On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 Neal Pinto asked about the Konkani word...
--quote --
What about UDOK (ie: water)???
I notice that almost every other Sanskrit-based language uses the word "pani" - including Marathi (the geographically closest language), Bengali and Assamese (which are supposed to have evolved from the same proto-language as Konkani did).
As far as I know, there is no similar sounding word (to "udok") in Portuguese, Kannada, Malayalam, Farsi, Arabic, Turkish or modern-Mongolian.
If the word is truly indigenous to the Konkan area, I find it remarkable that a word describing such a common item has remained uninfuenced for so long.
Can anybody share some insight?
---- unquote ---
Dear Neal,
Sometimes in our study of language we forget the basics of human behavior. Human beings have always been narcissistic. The word 'narcissist' incidentally comes from Greek mythology and has no connection with the late Narcis from Goncoi, Aldona. This last statement has no connection with water but I just wanted to put it in anyway.
David Futers wrote regarding Konkani postings
---- quote --- yojne uoy ecneidua lanoitanirlum ent rof detsnanrt eb ton inaknok ni sgnitsop dluohS. puorg evisulcni ro evisulcxe no gnimoceb si siht fi sksa sretuF divaD ---- unquote ---
There Neal ! You have you answer!
Didn't get it as yet?
Konkani -> Mirror Writing - > Water ->
Ok for those of you who still didn't get it I will quote from the fantastic book by Jose P. Lourenco "The Goan Gods Must be Crazy". From Chapter 7 "Let there be water"
-------- quote ----
Legend has it that Lord Parusharam, after shooting his arrow and creating Govapuri was at a loose end as to what to do. He had enough money in Fix Deposits in Nationalised Banks to live a relatively comfortable life but he needed to do something better. So he decided to invent a board game - a language game. Remember this was a time when there were no languages invented as yet. Around 3,000 BC. So to invent a game he would have to invent a language. He decided the language would be Goanese and would be spoken in Goa, Daman and Diu. (mid-footnote: In 1,800 BC Emperor Gnyaneshwara the Second changed it to Konkanese and decreed that it should be spoken all over the Konkan).
Lord Parusharam had a favourite concubine named Bridget Gonsalves. They had a bitter sweet relationship. Using Brdiget as a testing board he went about inventing his language board game. First he wrote a word on a piece of parchment and held it facing himself. Bridget was supposed to try and decipher what was the word by certain actions that Lord Parusharam would make to give her clues. Somewhat like 'dumb charades'. Bridget was pretty dumb. Unknown to Lord Parusharam (mid-footnote: Parachute coconut oil was not discovered in 23,000 BC. Coconut trees were brought to India much later by the Sri Lankans over the bridge that Hanuman and Jack built) he was standing with his back to a mirror. So Bridget could read every word in the mirror. Only she was reading it backward.
------- unquote ----
To cut a long story short... UDOK is KODU spelled backwards.
Kodu, as everyone knows, is 'bitter' in Konkani. And in every language of Sanskrit descent.
So David Futers kindly note that this is GOANet and not INTERNATIONALNet. It is but natural that there will be postings in Konkani. That is after all the language of us Goans. It has nothing to do with being 'inclusive' or 'exclusive'. It is to do with being Goan and appreciating ALL things Goan.
Cheers!
Cecil
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