DISAPPEARANCE OF 'PARAS.VARNA' IN THE INDIAN LANGUAGES: IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR INDIAN LANGUAGES?' - By DR S M Tadkodkar

It is claimed that 25 languages are being annihilated every year for obvious reasons. (Could the UNESCO Report be an authentic one?) Indian languages have become victims of an onslaught invasion of English (language) since the day they have come in its contact.

They have already lost their own grandeur, luster and are presently on the verge of losing their identity.

All are requested to make an attempt of having an entourage into any dictionary of Indian words of a particular language. Indeed everyone will explore flora and fauna of Indian lingua franca. Indian languages have bloomed in the company of their mother, viz. Sanskrit. Sanskrit has its own Art (and Science) of Poetics. It has its own Science of Rhetoric i.e. Alankaar Shastra.

Sanskrit is being patronized at university level, outside India. While the learning-teaching process in Sanskrit has come to a screeching halt in almost all the institutions in India, the Indian languages have lost the reservoir of Alankàr Shàstra. They have, clandestinely, been adopting the Western Poetics. The new generation wonders about, whether they have any roots in the Indian soil.

Presently, Indian languages have been boasting about having their own grammar. Indeed, they have their own grammar. But, how much is their own grammar and how much has been borrowed from English?

Why has English been taking toll from the Indian languages? This is not only the pertinent question to be asked.

Instead, "Why are you surrendering, unconditionally, to the global icon in the ocean of languages?" is the question that should be raised first.

India has been taking pride of shutting schools in their vernacular languages. Why? Simply because,

"We have to compete with the West?" is the stern reply.

If asked, "How many of the countries in the West have shut down schools being run in their own native languages to gain an edge over English? If they have not shut down their schools in their own languages, then, how are they going to survive?"

No one has any answer to these questions.

Contents

I. Learning-teaching process in Sanskrit
II. The rule of 'Paras.warNa'
III. 'ऋ' to pronounce cerebral 'ru' (मूर्धन्य)
IV. The Roman script is surging

I. Learning-teaching process in Sanskrit:

Basically, Indian languages have the following consonants (वर्ण) in the alphabetical order:

'क्' वर्ग : क्, ख्, ग्, घ्, ङ्
'च्' वर्ग : च्, छ्, ज्, झ्, ञ्
'त्' वर्ग : त्, थ्, द्, ध्, न्
'ट्' वर्ग : ट्, ठ्, ड्, ढ्, ण्
'प्' वर्ग : प्, फ्, ब्, भ्, म्

य्, र्, ल्, व्, श्, स्, ह्, ळ्, क्ष्, ज्ञ्

II. The rule of 'Paras.warNa':

Indian languages have a perfect arrangement for their nasal sounds.

As per the orthography, the nasal sounds follow the rule of 'Paras.warNa' (परस-वर्ण) except in case of the following consonants:

य्, र्, ल्, व्, श्, स्, ह्, ळ्, क्ष्, ज्ञ्

'क्'-वर्ग वर्ण (consonants) follow the nasal sounds inculcating guttural (कण्ठ्य) - 'ङ्' e. g.

'कंकण' > 'कङ्कण', 'कोंकणी' > 'कोंकणी', 'ब्यांक,' > 'ब्याङ्क', 'शृंखला' > 'शृङ्खला', 'मंगल'>'मङ्गल', 'जांघ'>जाङ्घ';

'च्' वर्ग वर्ण follow the nasal sounds inculcating palatal (तालव्य) - 'ञ्' e. g.

'चंचला'>'चञ्चला', 'कंचन'>'कञ्चन', 'लांछन'>'लाञ्छन', 'रंजन'>'रञ्जन, 'झंझा'>'झञ्झा';

'त्' वर्ग वर्ण follow the nasal sounds inculcating dental (दन्त्य) - 'न्' e. g.

'तंत्र' > 'तन्त्र', 'मंथरा' > 'मन्थरा', 'आनंद' > 'आनन्द', 'अंधार' > 'अन्धार';

'ट्' वर्ग consonant follow the nasal sounds inculcating cerebral (मूर्धन्य) - 'ण्' e. g.

'घंटा'>'घण्टा', 'थंड'>'थण्ड', 'षंढ'>'षण्ढ', 'पंढरपूर'>'पण्ढरपूर';

(please note that 'ऋ' (short vowel), 'ऋ' (long vowel), 'र्' and 'ष्' may also be included under the cerebral (मूर्धन्य) category)

'प्' वर्ग वर्ण follow the nasal sounds inculcating labial (औष्ठ्य) 'म्' e. g.

