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Konkani language

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Konkani
ಕೊಂಕಣಿ कोंकणी കൊംകണീ koṃkaṇī

Spoken in: India

Region: Konkan

Total speakers: 7.5 million (including 3.5 million speakers of Goan)

Language family: Indo-European
Indo-Iranian
Indo-Aryan
Southern zone
Konkani

Writing system: Devanāgarī, Latin alphabet, Malayalam and Kannada abugida

Language codes

ISO 639-1: none

ISO 639-2: kok

ISO/FDIS 639-3: variously:
kok — Konkani (generic)
knn — Konkani (specific)
gom — Goan Konkani

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Konkani (Devanāgarī: कोंकणी koṃkaṇī; Kannada:ಕೊಂಕಣಿ<ref>http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/oct262005/panorama16491920051025.asp</ref> <ref>http://www.thehindu.com/2005/11/21/stories/2005112102230300.htm</ref>);Malayalam:കൊംകണീ is a language of India, and belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. It is an Indo-Aryan language derived from Indo-European languages, and includes a significant number of loan words derived from various Dravidian languages. It has been relatively free of influences from other languages with the exception of Portuguese (particularly in areas of Goa), some Kannada and Marathi. There is disagreement on the relationship between Konkani and its neighbouring language Marathi - whether Konkani is a predecessor of Marathi, a language derived from Marathi, or a cousin language of Marathi that evolved simultaneously.

The Konkani language is spoken widely in the Konkan region consisting of Goa, south coastal Maharashtra, coastal Karnataka and Kerala, each region having a unique dialect and pronunciation style. The language was brought to these areas by Hindu Konkani and Christian Konkani speakers in three waves of migration. The first migration occurred during the Portuguese inquisition of Goa during the early years of Portuguese rule. The second wave of migration was during the 1571 war with the Sultan of Bijapur. The third wave of migration happened during the wars of 1683-1740 with the Marathas.

Konkani is written in a number of scripts. The dominant ones are Devanagari and Roman, which originated during the Portuguese rule. The Kannada script is used amongst the Konkani population of Karnataka. Malayalam script is used by the expatriate Konkani community, centred around the city of Cochin in Kerala state. In recent years, many of these communities have started producing publications in the widely known Devanagari script as well as the Roman.

The Konkani language had been in danger of dying out — the progressive Westernisation of the Indian subcontinent (including the strong Portuguese influence in Goa from the 16th century) has resulted in English being widely spoken among Catholics, while local influence has led to Marathi being widely adopted by Konkani Hindus living in coastal Maharashtra. This trend was arrested in 1985 by a strong Konkani movement in Goa that had broad support from both religious groups. Konkani is now widely spoken in Goa, and is the official state language. It has since been given official language status in the Indian Constitution.

The first known printed book in Konkani was written by an English Jesuit priest, Thomas Stephens, and entitled Doutrina Cristao (The Doctrine of Christ) (1622).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Konkani language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

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