Linguistic issues in Goa

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Contents 1 Problems/Issues 1.1 Multilingualism 1.2 Konkani - Marathi dispute 1.3 Script and dialect issues 2 References

[edit] Problems/Issues

The Konkani language has been in danger of dying out primarily due to

1. The fragmentation of Konkani into various, sometimes mutually unintelligible dialects.
2. The Portuguese influence in Goa, especially on Catholics.
3. Strong degree of bilingualism of Konkani Hindus in Goa and coastal Maharashtra with Marathi
4. Progressive inroads made by Urdu into the Muslim communities.
5. Mutual animosity among various religious and caste groups; including a secondary status of Konkani culture to religion.
6. Migration of Konkanis to various parts of India and around the world.
7. Lack of opportunities to study Konkani in schools and colleges. Even till recently there were few Konkani schools in Goa. Populations outside the native Konkani areas have absolutely no access to Konkani education, even informally.
8. Preference among Konkani parents to speak to their children in "Potaachi Bhas" (language of the stomach) over "Maaim Bhas"(mother tongue) Konkani; primarily in English to help their children gain a grip over English in schools.^[1]

Efforts have been made to stop this downward trend of usage of Konkani^{[citation needed]}, starting with Shenoi Goembab's efforts to revive Konkani. There has been a renewed interest in Konkani Literature. The recognition granted by Sahitya Akademi to Konkani and the institution of an annual award for Konkani literature has helped.

Some organizations such as the Konkan Daiz Yatra, organized by Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Mumbai since 1939 and the newer Vishwa Konkani Parishad have laid great stress on uniting all factions of Konkanis.

[edit] Multilingualism

According to the Census Department of India, Konkani speakers show a very high degree of multilingualism. In the 1991 census, as compared to the national average of 19.44% for bilingualism and 7.26% for trilingualism; Konkani speakers scored 74.20% and 44.68% respectively. This makes Konkanis the most multilingual community of India.

This has been due to the fact that in most areas where Konkanis have settled, they seldom form a majority of the population and have to interact with others in the local tongue. Another reason for bilingualism has been the lack of schools teaching Konkani as a primary or secondary language.

While bilingualism is not by itself a bad thing, it has been misinterpreted as a sign that Konkani is not a developed language. The bilingualism of Konkanis with Marathi in Goa and Maharashtra has been a source of great discontent because it has led to the belief that Konkani is a dialect of Marathi ^{[2] [1]} (see Konkani-Marathi Dispute)and hence had a bearing on the future of Goa.

[edit] Konkani - Marathi dispute

It has been claimed by some quarters that Konkani is a dialect of Marathi and not an independent language. This has been attributed to several historical reasons (outlined in the History section), the close similarities between Marathi and Konkani, the geographical proximity between Goa and Maharashtra, the strong Marathi influence on Konkani dialects spoken in Maharashtra (such as Malwani), a supposed lack of literature in Konkani and a great degree of bilingualism of Konkani Hindus with respect to Marathi.

José Pereira, in his 1971 work "Konkani - A Language: A History of the Konkani Marathi Controversy", pointed to an essay on Indian languages written by John Leyden in 1807 wherein Konkani is called a "dialect of Maharashtra" as an origin of the language controversy. ^[1]

Another linguist to whom the error is attributed is Grierson. Grierson's work on the languages of India: The Linguistic Survey of India was regarded as an important reference by other linguists. In his book, Grierson had distinguished between the Konkani spoken in costal Maharashtra (then, part of Bombay Presidency) and the Konkani spoken in Goa as being two different languages. He regarded the Konkani spoken in costal Maharashtra as a dialect of Marathi and not as a dialect of Goan Konkani itself. But, in his opinion, Goan Konkani was also to be considered a dialect of Marathi because the relegious literature used by the Hindus in Goa was not in Konkani itself, but in Marathi. Grierson's opinion about Goan Konkani was not based on it's linguistics but on the diglossic situation in Goa.

S. M. Katre's 1966 work, The Formation of Konkani, which utilized the instruments of modern historical and comparative linguistics across six typical Konkani dialects, showed the formation of Konkani to be distinct from that of Marathi. ^{[1] [2]} Shenoi Goembab, who played a pivotal role in the Konkani revival movement, rallied against the pre-eminence of Marathi over Konkani amongst Hindus and Portuguese amongst Christians.

Goa's accession to India in 1961 came at a time when Indian states were being reorganized along linguistic lines. There were demands to merge Goa with Maharashtra state. This was because Goa had a sizeable population of Marathi speakers and Konkani was also considered to be a dialect of Marathi by many. Konkani Goans were opposed to the move. The status of Konkani as an independent language or as a dialect of Marathi had a great political bearing on Goa's merger, which was settled by a plebiscite in 1967. ^[1]

The Sahitya Akademi (a prominent literary organization in India) recognized it as an independent language in 1975, and subsequently Konkani (in Devanagari script) was made the official language of Goa in 1987.

[edit] Script and dialect issues

The problems posed by multiple scripts and varying dialects have come as an impediment in the efforts to unite Konkanis. The decision to use Devanagari as official script and Antruz dialect has met with opposition both within Goa and outside it^[3]. The critics contend that Antruz dialect is unintelligible to most Goans, let alone other Konkanis, and that Devanagari is used very little as compared to Roman script in Goa or Kannada script in coastal Karnataka^[3]. Prominent among the critics are Konkani Catholics in Goa, who have been at the forefront of the Konkani agitation in 1986-87 and have for long used the Roman script including producing literature in Roman script. They are demanding that Roman script be given equal status to Devanagari. ^[4]

In Karnataka, which has the largest number of Konkanis, leading organizations and activists have similarly demanded that Kannada script be made the medium of instruction for Konkani in local schools instead of Devanagari.^[5]

At present no single script or dialect can claim to be understandable or acceptable to all sections. No serious efforts have been made to achieve a consensus on this issue. The lack of a standard dialect which is acceptable to all means that at many times Konkanis interact with other Konkanis in other languages.

[edit] References