Konkani language - Wikipedia

Konkani language - Wikipedia
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Goan Konkani language
Indo-Aryan language spoken in India
Konkani
कोंकणी
Konknni
ಕೊಂಕಣಿ
കൊങ്കണി
کونکنی
The word "Konkani" written in the official script of Devanagari
Pronunciation
[kõkɳi]
Native to
India
Region
Southern
and
Western India
Konkan region
Goa
coastal areas of
Karnataka
Maharashtra
and some parts of
Kerala
Gujarat
(in the
Dang district
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Ethnicity
Konkani
Native speakers
(5.9 million cited 2000–2011)
Language family
Indo-European
Indo-Iranian
Indo-Aryan
Southern Zone
Marathi–Konkani
Konkani
Dialects
Dialect groups
: Karnataka Konkani, Goan Konkani,
Maharashtrian Konkani
, Kerala Konkani
Individual dialects
: Dangi,
Malvani
, Chitpavani, Antruz, Bardeskari, Saxtti,
Nawayati
, Mangalorean Catholic,
Southern Saraswat
, Daldi (Nakhuda dialect), Pednekari, Koli and
Aagri
Writing system
Present
Devanagari script
Balbodh
, official)
Latin script
note 1
Kannada script
note 2
Malayalam script
Perso-Arabic script
Past
Nāgarī
Goykanadi
Modi script
Official status
Official language in
India
Goa
Regulated by
Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy
and the
Government of Goa
Language codes
ISO 639-2
kok
ISO 639-3
kok
– inclusive code
Individual codes:
gom
– Goan Konkani
knn
Maharashtrian Konkani
Glottolog
goan1235
Goan Konkani
konk1267
Konkan Marathi
Distribution of native Konkani speakers in India
Konkani
note 3
KONG
-kə-nee
), formerly
Concani
, is an
Indo-Aryan language
spoken by the
Konkani people
, primarily in the
Konkan
region, along the western
coast of India
. It is one of the 22
scheduled languages
mentioned in the
Indian Constitution
10
and the official language of the Indian state of
Goa
. It is also spoken in
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Kerala
11
Gujarat
12
as well as
Daman, Diu & Silvassa
13
Konkani is a member of the
Southern Indo-Aryan language
group. It retains elements of
Vedic
structures and shows similarities with both
Western
and
Eastern Indo-Aryan languages
14
The first known Konkani inscription, dated to the 2nd century AD and sometimes claimed as "
Old Marathi
" is the one at
Arvalem
15
16
the second oldest Konkani inscription, is one of those at
Shravanabelagola
, dated to between 981 AD and 1117 AD, it was wrongly touted as "Old Marathi" from the time it was discovered and interpreted.
17
18
19
Other Konkani inscriptions are found scattered across the Konkan region, especially from
Kurla
20
in
Bombay (Mumbai)
to
Ponda, Goa
21
22
Many Konkani dialects are spoken along and beyond the Konkan region, from
Damaon
in the north to
Karwar
in the south; most of which are only partially mutually intelligible with one another due to a lack of linguistic contact and exchanges with the standard and principal forms of Konkani. It is also spoken by migrants outside of the Konkan proper, in
Nagpore
Surat
Cochin
Mangalore
Ahmedabad
Karachi
New Delhi
, etc.
23
24
25
26
27
Dialects such as
Malvani
, Chitpavani, and Damani
28
in Maharashtra are threatened by
language assimilation
into the linguistic majority of non-Konkani
states and territories of India
29
30
Classification
edit
Konkani belongs to the
Indo-Aryan language
branch. It is part of the
Marathi-Konkani group
of the southern Indo-Aryan languages.
31
It is inflexive, and less distant from
Sanskrit
as compared to other modern
Indo-Aryan languages
. Linguists describe Konkani as a fusion of a variety of
Prakrit
vernacular languages. This could be attributed to the confluence of immigrants that the Konkan coast has witnessed over the years.
