Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Goa (Fides Service) - To render the Word of God accessible to as many people as possible especially people in Goa who speak only the local language Konkani, the Catholic archdiocese of Goa has arranged for the new edition of the complete Bible in Konkani. The work of translation has been finished, the Bible will be printed in the coming weeks in about 60,000 copies and released in June. The project has cost 18 million Rupee. Parishes and people in Goa in general are looking forward to reading the new edition. Evangelised in 1500 by Portuguese and Spanish missionaries including St Francis Xavier, Goa had to wait centuries before the Word of God was translated in the local language. A Konkani translation of the New Testament was produced in 1974 but it was the archdiocesan Synod in 2000 which led to this complete translation of the Old and New Testaments.
Christians all over Goa are overjoyed at the thought of the Word of God in their very own language also because it will help them to share the Good News with others.
Other recent new language editions of the Bible produced in India include a Bengali Bible, a Malayalam Bible for Kerala, and a Bible in the local language spoken in Assam State .
In India the official languages are English and Hindi but the Constitution recognises 18 local languages. However in this vast country there exist 1,600 tongues and dialects, 33 of which are spoken by over 100,000 people. (Agenzia Fides 17/5/2006 righe 24 parole 240)
