Konkani in the Roman script

Romi Konkani or Konkani in the Roman script (Konkani: Romi Konknni) refers to the writing of the Konkani language in the Roman script, While Konkani is written in five different scripts altogether, Romi Konkani is widely used. Romi Konkani is known to be the oldest preserved and protected literary tradition beginning from the 16th century.

An estimated 500,000 people use Romi Konkani. The use of Devanagari for Konkani, which is now its official script, was first made in 1187 A.D. Roman script is not mandated as official script by law. However, an ordinance passed by the Government of Goa allows the use of Roman script alongside Devanagari for official communication.

The terms 'Konkani in the Roman script' and 'Romi Konkani' do not merely refer to the fact that the language is written in the Roman script but they also refer to the dialects traditionally written in this script e.g. the Bardeshi and Xaxtti variants as opposed to the dialects written in Devanagari.

In the 16th century, Christian missionaries studied the Konkani language in depth. They even prepared Konkani grammar, dictionaries and studied various facets of literature. The Jesuits established the first printing press in Asia in Goa in 1556. Since then, a rich tradition of Konkani literature in the Roman script has developed.

Today, Konkani in the Roman script is mainly used by the Christian community because the liturgy of the Catholic Church in Goa is entirely in the Roman script and the work of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman is also carried out in the Roman script. However, a large number of writers outside the Christian Community also write in Romi Konkani. Konkani in the roman script is also used in Tiatr. Reginaldo Fernandes wrote Konkani novels in the Roman Script called Romanses.

There are a huge number of people who solely or primarily use the Roman script. As a result of the recognition of only the Devanagari script, the rich body of Konkani literature written in the Roman script goes unrecognised, unpromoted and unrewarded. When the Sahitya Akademi recognised Konkani in 1975 as an independent and literary language, one of the important factors was the well preserved literary heritage of Romi Konkani. After Konkani in the Devanagari script was made the official language of Goa in 1987, the Sahitya Akademi supported only writers in the Devanagari script and writers in the Roman script (as also in the Kannada script) are not eligible for the Sahitya Akademi awards and assistance.

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Wikipedia