My family in 2010. to the Udentichem Noketr and the word Konkani used there was "Concanim". Many Mumbai-based newspapers also used the word "Concani". It is with the graduation staandardization of the language that the word "Konkani" is used. Isn't "Konknni" used too? The word "Goem" was used earlier, but now we have "Goy", the "o" with a tilde. The written form of Roman Konknni has undergone vast changes. It's another matter if the current usage, both grammatical and spelling, is the "right" one. The debate over this has been going on for years, particularly over the last decade. Will there ever be a consensus? I just went through the "Romi Lipient Konknni Boroughchi Promann Rit (The Stadnard Orthography of Konknni in Roman Script), by Pratap Naik, S. J., and published by the Dalgado Konknni Akademi, Ponnji, Goy, in 2010. Fr. Naik was assisted by Fr. Vasco de Rego, Fr. Mathew Almedia (now expired), Fr. Ave Maria Afonso (all belonging to the Society of Jesus), and Jose Salvador Fernandes. Has this new "orthography" accepted by all Konknni writers as the "standard"? Perhaps, Sebastian Borges can enlighten us more on this subject. I read somewhere that some writers hold the view that the late Joaquim Antonio Fernandes's grammar book (in fact a pamphlet) was good but needed some corrections. This view was also shared with me by Fr. Mathew during his visit to Toronto many years ago. Some writers still maintain that the pamphlet is the best. Fr. Mathew authored the "Romi Lipient Konknni Kors (Konknni Course in Roman Script), published by the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr in 2007. This book has 256 pages (including covers) while the other one has 66 pages, including covers. I had read Fr. Mathew's book some years ago and also (Prof) Fernandes's book long time ago. I would again request (Porf) Borges to highlight the differences between Fr. Pratap's book and Fr. Mathew's book in the first instance, and if (Prof) Borges has the time and the will he can also include (Prof) Fernandes's book. Whether pre- or post-1961, it does not matter how a particular word was spelled. What matters how the process of standardization was achieved. No need to give the current form of written Konknni tags such as "Devnagiri" Konknni or "Anturzi" Konknni, just we did in the past by separating Salcette Konknni and Bardez Konknni. The two accents (or dialects if you wish to call them) differ vastly till this day but, in general, each a Salcette person and a Bardez person has little difficulty in understanding each other. As long as Goans can communicate in whatever dialects they can, they can keep the language alive.
Eugene Correia
