On Sat, 8 Nov 2003, Cornel DaCosta wrote: > Dear Alvaro, > I too have been most perplexed that the more literate Goans have > invariably dropped Konkani for English or Portuguese etc. This is > particularly true for those resident in Western countries.
This is happening in Goa too. Not just among the diaspora. Let's face it: for many English is the language of opportunity. If that's true for us, how can we deny the reality to others? It's probably not true that Goans -- at least today -- are "ashamed" to speak in Konkani. Most don't do so simply because they can't express themselves adequately in this language, or are more comfortable in their adopted tongues. The lack of training facilities, in Goa or in cyberspace, for Konkani complicates the issue. So do the divisions of the language on the basis of dialect, community and caste. Sometimes, the question raised is if languages like Russian and Japanese can attain so much, why can't Konkani. Perhaps the comparison is entirely misplaced. Specially since Konkani is, when seen on a global scale, a tiny language with a speaker's base of between 1.5 million (recent official figures) to 5 million (claims by protagonists of the tongue). Using the larger languages, one can get access to a whole range of information -- right from the latest in IT to porn, and almost whatever one is looking out for. What we need to ask ourselves: are any original ideas being created in Konkani today, specially those which are relevant to the local situation? Undeniably a *lot* is happening on the literature front, even if divided on the basis of script. But what about the other fields? The issue of limited opportunity needs to be raised too. Some of our journo colleagues, former protagonists of Konkani movement, prefer to be employed in the wider-circulating, more professionally-run Marathi newspapers. Notwithstanding the fact that the two languages are supposed to be long-time rivals, given the groundlevel reality on the westcoast of India. Goans have had a longer tradition of migration. People started leaving this place in large numbers at least from the 1890s onwards. Other Indian communities, which more recent traditions of migration, are showing similar trends in terms of opting for languages which demonstrate greater practical utility in day-to-day life. Sad but true. Last Thursday, in the Bangalore-Goa Paulo Travels sleeper coach, one ran into three youngsters from Bangalore. About 98% of their conversation was... yes, in English. And this was no coincidence. Ironical but true: having too strong local languages in a globalised world might actually be a setback, specially if one feels the need for looking at the outside world and getting access to a bigger role. Over the past weekend, I've been interacting with a number of techies from countries like Japan, China and other far-eastern countries, and this shows. Rather than just painting ourselves in emotive corners, can we think of doing something that could make a difference. Getting computing working in all the scripts of Konkani, and having Free Software operating systems working in Konkani has been one priority which few have shown determination in taking up. Digitising Konkani content is among long-awaited task. Even cultural events -- of all communities -- are hardly getting recorded or preserved for posterity. Take the mando festivals held each yearend, for instance. Promoting Internet-based (and CD/cassette-based) Konkani language options is another need. There are specialists who can give a deeper idea. But all this needs a multi-disciplinary approach, involving people of differing backgrounds. Can we raise to the challenge, if we're serious? FN ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