'परंपरा'>'परम्परा', 'फांपर'>फाम्पर', 'गुंफा'>'गुम्फा', 'अंबा'>'अम्बा', 'दंभ'>'दम्भ';

In view of the above

1.'अन्जीर'= 'a fig' should have been written as 'अञ्जीर'

2.'आन्ट'='an intestine' should have been written as 'आन्त' or 'आंत'

3.बाळंतेर can also be written as बाळन्तेर

1.'आम्ब्शे'=sour 'आम्ब्शे' is more appropriate word formation than -

2.'आम्शे'= sour

III. 'ऋ' to pronounce cerebral 'ru' (मूर्धन्य):

We write 'रुख' ('Rukh') for 'a tree' (Sanskrit meaning 'Vruksha') because generally people residing in the Western Indian belt (especially Goa and Maharashtra) write 'ऋ' to pronounce cerebral 'ru' (मूर्धन्य). The logically convincing answer behind this acceptance is very simple:

Grammarians of Indian languages have included pronunciation of the cerebral 'ru' (मूर्धन्य) in the category of the vowels of 'उ' and 'ऊ' and not in the category of vowels of 'अ' or 'इ'. Therefore the word to pronounce as 'Sanskrit' is incorrect. Indeed, it should have been pronounced as 'Sanskrut'.

Today, most of the 'progressive' people have forgotten about the rule of paras.warNa (परसवर्ण).

It was because of hegemony of the Hindi, the English language adopted the pronunciations from the former during its colonial rule. In course of time, it compelled clandestinely all the Indian languages to follow a universal rule, which was acceptable to both Hindi and English. In the bargain the pronunciation of 'ऋ' in the Indian languages has become 'ri'.

e. g. 'अम्रित= nectar of immortality

This immortality has been snatched away from the Indianness. The structure of Indian languages has been in doldrums, historical pride of having identity and integrity has been dwindling.

IV. The Roman script is surging:

In the beginning, English (and Portuguese culture) drove Indians out of the Sanskrit umbrella. Presently, it is pushing Indians away from their own Indian languages, in the name of economic development under the carpet of English languages. The fierce competition between the Urdu (along with Arabian, Persian) and English languages to rule the fabric of secular element among the Indian languages has become more prime ambition than anything else…

… and that is the reason the Roman script is surging …

Archbishop D. Francisco da Assunçao disallowed 'Crista Puranna' (written by Father Thomas Stephens,a British Jesuit priest, published in 1616, comprising more than 11,000 strophes) a classic in Marathi that saw immeasurable popularity (printed six editions), for reading in temples of Jesus Christ, in 1776. Such ban was the beginning of the end of writing in vernaculars. While the British, during their colonial regime, were encouraging vernaculars in India, Portuguese were out to give a clean shave to Indian languages. It was 1684, the year, that saw sadly the extermination of vernaculars. The Viceroy Francis de Tavera, Count of Alvor on the June 27, 1684 published a decree of Law that screamed:

"In order to put an end to all conveniences, it would be suitable to set aside the use of vernacular idiom and insist that all apply themselves to speak Portuguese since the use of both the languages at one and same time gives us cause to various conveniences; including that being not understood…I assign three years, period within which the Portuguese languages is ought to be studied and spoken. Moreover, this language alone should be used in their parts in their dealings and other contracts, which they may wish to enter into, those using the vernacular being severely punished for not obeying this mandate." (Anant Kakaba Priolkar,The Printing Press in India, Bombay, 1958)

While Dr. Joaquim Heliodoro da Cunha Rivara, who was an ardent lover of Konkani language, publishing an essay on Konkani in 1858 had appealed to its speakers to revive their lingua franca. But, the policies, those are being adopted (and being admitted) today in the 21st century are not that different to those, which were followed in the 17th century by the foreigners.

A question that remains unanswered is – Is it good or bad for Indian languages?

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© Dr S M Tadkodkar
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VIEWS AND REVIEWS ON KONKANI LANGUAGE IN 1923 - By Dr S M Tadkodkar

It is quite heartening to talk on Goa's mããya-bhaas i. e. Konkani. The Sun and the Moon do not speak about their own identity. Konkani speakers too, leave apart some respectable names, did not speak aloud about own distinct identity then. The most astonishing fact is that until mid-twentieth century intellectual non-Goans, in quite a large number, spoke more on existence, nature and lineage of the great traditional language of the Konkan region. The neez-goemcaars got moral and technical support from them. John Leyden (1775-1811), William Carey (1761-18340), John Wilson (1804-1875), Dr. Joaquim Heliodoro Da Cunha Rivara (1800-1879) can be named among the best lot. Some of them were viciously critical too. The Maharashtrians too were not lagging behind. But quite a few among them were interested in focusing on the opinion that Goa's mããya-bhaas was a dialect of the principal language of Maharashtra i. e. Marathi.