32
Names and their etymology
edit
It is quite possible that Old Konkani was just referred to as
Prakrit
by its speakers.
33
Reference to the name
Konkani
is not found in literature prior to the 13th century. The first reference of the name
Konkani
is in "
Abhanga
263" of the 13th century
Hindu
Marathi saint poet,
Namadeva
(1270–1350).
34
Konkani has been known by a variety of names:
Canarim, Concanim, Gomantaki, Bramana,
and
Goani
. Learned Marathi speakers tend to call it
Gomantaki
35
Konkani was commonly referred to as
Língua Canarim
by the Portuguese
36
and
Língua Brahmana
by Catholic missionaries.
36
The Portuguese later started referring to Konkani as
Língua Concanim
36
The name
Canarim
or
Língua Canarim
, which is how the 16th century European
Jesuit
Thomas Stephens
refers to it in the title of his famous work
Arte da lingoa Canarim
, has always been intriguing. It is possible that the term is derived from the Persian word for coast,
kinara
; if so, it would mean "the language of the coast". The problem is that this term overlaps with
Kanarese
or
Kannada
37
38
All the European authors, however, recognised two forms of the language in Goa: the
plebeian
, called
Canarim
, and the more regular (used by the educated classes), called
Língua Canarim Brâmana
or simply
Brâmana de Goa
. The latter was the preferred choice of the Europeans, and also of other castes, for writing, sermons, and religious purposes.
39
There are different views as to the origin of the word Konkan and hence Konkani:
V. P. Chavan states that the etymology of Konkan and hence Konkani is derived from the Kannada word
konku
meaning '
uneven ground
'. The Kannada origin suggests that Konkana might have included Kannada territory and '
uneven ground
' suggests the hilly nature of the territory.
40
Konku
in Kannada also means that which is '
not straight'
and is '
crooked'
41
The word Konkan comes from the Kukkana (
Kokna
) tribe, who were the original inhabitants of the land where Konkani originated.
42
According to some texts of
Puranas
Parashurama
shot his arrow into the sea and commanded the Sea God to recede up to the point where his arrow landed. The new piece of land thus recovered came to be known as
Konkan
meaning
piece of earth
or
corner of earth
kōṇa
(corner) +
kaṇa
(piece). This legend is mentioned in
Sahyadrikhanda
of the
Skanda Purana
History
edit
Proposed substrate influences
edit
This section
needs attention from an expert in linguistics, languages or India
. The specific problem is:
The Kurukh and Oraon tribes speak Dravidian languages, not Austroasiatic.
WikiProject Linguistics
WikiProject Languages
or
WikiProject India
may be able to help recruit an expert.
October 2017
The
substratum
of the Konkani language lies in the speech of
Austroasiatic
tribes that may have once inhabited the region.
43
According to the
Indian Anthropological Society
, these Australoid tribes speaking Austro-Asiatic or Munda languages who once inhabited Konkan, migrated to Northern India (
Chota Nagpur Plateau
Mirzapur
) and are not found in Konkan any more.
44
45
Olivinho Gomes in his essay "Medieval Konkani Literature" also mentions the
Mundari
substratum.
46
Goan Indologist Anant Shenvi Dhume identified many Austro-Asiatic
Munda
words in Konkani, like
mund
mundkar
dhumak
goem-bab
47
This substratum is very prominent in Konkani.
48
The grammatical influence of the Dravidian languages on the structure and syntax of Indo-Aryan languages is difficult to fathom. Some linguists explain this anomaly by arguing that Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan were built on a Dravidian
substratum
49
Some examples of Konkani words of Dravidian origin are:
naall
coconut
),
madval
(washerman),
choru
(cooked rice) and
mulo
radish
).
50
Linguists also suggest that the substratum of Marathi and Konkani is more closely related to Dravidian Kannada.
51
52
Prehistory and early development
edit
Migrations of Indo-Aryan vernacular speakers have occurred throughout the history of the Indian west coast. Around 1100-700 BC the first wave of Indo-Aryans dialect speakers might have occurred, with the second wave appearing around 700-500 BC.
