Albert, To me it appears that Goans should now be penalised for not speaking in Konkani in their homes! During my recent trip to Goa, I was astonished to see that Goans converse with their kids in English only!! So much so that Goan kids are now unable strike a conversation in Konkani! I noticed that "English" trend among my friends and relatives and with people in public places as well.
While the topic of Devnagari v/s Roman script for Konkani gets highlighted in political circles and at length on Goanet, I feel that Goans might slowly be losing their language itself, their unique form of identity. As I sat at the airport waiting lounge, I found myself conversing with my son in Konkani while my fellow Goans were only using English -- of course, I knew they were Goans, as that occasional Konkani word surfaced. Naguesh Naguesh Bhatcar > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 17:23:33 +0000 > Subject: [Goanet] Fined for speaking in Konkani > > > Albert writes:- One is seen grumbling that we were fined for speaking in > Konkani. The idea behind this was to help us to be fluent in English. When I > was studying for my premiro grav in portuguese in Lourdes Convent school we > had to converse in Portuguese during the portuguese class which was held in > the evenings. In the morning we had to converse in English. Konkani is our > mother tongue which requires no practice as it is the language born with us. > English is the language that needs to be practiced as the pronounciations are > tough and not like french or portuguese which goes by sound and writings.
