Mangalore: English-Kannada-Konkani dictionary released
Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (NM)
Mangalore, Feb 27: A voluminous trilingual English - Kannada - Konkani dictionary, containing approximately 50,000 words, was released by Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D'Souza in a glittering function at Kalaangann, Shaktinagar, here on Wednesday February 26.
The dictionary, compiled by Stephen Quadras Permude and Fr Basil Vaz, has been published by Patha Darshini Seva Trust.
Prior to the release of the three-language dictioary, renowned litterateurs Dr Na D'Souza and Sara Abubakker and linguist Dr K V Narayana unveiled English - Konkani dictionary, Kannada - Konkani dictionary, and English - Kannada - Konkani dictionary, respectively, in a unique manner. The dictionary was then officially launched by the bishop.
Addressing the gathering, Bishop Dr Aloysius D'Souza said, "Earlier in 2007 an English - Konkani dictionary was released, which personally benefited me a lot as I often referred to it. The three-language dictionary wil serve a greater purpose, as all three languages are ones that we converse with in our everyday lives. A dictionary helps in a learning a new language."
Congratulating compilers of the dictionary Stephen Quadras Permude and Fr Basil Vas, he said, "This is your gift to Konkani language. There is so much of English influence nowadays, everybody is enamoured by English. We need to speak Konkani in our day-to-day lives in order to preserve it. Many schools have introduced Konkani with this intention."
Sara Abubakker said, "This dictionary will be of much use to people like me who are into translation. I have translated several works of Malayalam to Kannada. Earlier foreigners used to come here and write about this place, for instance, Rani Abbakka was not known until a foreigner wrote about her. It is because of colonialists that we could get education, and because of them that caste discrimination reduced to a certain extent. Christian missionaries contributed a lot to education and healthcare. But what is happening now? There are attacks on churches, and Christians and Muslims are given tags of 'conversion' and 'love Jihad'. There is no problem with conversion or inter-caste marriage. The Constitution does not prohibit it, and it is purely an individual choice."
In his address, Dr Na D'Souza said, "It is impotant to be familiar with many languages. Konkani language saw tough days from the beginning, as even the Portuguese did not allow it to flourish. Nevertheless, despite the hindrances, Konkani survived. Konkani has a history of a thousand years but it was only in 1938 that the first Konkani dictionary was released, compiled by Angelo Francis and published by Basel mission. After that several have dictionaries have been published, however, the English - Kannada - Konkani dictionary is a new concept. It is for the first time a Konkani dictionary has been compiled with 50,000 words, earlier the maximum was 30,000 words. This means a lot of research, a lot of hard work and efforts have gone into it."
Dr K V Narayana highlighted the importance of being multi-lingual and said, "Language played an important role in the post independence era, as it was the basis on which the states were formed. According to 2001 survey, there are 4 crore people speaking Konkani in the country and it is written in more than five scripts. Konkani speakers are in Karnataka bound to learn Kannada, as they use Kannada script, and the same holds good for Tulu speakers. Hence, while learning Konkani and Tulu, the individual learns Kannada too. But it is not so in the case of Kannada as it has its own script. Konkani and Tulu speakers are thus multi-lingual."
"The Anglo-Saxons felt that multi-lingualism was a hindrance to development and wanted a single language (English). However, the idea that multi-lingualism is a deterrent to growth is a myth, and it has been busted now. Knowing more languages is not a problem, and in fact, monolinguists have become an endangered species today. In this era of globalisation and technology it is difficult to survive as a monolinguist, whereas, a multi-linguist has more opportunities to explore," he said.
Prof Priyadarshini S Padkodkar, HoD of Konkani, University of Goa said that the richness of language depends on its vocabulary. "Dictionary is a source of words in a language. A multi-lingual dictionary provides a channel for readers to read the works of other languages too," she added.
Compiler of the dictionary Stephan Quadros said, "We have been working on this dictionary from three years. We have included approximately 50,000 words and spent Rs 14 lac on this venture. Each dictionary costs Rs 2000."
Stephen Quadras and Fr Basil Vaz were felicitated on the occasion.
Roy Castelino welcomed the gathering while Fr Basil Vaz propozed the vote of thanks.
Members of Patha Darshini Seva Trust Anil Coelho and Alwyn Desa Permude and others were present.