The 'Wordle' game now available in Konkani - Uttor
Gomantak Times
Are you one of those people, who’s having a hard time guessing the word of the day? Is ‘Wordle’ getting more and more interesting day-by-day, with new challenges popping up everyday? Well, this game has definitely taken the internet by storm with a new word flashing daily. These day, you will find umpteen people, along with their friends and family, hooked on the game, trying hard to guess the word challenge.
To give it a very Goan touch, Boston-based Alden DoRosario has introduced a Konkani version of ‘Wordle’, called ‘Uttor’. Don’t be surprised to find five-letter words like ‘aitar’, ‘dorio’, ‘kombi’, ‘nevri’ etc.
The whole journey was an interesting one for Alden, as he developed this game in Konkani. But, why did he decide to do this in the first place? And how can this help children learn the Konkani language? He shares his story with us.
Alden DoRosario who developed this game in Konkani
What got you interested in the game of ‘Worldle’? Do you enjoy playing the game?
Initially, I saw the game being played by a lot of friends on social media. Then, my four children got into it and from then on, it was ‘Game on’. It became a daily family challenge. Now, we play the game daily and share it on our family WhatsApp group.
How did you stumble upon the idea of making the game in Konkani?
At first, I was interested in the math calculations behind the English Wordle game. I wrote some statistical algorithms to find the best starting word. Then, on a snowy Boston Sunday, I asked myself ‘Hey, why not have this in Konkani?’. I managed to quickly code it over the next few hours and host it online at https://uttor.org/
Once you hit upon the idea, how did you set about developing the app?
The biggest challenge was getting a good Konkani dictionary. After scouring the web, I managed to find one dictionary online, from which I extracted the right five-letter words. There were some other challenges that I had to overcome to adapt the game to Konkani. I then sent the first version to a couple of friends and family. My cousins helped a lot with the initial feedback. I iterated a couple of times with features to end up with the current version, which is a lot more fun.
Did you refer to any particular dictionary for the Konkani words?
For the initial version, I had to scour a lot for Konkani dictionaries and Konkani words. It was not easy. Unfortunately, we don’t have standardized dictionaries for Konkani (like English does) and there are multiple spellings for the same word.
Did you have to adhere to a particular dialect of Konkani?
The dictionary I used was for the Goan dialect of Konkani. I had to stick to the ‘Romi Konkani’ that is written in the Latin script.
Tell us a bit about your family and education in Goa.
I grew up in Margao. I am the last of eight ‘Do Rosario’ children. My family is widely known for ‘Golden Needle’, a bridal lounge and tailoring studio. I went to school in Loyola High School, Margao, and Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao, and then studied Computer Science in Visvesvaraya National Institute Of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur.
Now, I live in Boston with my wife, Michelle, and four children.
This game can be very resourceful, especially when it comes to teaching young children. What are your thoughts?
I absolute love this aspect of this app. This is a free, ad-free app. So, it can be used anywhere by children for a quick five-minute intellectually challenging exercise. In the United States, children are playing the English-version of the game in classrooms as a group activity. Instead of spending time on social media, this game gives a nice five-minute mental exercise. I call it ‘yoga for the brain’. And, the best part is: You can play it alone. Or, you can play it in a group environment. We play the game as a family. For the Konkani version, I think there are two main aspects that would help children: In Goan schools, the game can be played as a fun exercise. This helps children improve their vocabulary. And also helps keep their mental connections in the brain (similar to playing Scrabble). For Goan Diaspora children who speak Konkani, playing this game helps stay connected to their culture and improve their vocabulary.
Have you worked on similar projects previously?
A few years after coming to America, my co-founder and I borrowed $7 from our wives and started Chitika, an online advertising network. Over the years, with zero dollars of additional funding, we bootstrapped our way to become No 2. behind Google Adsense in the contextual advertising space. Currently, I am working on a usability testing online platform called ‘Poll the People’ that I started with my daughter. It helps businesses make decisions using a technique called ‘Usability A/B Testing’.
How can people work towards keeping Konkani language alive in the modern era?
The biggest thing people can do is continue speaking it and keeping it engaged in their daily lives. If more content, like games, stories, TikToks, video content is available, then that would help. We need to bring Konkani to the medium where children hang out these days (like TikTok, Instagram, etc).
Where can people find the Konkani version of this game?
All you need is your mobile phone, tablet or browser. If you forget the web address, just search on Google for ‘konkani wordle’ (it’s the first result).
