Karnataka - Mangalore   

Prasar Bharati chief calls for encouraging use of Konkani

Staff Correspondent

The language faces threat of extinction if it is not nurtured at all levels: M.V. Kamath

MANGALORE: Konkani language faces the threat of extinction if enough attention is not paid to nurture it at all levels, chairman of Prasar Bharati M.V. Kamath has warned. Members of various Konkani-speaking communities were loath to using their mother tongue in conversations, he said and noted that this was not good.

Inaugurating the `Konkani Kalo B.V. Baliga Samsmaran' programme organised by Karnataka State Konkani Linguistic Minority Educational Institutions Association here on Sunday, he said 60 per cent of spoken Konkani language was in English. "While grammar and basics of the spoken form is Konkani, the actual spoken language is English, and this is regrettable," he said.

Another problem is the lack of good books and readers, he noted. "When there are no readers for Konkani literature, why would there be good books in Konkani or vice-versa?"

According to Mr. Kamath, another dilemma confronting the community is that they think in English and speak in Konkani, which is detrimental to the language.

Regretting the lack of socio-cultural compatibility amongst various Konkani-speaking communities spread across the coastal districts in Maharashtra up to Kerala, Mr. Kamath said diffidence amongst people of the community to use their language was only widening this gap. "Even stalwarts of the community Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar do not use Konkani,'' he said.

Stating that lack of a uniform script to promote the language was also hindering its growth, Mr. Kamath stressed the need to teach children from Konkani-speaking communities in Karnataka both Kannada and Devanagari scripts.

B.S. Baliga, chairman, Lamina Leasing and Finance, Mangalore, released a compilation of works of his father B.V. Baliga, edited by Sandhya Shevgoor on this occasion. B.R. Bhat, General Manager, Corporation Bank, released a book authored by Nagaraj Jawali. Blasius M. D'Souza, MLC, spoke.

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