez Christian Konkani; 3) Saxtti Christian > Konkani; and 4) Karnataka Christian Konkani. And given that > Southern Saraswat and Karnataka Christian Konkani pertain to > other states, then only Bardez and Saxtti Christian Konkanis > should have been studied. > > But this doesn't happen and instead TLOG lists the following > regional and social varieties of Konkani: that of Canacona; > those from the banks of the River Mhadei; that of Pernem; > that of Saxtti; those of the Velip tribe and Padye (used by > certain Karhade Brahmin castes); and the Goan Urdu Konkani > used mainly by Muslims. > > Strangely Bardezi, the dialect which Mons. > Sebestião Rodolfo Dalgado thought should be the > standard dialect of Konkani does not appear. And > as has already been pointed out, neither does > Bardezi Christian (presuming that it is different > from Dalgado's Bardezi Konkani) Is Bardezi subsumed > under Goan Hindu Konkani? But this does not seem > to be the case with the Konkani officially promoted > (popularly and misleadingly called Devanagari > Konkani but which is more a dialect of the > influential Brahmin community and also called > Antruzi -- a term which incidentally finds little > mention in the volume.) > > At this point, it may be worth pausing and glancing at how > the PLSI's sister volumes -- primarily The Languages of > Maharashtra Vol. 17 Pt 2 (henceforth TLOM) proceeds. TLOM > divides the languages it deals with into Scheduled Languages; > Tribal Languages; and Languages of the Nomadic Tribes. > > In the Scheduled Languages of Maharashtra, TLOM includes, > besides Marathi, Sindhi and Urdu, 13 other ‘languages' which > would otherwise be considered ‘dialects' of Marathi like > Aagari, Ahirani, Chandgadi, Jhadi, Khandeshi Leva, Kohali, > Malwani, Povari, Samvedi, Sangameshwari, Tavdi, Varhadi and > Wadavali. > > While English and Hindi are not included (perhaps because > there are separate volumes for these languages) strangely > Gujarati and Konkani which are spoken by quite a large number > of people in Maharashtra are ignored while Sindhi and Urdu > are included. Incidentally the PLSI series is plagued with > inconsistency in this regard for those volumes dealing with > Karnataka and Kerala do mention Konkani! > > Nevertheless, the point to be noted here is that whereas TLOM > consider all varieties or ‘dialects'/‘languages' of Marathi > to enjoy Scheduled Language status, in TLOG there is no > mention as to whether the ‘dialects'/‘languages' of Konkani > have this status. Presumably not. > > Another thing about TLOM is that it deals with the Marathi > ‘languages'/‘dialects' in a linguistic fashion, which is to > say, their grammar, morphology, pronunciation and so forth > are discussed. TLOG also deals with the regional and social > varieties of Konkani (without explicitly calling them > languages) like that of Canacona by Krupali Naik; those found > on the banks of the River Mhadei by Prakash Parienkar; that > of Pernem Taluka by Shashikant Punaji; Saxtti Konkani by Edna > Vaz Fernandes and Denis Vaz; the Velip variety by Mohan > Gaonkar; the Padye variety by Ruta Paradkar; and Goan Urdu > Konkani by Yusuf and Aliya Shaikh. > > However, it isn't clear whether these dialects (for > they have been treated as ‘dialects' given their > frequent comparison with ‘Standard Konkani') have > been dealt with adequately. Also, it is not clear > as to whether all varieties of Konkani are dealt > with: Chitpavani, the language of the Chitpavan > Brahmins, for instance, (a tongue which among > themselves is known as ‘Kai Kaat' one is told and > which is possibly dying) is absent. It is also > significant that Antruzi which is what the Gaud > Saraswat brahmin community speaks is not dealt with > separately. > > The longest chapter is devoted to Saxtti Konkani, the Konkani > of much of South Goa. This is the language which arguably > has the richest literary history of all Konkani languages > given that it was the one in which the Portuguese > missionaries had written several grammars and catechisms. > > This was the language which was described by Thomas Stevens > as Lingua Bramana as opposed to Lingua Canarim which appears > to be the languages of the other castes of Goa. It is not > clear whether the authors Edna Vaz Fernandes and Denis Vaz > have adequately dealt with the ways in which different > classes and castes speak the Saxtti language. For instance, > are there not differences between the manner in which Saxtti > is spoken on the different banks of the Sal river or further > towards Mormugao? Aren't there differences in the Saxtti > spoken by the erstwhile Portuguese-speaking bhatkar as > opposed to the mundkar classes and castes? > > There seems to be no uniformity in the way TLOG deals with > the different languages of Goa; some are dealt with > perfunctorily and cursorily: Prakash Parienkar who writes > about the Konkani on the banks of the River Mhadei does this > by highlighting the distinct lexicons used especially with > relation to the different kinds of farming like kumeri, puran > sheti, horticulture and animal rearing. Shashikant Punaji > who with Priyadarshini Tadkodkar deals