--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Add your name to the CLEAN GOA INITIATIVE |
| |
| by visiting this link and following the instructions therein |
| |
| http://shire.symonds.net/pipermail/goanet/2005-October/033926.html |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: UDAY BHEMBRE's ROAD MAP TO HELL by Godfrey Gonsalves
Part VIII
Godfrey says:
<<what is the harm if both script flourish.>>
I hope that by this he means, What is wrong if
Konkani thrives, prospers, attains great literary
heights in both the scripts? If this could be
accomplished, every Konkani person would be very
happy. BUT it is just not possible. NO LANGUAGE IN
THE WORLD has made much progress when burdened with
two scripts; [and Konkani presently is saddled with
THREE major ones!] Take Sindhi, for instance. The
number of Sindhi speakers exceeds Konkani speakers
several times over. Sindhis belong to one of the most
prosperous communities in India; in Bombay alone they
have set up several colleges, three of them in the
Churchgate area! Yet their language has made little
progress on the literary front. This is because it
employs two different scripts: Arabic and Devanagari.
Consequently, there is no interaction between Sindhi
writers themselves as Devanagari Sindhi is not read by
Arabic authors and vice versa. [A similar situation
does exist in Konkani today; how many Goans are
capable of reading the large amount of Konkani
literature coming out in Kannada script?]
Sindhi language was being taught at Somaiya
College (Bombay) in the 1960s and 70s when I was a
teacher there. [I dont know the situation now.] The
question papers and textbooks were in the two scripts
and one Mrs Bhatia was the only teacher; she knew both
the scripts. Obviously, the books were costly. Now
imagine a situation wherein the Bombay University
decides to offer Konkani as a subject in its B.A.
course. Since Bombay has a sizeable population of
Mangaloreans, the textbooks will have to be printed in
three scripts: Roman, Devanagari and Kannada. Where
will they find Konkani teachers conversant with all
the three scripts? And the cost of books? Will this
be conducive to the growth of Konkani language and
literature in the educational field?
Let us take one more instance. The Mangalore
Diocese has been using a Konkani translation (in fact,
TWO!) of the ENTIRE Holy Bible (i.e. including the Old
Testament) for over a decade. But the Catholics in
Goa could not use it because it is in the Kannada
script. Had there been a single common script, this
situation would not have arisen. Even then, the
easiest course for Goa would have been to
transliterate the Mangalore Bible into Devanagari and
thence to Roman. This route is easier because
transliteration from Kannada to Devanagari is childs
play as the characters in the two scripts have a
one-to-one correspondence; and this can be
accomplished quite easily on a computer since
transliteration software is also available THE
TYPIST NEED NOT EVEN KNOW THE LANGUAGE. Again,
transliteration from Devanagari to Roman is simpler
than the other way around. Instead, the Archdiocese
of Goa has embarked upon a fresh TRANSLATION in Roman
script Konkani. And, hopefully, this will be followed
by a transliteration into Devanagari as it happened
with the New Testament. This duplication of work was
certainly avoidable.
The wisest course for us would be to publish
Konkani books in the script which is handy for the
author. If the book is later considered to be useful
to a wider audience, it should be transliterated into
the other scripts. For example, Miguel Braganza is an
accomplished author; he was responsible for bringing
out some excellent and very useful books on
agricultural topics. But they are in English. And
the unfortunate situation existing in Goa is such that
anyone who can read English is averse to getting his
hands soiled. Therefore, it would be a great help to
farmers if he could write such books in Roman script
Konkani which, I trust, he is adept at. His FIRST
such book will merit assistance from the Goa Konkani
Akademi. [Yes, it is ONLY THE FIRST BOOK OF AN AUTHOR
which is eligible for such assistance, NOT EVERY BOOK
OF THE SAME AUTHOR, as is being falsely propagated by
some vested interests. The same rule applies, and has
always applied, to Devanagari books also. The scheme
is called Poilo Chonvor i.e. first bloom.] His
books will certainly amount to a valuable contribution
to scientific/technical literature in the Konkani
language. Later, if it is considered useful to a
larger group of farmers, it could be transliterated
into Devanagari. For this again, assistance would be
available from the GKA under the transliteration
scheme. Would Miguel make this constructive
contribution to Romi Konkani and thus prove his love
for his mothertongue?
S. M. Borges