Among all of them Rao Sahib Dr. V. P. Chavan (some time vice president of THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BOMBAY), Dr. Sumitra Mangesh Katre, Dr. S. B. Kulkarni, with in-depth study, maintained that Goa's mããya-bhaas has distinct and independent identity. For Rao Sahib Dr. V. P. Chavan it was a painful experience to observe that although the Goa's mããya-bhaas was spoken by over a million and a half people in 1924, it still remained neglected and uncared for. He said, "…its pristine beauty, its mellifluence, its picturesque, its natural sweetness, all these produce a homely sort of feeling. These characteristics, perhaps, have given it vigour to withstand the onslaughts of more powerful and classical languages in its neighbourhood." Dr. V. P. Chavan expected a lot, on this count, from the Press. He said, "We look to the Press to give us all sorts of news from all parts of the world. But the influence of the Press is not limited to being what is called 'Newsy'. The Press has a higher function to do, i. e. to educate the people and direct its intelligence to higher and nobler things in life." The Press did not fail him. Dr. Chavan delivered, in the presence of fifty erudite listeners (who had arrived from Pune, Thane as well), a series of lectures on the subject, titled "The Konkan and the Konkani Language" under the auspices of THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BOMBAY during the span of three months. After the second lecture was delivered on Wednesday evening, the 5th September, 1923 (All the three lectures, later on, were printed in Volume XII of the Society's Journal), the Indian Press did shower accolades for the bravery (!) The Times of India (TOI, Bombay), 7.9.1923), a daily of esteem said that the lecture (followed by a discussion) showed that Mumbai (the then Bombay) was not quite as heedless of things of the mind as it was supposed to be. A letter written by some one, namely 'S. V. K.', and published in TOI (5.10.1923) after the third lecture was delivered on Wednesday, the 3rd October, 1923, mentioned Dr. Chavan as a member of a backward community and opined that those who had the fortune to listen those lectures, enjoyed a literary treat, which was hardly to be met with in scientific associations those days. He further underlined that those lectures revealed a depth of knowledge, considerable accuracy, high culture and hard work in the absence of any available literature.


Konkan and the Konkani Language, Dr V P Chavan
ISBN : 8120606663

This book is the reprint of a series of lectures delivered under the auspices of
the Anthropological society of Bombay in 1923 by Dr V P Chavan.





On the backdrop of these lectures, TOI (11.10.1923) was worried about the future of Konkani. Further, it suggested that the only thing likely to arrest the decay of Konkani would be a revival of that particular kind of local patriotism, which had emerged as a political phenomenon in more than one part of the world! The Prajamitra and the Parsee (Bombay, 9.11.1923) has sketched the lectures as follows: "Dr. Chavan had to break his own ground in as much as there was next no previous guide. The elementary grammar published several decades ago by Dr. Gerson Da Cunha was not available to him. He describes Konkan, traces its relation to Maharashtra, defines its geographical limits, for a moment turns aside to dilate on the castes and creeds of Konkan, establishes the proposition of Konkani as a feeder of the classical language, refers to the destructive activity of the Portuguese, comes down to the number of Portuguese words, and discusses its relation with Canaries… One cannot but admire Dr. Chavan's concentration, which helps to reveal the unknown depths of the Konkani, which one would, otherwise, have regarded as a negligible patois.''

Instantly, one would remember Itihasaachaarya Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade, who had mentioned that the literature written, during the 17th century, by the catholic missionaries in Goa was in Paishaachee language and great scholar Prof. Anant Kakaba Priolkar proved the contention as a wrong one. The Bombay Chronicle (Thursday, 21.2.1924) had to take cognizance of the lectures delivered by Dr. Chavan. It observed them as follows: "The innate conservation of the people of India has given a vitality to some of the dialects, which is truly wonderful. Take, for example, the Konkani dialect, which is spoken at present by at least a million and half people in Western India. Though it has had no alphabet of its own and no literature worth mentioning, it has continued to live even in a vigorous condition at times, for nearly 1500 years, and this, in spite of the fact that a sister language very closely allied to it, namely Marathi, with an alphabet and a literature of its own, has been trying to crush it out of existence by the sheer force of its wider popularity with the governing class. The study of the origin, growth and vicissitudes of such dialect, therefore, cannot be lacking in interest to the students of anthropology, and Indian history." An evening periodical Advocate of India (Wednesday, 27.2.1923) complimented Dr. Chavan for his learned paper and passed on some remarks as follows: "Though the dialect has held the field for fifteen hundred years, Dr. Chavan, is not sure that it will survive a century more, since Konkani-speaking Christians are taking more and more to the use of English or Portuguese even at home…Still, to philologists the charm of this dialect, which has shown such a wonderful vitality for a thousand years and more will never cease."

