Linguistic hybridity in Goan poetry

Dr. Brian Mendonca receiving his certificate in the presence of Mr. Bhushan Savaikar, Director, DHE.

Dr. Mendonca presenting his paper.

                 

               Linguistic Hybridity in Contemporary Goan Poetry in English

                Dr. Brian Mendonça

                brianlibra@gmail.com

                                                                      Abstract

When we consider Goa’s linguistic identity, we see that it is an amalgam of many confluences. When this polyphony of languages is transmuted to literature there is a play which is both disruptive and revealing. When it comes to Goan poetry in English we see that few poets are willing to confront Goa’s lived reality by including these voices as part of their poems. 

Brian Mendonça’s debut collection of poems Last Bus to Vasco: Poems from Goa tries to mirror a changing Goa through multiple utterances in different languages. These words or lines disrupt the hegemony of English and insert their own identity in the poem – however precarious that may be. The use of Sanskrit, Konkani, Portuguese, Hindi and other languages anchors the poem in a linguistic field which assumes cultural complicity in its connotations. 

This ‘on-boarding’ is unique to Mendonça’s poetry, in that it gives latitude to a wider range of experience. It also makes for a more accepting society which embraces many languages and many people. This paper will explore this tendency in contemporary Goan poetry in English.
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National Seminar on ‘Linguistic Heritage of Goa: History and Struggle’ organized by Departments of History and Konkani, Sant Sohirobanath Ambiye Government College and Research Centre, Vernoda, Pernem, Goa on 11^th October 2025.