47
Many spoke
old Indo-Aryan
vernacular languages, which may be loosely related to
Vedic Sanskrit
; others still spoke Dravidian and Desi dialects. Thus the ancient Konkani Prakrit was born as a confluence of the Indo-Aryan dialects while accepting many words from Dravidian speech. Some linguists assume
Shauraseni
to be its progenitor whereas some call it
Paisaci
. The influence of Paisachi over Konkani can be proved in the findings of Taraporewala, who in his book
Elements of Science of Languages
(Calcutta University) ascertained that Konkani showed many
Dardic
features that are found in present-day
Kashmiri
32
Thus, the archaic form of old Konkani is referred to as Paishachi by some linguists.
42
This progenitor of Konkani (or Paishachi Apabhramsha) has preserved an older form of phonetic and grammatic development, showing a great variety of verbal forms found in Sanskrit and a large number of grammatical forms that are not found in Marathi. (Examples of this are found in many works like
Dnyaneshwari
, and
Leela Charitra
.)
53
Konkani thus developed with overall Sanskrit complexity and grammatical structure, which eventually developed into a lexical fund of its own.
53
The second wave of Indo-Aryans is believed to have been accompanied by
Dravidians
from the Deccan plateau.
47
Paishachi is also considered to be an Aryan language spoken by Dravidians.
54
Goa and Konkan were ruled by the
Konkan Mauryas
and the
Bhojas
; as a result, numerous migrations occurred from north, east and western India. Immigrants spoke various vernacular languages, which led to a mixture of features of Eastern and Western Prakrit. It was later substantially influenced by Magadhi Prakrit.
55
The overtones of
Pali
53
(the liturgical language of the Buddhists) also played a very important role in the development of Konkani Apabhramsha grammar and vocabulary.
56
A major number of linguistic innovations in Konkani are shared with
Eastern Indo-Aryan languages
like
Bengali
and
Oriya
, which have their roots in Magadhi.
57
Maharashtri Prakrit
is the ancestor of
Marathi
and Konkani,
58
it was the official language of the Satavahana Empire that ruled Goa and Konkan in the early centuries of the Common Era. Under the patronage of the Satavahana Empire, Maharashtri became the most widespread Prakrit of its time. Studying early Maharashtri compilations, many linguists have called Konkani "the first-born daughter of Maharashtri".
59
This old language that was prevalent contemporary to old Marathi is found to be distinct from its counterpart.
59
The Sauraseni influence on Konkani is not as prominent as that of Maharashtri. Very few Konkani words are found to follow the Sauraseni pattern. Konkani forms are rather more akin to Pali than the corresponding Sauraseni forms.
60
The major Sauraseni influence on Konkani is the
ao
sound found at the end of many nouns in Sauraseni, which becomes
or
in Konkani.
61
Examples include:
dando
suno
raakhano
dukh
rukhu
manisu
(from Prakrit),
dandao
sunnao
rakkhakao
dukkhao
vukkhao
vrukkhao
, and
mannisso
. Another example could be the sound of
at the beginning of words; it is still retained in many Konkani words of archaic Shauraseni origin, such as णव (nine). Archaic Konkani born out of
Shauraseni
vernacular Prakrit at the earlier stage of the evolution (and later
Maharashtri
Prakrit), was commonly spoken until 875 AD, and at its later phase ultimately developed into
Apabhramsha
, which could be called a predecessor of old Konkani.
56
Although most of the stone inscriptions and copper plates found in Goa (and other parts of Konkan) from the 2nd century BC to the 10th century AD are in Prakrit-influenced Sanskrit (mostly written in early Brahmi and archaic Dravidian Brahmi), most of the places, grants, agricultural-related terms, and names of some people are in Konkani. This suggests that Konkani was spoken in Goa and Konkan.
62
Though it belongs to the Indo-Aryan group, Konkani was influenced by a language of the Dravidian family. A branch of the
Kadambas
, who ruled Goa for a long period, had their roots in
Karnataka
. Konkani was never used for official purposes.
