Edgar writes: Eugene is a nit picker and I have known him. He writes well (he would make a good gossip columnist on any tabloid) and Tim does not speak Konkani well. He is well intentioned and wants to learn at his age the language of his ancestors. That Eugene should spend time to correct Tim's Konkani is ridiculous or is it that Eugene has nothing better to do? Konkani is an imperfect language due to it's persecution and neglect by the Goans. Thanks to Fr. Stevens and Borkar and many Hindus, it is going through a evival. If we let down our guard, Marathi will resurface in Goa and dominate Konkani. --- Frankly, I don't know Edgar well. I must admit I knew his brother, Hilary, well as we were both on the GOA executive. I have met Edgar just a couple of times, and some months ago, he entertained me with caju feni when I dropped him home from a meeting address by Panjim Council Patricia. Saying that I would be a good gossip writer shows that Edgar hasn't read my journalism. Check India's finest political weekly, Frontline, for my pieces, and also India Today (north American edition). One of the reason I pointed out Tim's "poor" Konkani was to know what the teacher in fact really teach his pupils. I had earlier asked Joao his background in teaching and he gave me a big list of people he knew and who he knew, including political big-wigs in Goa. I thought he would jump in and say something about what I wrote regarding Tim's konkani. I would love to see many Goans speak and write the language. I don't claim to have any Konkani writing skills, but I would like to learn them. By his remark that Konkani is an "imperfect language" Edgar is not only wrong, but has played directly into the hands of the anti-Konkani brigade. It has been made to look "imperfect" by people who don't care about its grammar and other naunces. The leading Konkani scholars have said and demonstrated that Konkani is a 'structured" language following strict grammartical rules. Edgar could do his own research or he could write to my friend, Fr. Mathew Almeida at the Stephen Konkani Kendra for his opinion. Or better still, write to my other good old friend, Prof. Jose Pereira. I don't want to start a debate over this issue, as the debate has been as old as the hills. Peace,
Eugene Correia __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
