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"Frederick Noronha (FN)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
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In the 'seventies, parents of Christian children of our generation
mostly had a gag-reaction when we were compelled to learn Hindi and
Marathi in school. The negative vibes caught on with us as kids. Today,
we are grateful that we can speak and read and are not functionally
illiterate when we travel 600 kms to Mumbai or Pune.
True, it is good to learn as many languages as possible. I am grateful that
the few languages I studied have been personally helpful to me e.g. Hindi,
Marathi, English, a bit of French, which I had to study during my schooling
in Goa and Bombay (now Mumbai), and of course my own sweet mother tongue
Konkani which I learned at my mothers knee. Unfortunately, I could not
put to use the Devanagari Konkani that I had to study as a subject in Goa.
When was the last time you heard that someone had been gainfully employed in
Goa (other than as a teacher), based on his/her knowledge of Konkani in
Devanagari script?
What a waste of time and resources learning Konkani in Devanagari script
that does not have so much as a formidable foundation and finds no
usefulness beyond the confines of the schools in Goa.
Wasnt it an astute move to institute Konkani in Devanagari so that the
conventional Konkani might die a natural death? It is good that the wave is
swelling for equal status for Konkani in Roman script (as one of Goas
official languages) will certainly help keep alive the ancestral legacy of
our beloved Konkani.
Joe Vaz
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