Overview: Let Konkani be…! (1134 words)
This is the birth centenary year of an illustrious Goan litterateur B.B. Borkar who wrote in both Konkani and Marathi fluently and successfully; of the two especially creditable is in Konkani because during the times he was writing, Goa was still under Portuguese rule and Konkani was relegated only to speaking at home and humming Konkani folk songs in a sort of amateur fashion. However, in the 50 years after its liberation when Goans had all the opportunities to amalgamate and develop its language, have they succeeded in doing that?
Government Recognition: If Goa had found itself in political turmoil immediately after it joined the Indian union in 1961, its language Konkani has been undergoing the same fate. Owing to the colonial rule, there was no great literary work in Konkani in Nagari script but through Roman script it did achieve high but unacknowledged literary standards. Even though it was of foreign origin writing in Roman script had advantages since it was the script of colonial masters who understood and encouraged it. On the other side Konkani in Nagari script has earned its reputation only since Shantaram Varde Valaulikar (Shanei Goembab), B.B. Borkar and a host of other talented Goans started writing in the last 100 years.
Reportedly there are over 5 million people with Konkani as their mother tongue settled all along the west coast of India between Mumbai and Kochi besides Bangaluru, but most in Goa. Konkani linguists are in both main religions, Hindu and Christian. A galaxy of its literati has written in Konkani, in whichever script each word represented a neuron in their brains firing, and the heart pumping blood at its full throttle. This passion after much flow resulted in Konkani being included in the scheduled group of Indian languages. It even more importantly succeeded in making Goa a rightfully independent state of India. Besides, it has been awarded the prestigious Dnyanpith award and a basketful of Sahitya Academy and other literary awards.
Amen! Konkani, as if till this point, had scripted its own progress. Up till the time statehood was declared there was no big noise about the fight over script. A few divergent views were overheard and ignored. The picture looked unrealistically rosy.
Internal Predicament: The bane of India and its societies is also the bane of Goa and its language. The caste and religious divide! Goa, always a bit ahead of the rest of India in societal emancipation never had as much social discrimination as elsewhere, possibly due to the Portuguese presence but it had indeed existed at subtle levels in many imperceptible ways. As Goans who moved out in search of career aspirations and brought back reports of events and happenings in the rest of India, the resident society was unknowingly and psychologically alerted to pursue applications of the imported knowledge when the Portuguese dominion ended. One such problem has been the caste oriented accents and semantics. Every Indian language including Hindi has accents which may differ from community to community. And, just as in Hindi, often the words originated and transformed with the migrating communities ever since the first settlers decided to make Goa their own home, even before Konkani as we know now existed. Any person who loves languages and its main purpose, to communicate, appreciates these humane variations. Sensitivity of tongue (pun intended) is so fine, an ancient Sanskrit proverb says it all, ‘a language changes about every 5 kilometers, food every 100 kilometers and dress every 500 km’. Even in the style crazy and quick air transport of today, this is quite apparent as one travels within or away from Goa.
The most serious charge often made by many people is that there is no standardized way of writing Konkani as an established language should have. Every caste and religious group claims its Konkani is the real language. Some of them are migrants to Goa often with similar sounding dialects as in Malwani from Maharashtra. Add to this the confusion related to Roman and Nagari scripts. Modern science is finding out the need to communicate or speak in different languages lies at the root of human intellect. In fact, this need and ability possibly encourages intellect. It is, then, utterly wrong to summarily dismiss the practice of writing in Roman script with a whole gamut of quality literature being produced and referred to in it, which was being followed for hundreds of years by a community of hundreds of thousands, and ask them to forget Romi Konkani, as it is called, ASAP.
Building bridges: One of the tenets of management methodologies of the 21st millennium is about discussing and accommodating rival view points. This is similar to building bridges over deltaic mouths of a river. Goa’s Catholics are not primarily averse to learning Nagari script, which would help not only in understanding nuances of refined Konkani but providing linkages across many other Indian languages, too. Goa’s Catholics have been blessed with social consciousness, progressive minds and ability to keep steps in tune with time. Their entrepreneurial skills are a legend and this step of learning Nagari script should immensely benefit them than not learning it. Moreover, with the above mentioned qualities this would help position them as leaders of the Goan society.