The Voice of India (Tuesday, 4.3.1924) had appreciated Dr. Chavan in the following words: "There is no tawdry exterior betokening laboured vacuity in Dr. Chavan's studies. The disciplined thinking of a scientific man, this – he imports into the letters…Unless we are greatly mistaken this scholar and medicine man, in more senses than one, is the author of those enlivening letters contributed to the Times of India under the nom-de-plume of Kunbi. …broad-minded appreciation is reflected in Dr. Chavan's pages, which gives ample evidence of how the apparently insipid pursuit of antiquated dialects can be translated into refreshing studies infusing in the reader a desire to hear more and more from author." The lectures delivered by Dr. Chavan convinced The Indian Mail (Thursday, 20.3.1924) about the distinct quality of Konkani language. As such, this periodical wrote, "People in these days are inclined more or less to adopt a language, which has the greatest utilitarian value, and it is therefore a significant feature of the Konkani language that, in spite of its not being a written language, it is still a live one." While exclaiming kudos to Dr. Chavan, The All India Saraswat (April 1924) said, "Dr. Chavan has an interesting explanation to offer regarding the origin of the words Konkan and Canaries. He suggests that the former is derived from kim kinnwam – what is this drug? The drug being the intoxicating beverages derived from palm trees abundant on the west Coast. As to the latter word, Dr. Chavan shows that it has no connection with Canaries language as such. The expression Lingua Canarina used by the Portuguese to denote Konkani was only meant to suggest that it was the language of Canarins or Christians born of Indian parents." The Goan World (May 1924) expressed a sense of gratitude for Dr. Chavan's onerous but fruitful research, saying, "As Goans, we consider it to be our duty to convey to Dr. Chavan our deep sense of indebtedness for the invaluable work he has done on behalf of the language of our forefathers, and we feel sure that the highly appreciative words in which the leading news and political organs of this city have spoken of his scholarly achievements. "We, as Goans, have it in our hands to contribute something to the great national movement that is now being spiritedly carried on, by cultivating our purely Indian tradition and by making an organised effort to save our mother-tongue from its present state of stagnation."

All these views on Konkani language and reviews on the lectures delivered by Dr. Chavan in 1923 form into a significant documentation for the students of history and languages.

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© Dr S M Tadkodkar
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Dr S M Tadkodkar - An Introduction

Dr S M Tadkodkar, will be penning a few articles for the 'SaveMyLanguage' project. The articles pertain to the Konkani language & the Konkani People.

He is an author of 18 books (5 of them in Konkani) and is a recipient of many awards.

He is 55 years old and has been working as an university teacher in Goa University since 1994.

While his forte is poetry, his passion is research in the area of 17th century Konkani and Marathi literature.

He uses the pseudonym Su. Ma. Tadkod while contributing to literary writing in Konkani & Marathi.

A list Konkani books penned by him are as follows:

१. कोंकणी समीक्षण : तत्त्व आनी प्रयोग, केदार प्रकाशन, गोंय, १९८५
२. र० वि० पण्डित : व्यक्ती आनी साहित्य, गोवा कोंकणी अकादेमी, गोंय, २००६, (कोंकणी साहित्याचे शिल्पकार ग्रंथमाला क्रमांक तीन)
३. कथा-अरुण (सम्पादन- अरुण सीताराम सिनाय सिंगबाळ हांच्यो कोंकणी कथा), गोवा कोंकणी अकादेमी, गोंय, २००७,
४. एक कृश्ण कळी, केदार प्रकाशन, गोंय, २००७,
५. पांयजेल, केदार प्रकाशन, गोंय, २००८

Konkani Dictionary - Timeplan

Here we have the time plan for the Konkani Dictionary Project being run at www.savemylanguage.org

Details the various phases of the project and where we are at presently.

प्रथम आम्चिगेले ब्लोग

प्रथम आम्चिगेले ब्लोग !!!!
देवू बरेन कोरो
जय कोंकणी !!! जय समाज

रोशन पाई

Konkani Blog Registration on Technorati

Technorati Profile

Give people what they want !!!

New changes to the English to Konkani translate page.

The English to Konkani translation feature on the site, still maintains its pole position as the favourite feature on the page. (Even though the editors and contributors of the project, would rather have the 'Contribute a Konkani word' feature to be the most used one. Without word contributions there would be no data to translate you see)

A new algorithm has been implemented that tracks the actual searches being done on the site by end users. Before today, no tracking of search terms was being done and rather relied on the backend database to find the right terms. If there was no corresponding word in the dictionary, then nothing was returned to the user and no further action was taken to address these searched words.

The new tracker will help track user inputs (in English) and mark search queries that do not show any matches (in Konkani). These search queries can then be tracked and added to the Konkani Dictionary database.

This should enhance the user experience by ensuring that the most searched words are included in the database, on a relatively higher priority basis and hence find matches when searched for. Words that are searched more often, and that dont find any matches, are assigned higher 'Add to Dictionary' ranking.

Moral of the story:

"The more people search for specific English words, the more likely that the corresponding Konkani word would be included in the database"

or to put in a different way

"Give people what they want !!!"