Goan Literature - Writing By Goans in Other Languages

Writing By Goans in Other Languages

Professor Peter Nazareth points out that that Goans have written in thirteen languages, of which the chief are Konkani, Marathi, English and Portuguese. The first of these, is the mother tongue, being written in four different scripts. Nazareth is editor of an anthology of Goan writing, Professor of English and African-American World Studies and adviser to the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. He writes:

(By saying Goans are cultural brokers, I mean) Goans mediate between cultures, Goans live between different cultures, Goans are travelers from one part of the world to another. This, in my opinion, happened when East and West met in Goans under pressure with the Portuguese conquest. Since that time, our usefulness to the world, wherever we are, is that we can understand different cultures and help people from different cultures understand one another. The disadvantage is that if we don't work on it, we may end up not knowing who we are."

Edward D'Lima, who has done his PhD on the Goan writer Armando Menezes, argues that Goan writing in English goes back to the late nineteenth century, when Goans were migrating out of this Portuguese-controlled colony in favour of jobs in the growing English-speaking British-ruled colonial world. One early example was the writer from the village of Pilerne (in Bardez) named Joseph Furtado.

Dr. S. M. Tadkodkar, who was conferred Ph. D. degree by Goa University for his exhaustive research work on Prof. Anant Kaakaba Priolkar, contends that while the Kannadd language of Karnataka province was dominating the Goan culture, Marathi language and culture was embraced by Goans. Now, Marathi has embraced the Goans and would not leave them, willingly. Maximum literature is published in Marathi. There are 8 Marathi dailies published from Goa. Prominent among them are Dianik Gomantak, Tarun Bharat, Lokamat, Navaprabha, Pudhari, Goadoot, Sanatan Prabhat. Marathi daily Lokmat has the highest circulation (50000+) among all dailies.

Goans now read (and write) in different languages. English is probably the most influential. Marathi is another widely-read language. Konkani, the widely-spoken and official language of the region, is studied in schools.