The problem lies in self centric and myopic views of protagonists of any accent or script. However, unlike the older generations few of the younger leaders are sufficiently futuristic minded. These youths have the necessary resilience, firmness and people friendly approach but importantly, are not unenthusiastic to breaking new grounds. There are acclaimed Konkani writers who write in different scripts and in a host of other languages such as Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and English. They could well be the architects to build the bridges.
Tides and Tones: Language is an expression of one’s personality, his manner of communication to interact with the world. It is intimately connected with his life and even career. It becomes richer not with vocabulary alone, but varied nuances in pronunciation, accent and meanings across its varied dialects. It would be excruciatingly boring if everybody had talked and written a sterilized language.
In Goa’s coastal village Sancoal while discussing with a fisherman his own ‘mother-tongue’ assumes an extra dimension of musical quality with backdrop of sea breeze, pounding waves and salty air. A flat intonation of any holy language including Konkani would sound incongruous and rhythm less along the Goa’s coast whose livelihood depends on sea. One has to go to a Velsao beach and listen to this symphony of language, its speakers and environment. Could anyone say Velsao fishermen should talk properly? Better still do they talk Nagari or Romi Konkani? It is Konkani through and thorough and Konkani with a lilt at that.
One may only say, let Konkani be...as is where is!
Published in Herald on 14 December 2010
Kalidas Sawkar, Caranzalem, Panaji Goa---9158985758: kalidas.sawkar@gmail.com
Showing posts with label Konkani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Konkani. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Myth of Mothertongues
Part 2:Primary languages in place of mother tongues (words 1168)
Change of mindsets, a global requirement: If, with Konkani as their mother tongue Goans have kept their identity alive through tumultuous 5 centuries as a Portuguese colony and later during the period 1961-1985, when its viability as an independent state wasat stake, it has been now another debate. This outlines the struggle between emerging futuristic aspirations of a vibrant society and rooting for identity in chaotic globalization, springing up not just in case of Konkani but amongst all other Indian languages, too.
This is a larger issue of opening avenues of progress with wider horizons, where English rules supreme; diverse socio-economics, two world wars and the post war meteoric progress in science &technology have resulted in this situation. Britain itself might have never planned or visualized such turn of events. Even in Balkan countries such as Sweden, which has never been under British Crown, English or French are compulsory second languages, however, most students choose English. This is remarkable because the European Union as such has been formally announced only about 10 years back. An argument often forwarded in India in defence of education in mother tongue has been of China, Japan and Russia amongst others who educate their children in their own Languages. But all these countries have been following this practice since early times, especially much before the Second World War. This period of mid twentieth century has become crucial not purely because of the war itself, but, during this era there was another explosion with far reaching ramifications than a nuclear bomb. It is primarily in the field of the information technology, and added to it are the developments in science & technology, economic implements and global societal developments as never before in the history of mankind. All these avenues function through English.
Freedom and aspirations: These developments have been decisive for native world languages because soon after the WW-II, old European colonies attained self rule and hundreds of millions of impoverished and illiterate people in these societies suddenly had to fend for themselves, from governing their fledgling nations, feeding their hungry poor to educating them. With prima facie social security, and food in the stomach, aspirations in no time started waking up in the breast of the ambitious modern man. This is exactly what freedom is all about!
To manage the issues involved, the United Nations, established after the WW-II, assumed the moral responsibilities of guiding these vulnerable democracies through their nascent days. Even though the Allies during the war, mainly US and UK, were English speaking countries, to provide education in English to hundreds of millions was beyond the infrastructural capabilities of UN which was itself quite unsteady at that time. Besides, selection of mother tongue as a medium of instruction was a matter of common sense and a readymade workforce for imparting education was available in almost all these countries. An offshoot of freedom in most colonies has been a surging sense of patriotism almost as a delayed passive response against the just overthrown colonial suppression. And what could be better way than through one’s own mother tongue, which is intrinsic to human communications. The mother tongue protagonists appeared on national scenes in every region especially in a country such as India, which was culturally more advanced than many other newly formed nations. To support or speak in colonial languages such as English became a sign of betrayal to ones mother land and its freedom fighters.