with the languages of > Pernem does so by highlighting some of the differences that > Pernem Konkani has with the ‘Standard Konkani'. Ruta > Paradkar who writes of the Padye language of a branch of the > Karhade brahmins in a linguistic style; as does Krupali Naik > on the Kankon variety. Mohan Gaonkar writes of the Velip > variety and Yusuf and Alia Shaikh on the Urdu Konkani > variety. However unlike in the PLSI Maharashtra volume, TLOG > does not have an editorial voice to ensure that all these > varieties are dealt with in a consistent manner. > > A fairly large chunk of the book of around 80 pages > are devoted to chapters about the culture and > traditions of Goa such as Konkani proverbs; > folktales; cultural expressions like zagor and > sotryo; Goan Literature; Konkani theatre and tiatr, > Christian Marathi literature and the use of Marathi > in daily life. While it can be argued that all > these literary and cultural forms are connected > with language, particularly the Konkani language, > and hence deserved to be mentioned, devoting entire > chapters to them does not seem appropriate in a > book which is meant to primarily document the > languages of Goa. The chapter on the use of > Marathi in Goan life for instance does not deal > with the language as it is spoken in Goa (as for > instance is done in TLOM) but more concerned with > its use as a written language. > > There are chapters on Portuguese and French used in Goa too > which don't abide by the objectives of the PLSI. Nowadays > these aren't languages that are spoken by any significant > number of people in Goa although they are studied as third > languages by some students. There are languages that are > spoken considerably though, such as Kannada and which have a > historical connection with Goa through the various rulers who > held sway here. These are minority languages which have > certain Constitutional provisions which obliges the State > government to ensure they are taught to the speakers. There > is no mention of such languages. > > Conclusion > > TLOG is a difficult volume to review because > although the PLSI series does have the general > unifying theme of protecting and promoting all > languages, particularly oral ones and particularly > those of the most underprivileged peoples, the > different writers who contribute to the book each > deals with their subject in their own fashion > quietly promoting their own concerns. So while the > objective was to map out the different languages of > India without devaluing any as dialects, what > appears to happen in this volume is that a > concerted effort is made to promote the hegemony of > a "Standard Konkani" which is GSB or Antruzi > Konkani, spoken only by an elite group of people. > All the languages of the people spoken in Goa are > not given the equal importance that the PLSI > project promised. > > While TLOG promotes one version of written Konkani (the one > that is misleadingly but popularly known as ‘Devanagari > Konkani') communication in the modern world is increasingly > becoming audio-visual and electronic and multilingual. It's > a world where the ability to transliterate between scripts > and translate between dialects is increasingly becoming a > reality. > > The old fears of having multiple scripts and dialects could > be made redundant and meaningless in this scenario. Where > once there was ridicule that a comparatively small language > like Konkani had five scripts and many dialects, in the world > of artificial intelligence this fact may allow it to become > the laboratory for a language which allows multiple scripts > and multiple dialects and multiple lexicons functioning > simultaneously. > > Currently however, for a language which has the longest > history of printed lexicons in India, the situation is > pathetic and there isn't a single effective functional online > dictionary available to a translator, although the technology > is there in the ‘Shabdkosh' and other apps; and hope in the > form of Google offering online translation (currently in the > Devanagari script) is already coming true. > > There perhaps needs to be a rethink to ensure that all the > languages/dialects spoken in Goa are given their due and a > situation where a multilingual, audio-visual, electronic form > of language evolves with the aid of AI that takes care of > minority languages. Hence there needs to be a > reconsideration of what TLOG has done. The stakeholders of > the languages of Goa need to raise their voices and demand > that its next edition should ensure that it acknowledges what > it now ignores so that it becomes the touchstone for a > futuristic language policy initiative in Goa that allows it > to become a beacon to the world. > > Source: The Goan Review (Edited by Fausto V da Costa) > Vol 31 No 1, Mumbai April (January-June) 2024. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAE%3D_FskTHu_Ewf-CxgYhEeheMfOAJX2x%3DyvN_7G42SbuMAZBiA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAE%3D_FskTHu_Ewf-CxgYhEeheMfOAJX2x%3DyvN_7G42SbuMAZBiA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. 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