FATHER TONGUE
Everybody talks about Mother tongue, but I wander where the role of father is. There is no tongue for father? Goa to reach in par with the developed countries, English knowledge is a must which is Universal. So called mother tongue starts from the time when the child is born, and that the mother is the first person who guides the child, definitely the father comes next. In Goa our mother tongue is Konkani and not Marathi nor any other language but we have noticed in our ancestral times Portuguese was also spoken at home and not English but the child always took upon the mother tongue even without teaching. Later after the liberation slowly the Portuguese language vanished and English came into the picture. Now we see people fighting for English, Konkani and Marathi languages from the primary level? Those who feel that the Marathi or Konkani should be taught them it will automatically come to the child from their parents. But the English is necessary to survive in the world because this language must be taught in the school from the primary level and that so called mother tongue will surely comes in their tongues without even teaching them. This world is now on internet level and that the mother tongue in India is yet to reach that level. Therefore let the English be allowed to flourish from primary as it is difficult to grasp without teaching. Konkani will never die in Goa even if it is not taught. People should avoid fights for all these foolish things by making agitations, blocking the roads and so called “Rasta Roko” etc in order to create panic or destruction of transport in this state. Stephen Dias D.Paula ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