In Goa, similar to rest of India, this tussle has predictably coursed into a fight between mother tongue protagonists versus parents of young children who demand the choice of ‘sky is the limit’ prospects for their wards. Unfortunately for children, the parents do not have an organization to put their cases across, whereas the language groups are well organized and can pressurize governments. However, if the language groups and governments insist upon education through mother tongue, almost each one of their leaders and anybody else who can send their own children to English medium schools does so. Even during peak Marathi vs Konkani strife,in throughout ‘70s and ‘80s Maharashtrians in Goa sent their children to English medium schools when excellent Marathi medium schools were being run in all towns of Goa. This exposes the hypocrisy of mother tongue lovers.
As India's Supreme Court (SC) has said on July 21, 2009, it is parent's right to decide the medium of education and not any language protagonist. SC said if mother-tongue is sought to be imposed on the students, it would only further aggravate the problems of those studying in villages. “Otherwise, students from villages can’t compete with their peers in urban areas,” the Bench observed.
The phrase ‘mother tongue’ gets flaunted very carelessly but without any rigorous definition. Dictionaries all agree on one point, the language is spoken since childhood and not necessarily from mother. The matter is best resolved by science.
Brain research to help: Typically, science does not use the arguable word mother tongue, but mentions it as ‘early languages’ or better still, ‘primary’ languages’. These are languages learnt before the age of around seven, in whichever environment, in family, school or neighbourhood, but for all of them human brain forms a primary language center. The later languages learnt in years such as 10 or upwards have a separate secondary language center formed in our brains. Science does not make an issue of number of languages, but it says there could be even four or five primary languages (read mother tongues). These researches were done with a state-of-the art tool very popular with modern brain scientists and called functional MRI or f-MRI. Nature (vol. 388, p 171). The results cast doubts on the very concept of mother tongue as a single holy language. Besides the work in science & technology and its well accepted perception of primary and secondary languages, a simple observation around will guarantee that people who knew number of languages since childhood owing to transfer of their parents, or else, have done excellently in a very different language in higher education. In the end, what is the number and diversity of vocabulary offered by each of the varied mother tongues in India? The crux of the matter is do not limit your child to only one language even in school. Reading books in the language is many times more important than simply learning it on mother’s laps.
A mother tongue is an emotional issue embedded in human psyche. Working in a truly multi linguistic, multi caste-religious organization I was surprised to observe that mother tongue transcends caste and religious boundaries even within varying rungs of professional hierarchy. To communicate is an inborn need of all life forms at their own levels of evolution but most clearly it has been of humans, who may proficiently converse in many different languages with equal fluency.
Identity, aspirations and education: In summary, keep up the identity, but let education be according to parent’s choice and child’s talents.
****
Published in Herald of January 26, 2011
Kalidas Sawkar
9158985758
Change of mindsets, a global requirement: If, with Konkani as their mother tongue Goans have kept their identity alive through tumultuous 5 centuries as a Portuguese colony and later during the period 1961-1985, when its viability as an independent state wasat stake, it has been now another debate. This outlines the struggle between emerging futuristic aspirations of a vibrant society and rooting for identity in chaotic globalization, springing up not just in case of Konkani but amongst all other Indian languages, too.
This is a larger issue of opening avenues of progress with wider horizons, where English rules supreme; diverse socio-economics, two world wars and the post war meteoric progress in science &technology have resulted in this situation. Britain itself might have never planned or visualized such turn of events. Even in Balkan countries such as Sweden, which has never been under British Crown, English or French are compulsory second languages, however, most students choose English. This is remarkable because the European Union as such has been formally announced only about 10 years back. An argument often forwarded in India in defence of education in mother tongue has been of China, Japan and Russia amongst others who educate their children in their own Languages. But all these countries have been following this practice since early times, especially much before the Second World War. This period of mid twentieth century has become crucial not purely because of the war itself, but, during this era there was another explosion with far reaching ramifications than a nuclear bomb. It is primarily in the field of the information technology, and added to it are the developments in science & technology, economic implements and global societal developments as never before in the history of mankind. All these avenues function through English.
