Konkani in the Roman (Romi) script is currently not recognised for official purposes. Yet, this form of the language continues to be vibrant and widely used in daily life.
Local initiatives have encouraged its use in local writing, publishing books, magazines, newspapers sections, and periodicals. This, amidst many challenges.
In cyberspace, some Romi Konkani initiatives (such as WhatsApp groups and a multi-script Wikipedia) have been launched. But it's never enough; there is a long way to go.
To take the language (and script) forward, a pressing need has been felt for a comprehensive, updated, and easy-to-access Konkani-English dictionary.
This was built through long years of work by the Pune-based author, translator, lexicographer and long-time Konkani promoter Isidore Dantas. This initiative drew crowd-funding support at an early stage.
The Contemporary Konkani English Dictionary has been worked out in an easy-to-comprehend format and style. It can fill a deep vacuum in the Konkani world. The last such dictionary was released way back in 1968. This dictionary also contains the etymology (the origins) of Konkani words, and also of words that Konkani has borrowed from other languages -- Sanskrit, Portuguese, Persian, Prakrit, Arabic, Urdu, Kannada, even Greek, Latin, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Tamil, and Tulu.
UNIQUE FEATURES
- Separate sections on Konkani homonyms (words with similar spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins), and Konkani palindromes (that read the same backward as forwards).
- Select Konkani sayings, illustrated by artist Bina Nayak.
- Uses contemporary language with a focus on words currently in use.
- Covers all major dialects of the language.
- Incorporates words from earlier pioneering dictionaries, many of which are hard to access or out of print.
- Particularly useful for translators, authors and scriptwriters.
- A helpful language-learning tool; a useful aid for Goan expatriates scattered across the globe.
- This book could help build the Konkani Wikipedia and Konkani Wiktionary (both online), as has the earlier lexicographical work of Isidore Dantas (co-created with the late journalist Joel D’Souza).
Isidore Dantas Dictionary. Konkani. Rs 600. ISBN 978-81-956329-4-7 April 2024. In print.
