On 12 June 2010 21:25, Tony de Sa <[email protected]> wrote: > A great effort but sadly the accent is not Goan at all and the emphasis is > on the wrong syllables - of course, you can take my comment with a table > spoonful of salt as I am no great shakes at music but this is my honest > opinion.
Tony, let's say it's an expat Goan accent. Born in Tanzania probably, raised in Canada. And what's wrong with that? Weren't you a toto in Arusha too? Didn't your knowledge (or lack of knowledge) of Konkani get laughed at when you first came down? We're great for putting down each other. Language is a fantastic tool! Didn't Bardezi speakers laugh at Xashti? Wasn't the "Konknno" and his style of speaking depicted in crude stereotypes in the tiatr till the other day (now that score is reserved for the Ghantin)? And didn't Devanagari look down upon Romi? Or Antruzi select itself as the fountainhead of all dialects, while also delegitimising the Pednem or Kankonn dialects? If we expect expat Goans to straightaway have flawless accents, forget it! (My Malyalee, Telugu and other expat friends are also reporting the loss of language, which Goans, being earlier migrants, had faced earlier on in history.) Even in Goa "flawless" is a matter of definition. If we cease poking fun at others, there's a lot of scope for accents to improve. More so, with the Internet around, to learn from and share ideas and examples. What's important is intention and affinity. I think it's unfair to laugh at those making the effort. Feedback is welcome, but why make it into a bitter pill? (I don't mean you...) FN Frederick Noronha +91-9822122436 +91-832-2409490