Freedom and aspirations: These developments have been decisive for native world languages because soon after the WW-II, old European colonies attained self rule and hundreds of millions of impoverished and illiterate people in these societies suddenly had to fend for themselves, from governing their fledgling nations, feeding their hungry poor to educating them. With prima facie social security, and food in the stomach, aspirations in no time started waking up in the breast of the ambitious modern man. This is exactly what freedom is all about!
To manage the issues involved, the United Nations, established after the WW-II, assumed the moral responsibilities of guiding these vulnerable democracies through their nascent days. Even though the Allies during the war, mainly US and UK, were English speaking countries, to provide education in English to hundreds of millions was beyond the infrastructural capabilities of UN which was itself quite unsteady at that time. Besides, selection of mother tongue as a medium of instruction was a matter of common sense and a readymade workforce for imparting education was available in almost all these countries. An offshoot of freedom in most colonies has been a surging sense of patriotism almost as a delayed passive response against the just overthrown colonial suppression. And what could be better way than through one’s own mother tongue, which is intrinsic to human communications. The mother tongue protagonists appeared on national scenes in every region especially in a country such as India, which was culturally more advanced than many other newly formed nations. To support or speak in colonial languages such as English became a sign of betrayal to ones mother land and its freedom fighters.
In Goa, similar to rest of India, this tussle has predictably coursed into a fight between mother tongue protagonists versus parents of young children who demand the choice of ‘sky is the limit’ prospects for their wards. Unfortunately for children, the parents do not have an organization to put their cases across, whereas the language groups are well organized and can pressurize governments. However, if the language groups and governments insist upon education through mother tongue, almost each one of their leaders and anybody else who can send their own children to English medium schools does so. Even during peak Marathi vs Konkani strife,in throughout ‘70s and ‘80s Maharashtrians in Goa sent their children to English medium schools when excellent Marathi medium schools were being run in all towns of Goa. This exposes the hypocrisy of mother tongue lovers.
As India's Supreme Court (SC) has said on July 21, 2009, it is parent's right to decide the medium of education and not any language protagonist. SC said if mother-tongue is sought to be imposed on the students, it would only further aggravate the problems of those studying in villages. “Otherwise, students from villages can’t compete with their peers in urban areas,” the Bench observed.
The phrase ‘mother tongue’ gets flaunted very carelessly but without any rigorous definition. Dictionaries all agree on one point, the language is spoken since childhood and not necessarily from mother. The matter is best resolved by science.
Brain research to help: Typically, science does not use the arguable word mother tongue, but mentions it as ‘early languages’ or better still, ‘primary’ languages’. These are languages learnt before the age of around seven, in whichever environment, in family, school or neighbourhood, but for all of them human brain forms a primary language center. The later languages learnt in years such as 10 or upwards have a separate secondary language center formed in our brains. Science does not make an issue of number of languages, but it says there could be even four or five primary languages (read mother tongues). These researches were done with a state-of-the art tool very popular with modern brain scientists and called functional MRI or f-MRI. Nature (vol. 388, p 171). The results cast doubts on the very concept of mother tongue as a single holy language. Besides the work in science & technology and its well accepted perception of primary and secondary languages, a simple observation around will guarantee that people who knew number of languages since childhood owing to transfer of their parents, or else, have done excellently in a very different language in higher education. In the end, what is the number and diversity of vocabulary offered by each of the varied mother tongues in India? The crux of the matter is do not limit your child to only one language even in school. Reading books in the language is many times more important than simply learning it on mother’s laps.
A mother tongue is an emotional issue embedded in human psyche. Working in a truly multi linguistic, multi caste-religious organization I was surprised to observe that mother tongue transcends caste and religious boundaries even within varying rungs of professional hierarchy. To communicate is an inborn need of all life forms at their own levels of evolution but most clearly it has been of humans, who may proficiently converse in many different languages with equal fluency.
Identity, aspirations and education: In summary, keep up the identity, but let education be according to parent’s choice and child’s talents.
****
Published in Herald of January 26, 2011
Kalidas Sawkar
9158985758
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