The Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture has been set up with the express purpose of modernising the Marathi language as a part of the Central Government's programme for modernising the regional languages. While framing and pursuing its multilateral programme for the enrichment of Marathi literature, the Board found that, like the literature in all the other regional languages in India, Marathi literature is singularly deficient in books on scientific subjects including subjects coming under the category of "Humanities". It is not, therefore, surprising that books dealing with linguistics in general and a scientific analysis of the Marathi language, in particular, including its phonetics, grammar, etymology, etc. have been almost wanting in the whole gamut of Marathi literature.
While the State Board does not expect to work miracles over-night in a field neglected by the Marathi writers for so many years past, a modest beginning has been made by the State Board by undertaking publication of standard books on many varied scientific subjects like Eugenics, Dietetics, Anatomy, Medicine, Statistics, Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Zoology, Botany and others. Efforts are also being made to get standard books on linguistics translated into Marathi by eminent scholars.
The Marathi language is rich in linguistic and cultural heritage, constituted by its host of dialects. It is considered by scholars of linguistics that an analytical study of a selected number of Marathi dialects will afford broad points of reference for dialectal studies and linguistic surveys of a more comprehensive nature. Their study will also open the door for the study of local culture and folk literature. Such an analytical study is thus very import-ant and also urgent because the local dialects which constitute worthy heritage are fast disappearing owing to the spread of literacy in standard Marathi as well as the wide circulation of dailies, weeklies and other periodicals in standard Marathi. It has, besides, a great scientific value for linguistic studies in Maharashtra and for the wider field of Indian languages.
With the full help and co-operation of the Linguistics Department of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Poona, the State Board has undertaken the scheme for a scientific survey of the Marathi dialects and, initially, it is intend-ed to study, in fair detail, some seven or eight dialects of Marathi according to the modern methods of descriptive analysis so as to give a fairly good picture of the dialects themselves as wholes. Dr. A. M. Ghatage, a former Member of the State Board is con-ducting the dialectal surveys on behalf of the Board. The "Gawdi" is his eighth work in the dialectal survey series.
Gawdi, the dialect described in this book, is one of the forms of Konkani spoken by a tribe in the centrally administered area of Goa. The tribe is called Gawda. They appear to belong to the aboriginals of the area, who have picked up an Indo-Aryan language of their neighbours.
Gaudas, are both Hindus and Christians. The Christian Gaudas are of two types. One group worships tiger as its totemic deity and does not eat its flesh. They, however, eat the white rats from the field, which are especially needed for their ritual. The other group hunts and partakes of the flesh of a tiger. The first group is found mainly in and around the town of Madgaon, while the other group is found mostly in and around the city of Mapса.
Gaudas mainly cat rice and fish. The flesh of tiger or rats is essential for ritual feasts and festivals. They are fond of hunting. They like the flesh of wild boar and wild buffalo. The utensils they use for cooking are made of wood or clay. The males use a loin cloth called Kasti worn round their waist and reaching the knees. The upper part of their body is uncovered. The women also wear a single piece of cloth and use it in such a way as to cover the whole of their body. They use the ornaments of brass or of gold, if they are rich.
Gaudas are mostly illiterate and engage in manual labour. They work in the fields. They are skillful in making utensils and toys from the palm-wood and fans from the palm-leaves. Their houses are neatly thatched huts covered with mud.
Marriage among the Christian Gaudas is settled by the parents. They give dowry which is given mostly to the bride. Marriages are performed in Churches in the usual Christian manner. In spite of being Christians, they continue to be totemistic in their faith. Their spirits are either benevolent called 'dewsar' or malevolent when called 'but'. Gaudas perform animal sacrifices to propitiate the evil spirits. They carve their vows on the trunk of the cocoanut trees and consider it essential to fulfil them either in this or the next life. They celebrate popular festivals and perform dances and dramatic shows. These are called 'tiyatr'. The Gaudas are faithful and reliable but at the same time very violent by nature.
The informant, whose speech is described here, belongs to the rat-eating Christian Gaudas. He lives in a village/fatodde/near Madgaon. He works as an electrician and has contact with city life. He is monolingual and is forced to use the Roman script if he attempts to write his language. He shows no skill in telling stories and legends.
The Christian Gawdi is a merely spoken form of speech and no attempt is made by its speakers to use it for writing. It shows borrowals from Portuguese, Sanskrit, Marathi and Kan-nada. Lacking any standardization, the dialect shows a fair amount of free variation in phonology and grammar. The chief features of this dialect are summarised below:
The dialect shows no aspirated sounds. The sounds kh and ph of the other Konkani dialects are represented here by f. All other aspirated stops are de-aspirated.
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