FACTS ABOUT THE KONKANI LANGUAGE The first Marathi-Konkani book was a catechism (cartilha) printed at the College of St. Paul around Oct. 1556- Dec. 156. There are contemporary references to it, but no copy has survived. Also Doutrina Christam em Lingoa Bramana Canarim of Fr. Thomas Stephen was printed at Rachol in 1622. There are copies of it at National Library of Lisbon and at the Vatican Library. Prof. Mariano Saldanha reprinted it with notes in 1945. There is Arte da Lingoa Canarim composed by the same Thomas Stephen of 1640, and copies are found at the National Library of Lisbon and at SOAS, London. For a more detailed information of these early imprints, I would refer readers to Prof. Boxer's excellent article A tentative check-list of Indo-Portuguese imprints, 1556-1674, published in the Boletim do Instituto Vasco da Gama, n.73, 1956. For a complete listing of Boxer's writings up to 1984, cf. A list of the writings of Charles Ralph Boxer published between 1926 and 1984 compiled for his eightieth birthday by S. George West, Tamesis Books Limited, London. Some other Facts on the Konkani Language: The first book in Konkani was written by Fr. Thomas Steven in 1651. The first konkani weekly "Udentichem Sallok" was published in Pune by Edward Bruno D'Souza in 1893. In 1976, the Sahitya Academy recognized Konkani as a language. Gulab - the konkani illustrated monthly - has been published for the last 15 years. Konkani Tutor Visit http://www.goa-world.com/konkani/ |