Yes, our mother tongue deserves equal importance. We should never forget our roots. We see a lot of younger generations shying away from speaking Konkani. I’ve seen a lot of people advocating Marathi lately too, so before Marathi takes over we need to establish our Mai baas of Konkani. At the same time, we shouldn’t enforce something on anyone.
– Conrad Barreto, Margao
I doubt it will be of any use. We ourselves are to be blamed. Every parent today including me is leaning more towards the English language.
– Rajesh Shenvi, Panjim
Yes very much, It will help as many of our Goan catholic youth don’t know how to write in Romi Konkani. The literature of the Catholic church is kept alive by the Romi Konkani and the youngsters will keep it alive if it is given equal status
– Agnes Pinto, Vasco
I don’t know if this will help keep the language alive among youngsters but it will definitely give Romi Konkani legitimacy. For some reason this particular script is not held in as high a ranking as the Devanagri one. When it comes to keeping the language alive amongst younger generations, as someone who’s learnt both the scripts I don’t think it really matters. It’s more essential to inculcate the habit of speaking the language and learning its rich history and traditions.
– Megan Amanda, Anjuna
Yes. We should campaign to make people aware and feel proud about our Romi Konkani, it is our responsibility to keep the language alive for our upcoming generations, which is only possible if we speak in our own language and help people know our traditional language of Goa.
– Shreya Patil, Canca
I think before language status, the government should elevate living status. We are in the twenty second century and still struggling with electricity. Romi or whichever script can be left to individual choice.
– Colin D Cruz, Musician, Sangolda
Konkani language has so many dialects and different scripts as well and that makes it rich. Devanagri and Romi being the 2 principal scripts in use for ages in Goa, should be promoted and mutually supported if we sincerely wish to promote our language. Hence for me the question whether both Romi and Devanagari scripts should be given equal status doesn’t even arise. It is sad that Romiwadis need to fight to promote the language they fought alongside Devnagriwadis to retain as the mother tongue of Goa.
– Fr Bolmax Pereira, Chicalim
I think it’s great to see the efforts being taken to give equal status to Romi Konkani and to keep this language alive, since it is a big part of the origin and identity of most Goans. It is definitely something that should be used, treasured and cherished by Goans, young and old. Residents and tourists would surely benefit from Konkani in the Roman script, as they would be able to pronounce these words and communicate better, especially if they are not familiar with the Devanagri script. Also, if someone is visiting Goa on a holiday, and he/she sees sign boards or text in Devanagari, they might not understand the script. But if the text is in a familiar script, then it can help them to pronounce the words easily.
– Joanne da Cunha, Porvorim