63
Another reason Kannada influenced Konkani was the proximity of original Konkani-speaking territories to Karnataka.
64
Old Konkani documents show considerable Kannada influence on grammar as well as vocabulary. Like southern Dravidian languages, Konkani has
prothetic glides
y-
and
w-
65
The Kannada influence is more evident in Konkani syntax. The question markers in
yes/no
questions and the negative marker are sentence final.
65
Copula deletion
in Konkani is remarkably similar to Kannada.
65
Phrasal verbs
are not so commonly used in Indo-Aryan languages; however, Konkani spoken in Dravidian regions has borrowed numerous phrasal verb patterns.
66
The Kols, Kharwas, Yadavas, and
Lothal
migrants all settled in Goa during the pre-historic period and later.
Chavada
, a tribe of warriors (also now known as
Chaddi
or
Chaddo
), migrated to Goa from
Saurashtra
, during the 7th and 8th century AD, after their kingdom was destroyed by the
Arabs
in 740.
67
Royal matrimonial relationships between the two states, as well as trade relationships, had a major influence on Goan society. Many of these groups spoke different Nagar
Apabhramsha
dialects, which could be seen as precursors of modern Gujarati.
Konkani and Gujarati have many words in common, not found in Marathi.
68
The Konkani
(as opposed to the Marathi
, which is of different Prakrit origin), is similar to that in Gujarati.
68
The case terminations in Konkani,
lo
li
, and
le
, and the Gujarati
no
ni
, and
ne
have the same Prakrit roots.
68
In both languages the
present indicatives
have no gender, unlike Marathi.
68
Early
edit
An inscription at the foot of the colossal Jain monolith
Bahubali
(The word
gomateshvara
apparently comes from Konkani
gomaṭo
which means "beautiful" or "handsome" and
īśvara
"lord".
69
) at
Shravanabelagola
of 981 CE reads, in a variant of Nāgarī:
70
"śrīcāvuṇḍarājē̃ kara viyālē̃, śrīgaṅgārājē̃ suttālē̃ kara viyālē̃" (
Chavundaraya
got it done, Gangaraya got the surroundings done).
note 4
note 5
The language of these lines is Konkani according to S.B. Kulkarni (former head of Department of Marathi,
Nagpur University
) and Jose Pereira (former professor,
Fordham University
, USA).
71
Another inscription in
Nāgarī
, of
Shilahara
King Aparaditya II of the year 1187 AD in
Parel
reportedly contains Marathi according to former claims.
72
A recent 2024 study has found that the last two lines of the Parel inscription, also called, the Mahavali inscription because it was discovered at Mahavali in Kurla, Bombay (Mumbai), is in the Konkani language.
73
Many stone and copper-plate inscriptions found in Goa and Konkan are written in Konkani. The grammar and the base of such texts is in Konkani, whereas very few verbs are in Marathi.
74
Copper plates found in Ponda dating back to the early 13th century, and from
Quepem
in the early 14th century, have been written in
Goykanadi
46
One such stone inscription or
shilalekh
(written
Nāgarī
) is found at the Nageshi temple in Goa (dating back to the year 1463 AD). It mentions that the (then) ruler of Goa, Devaraja Gominam, had gifted land to the
Nagueshi
Maharudra temple when Nanjanna Gosavi was the religious head or
Pratihasta
of the state. It mentions words like,
kullgga
kulaagra
naralel
tambavem
, and
tilel
75
Konkani Inscription with 'Maee Shenvi' of 1413 AD,
Nagueshi
, Goa.
A piece of hymn dedicated to Lord
Narayana
attributed to the 12th century AD says:
"jaṇẽ rasataḷavāntũ matsyarūpē̃ vēda āṇiyēlē̃. manuśivāka vāṇiyēlē̃. to saṁsārasāgara tāraṇu. mōhō to rākho nārāyāṇu".
(The one who brought the
Vedas
up from the ocean in the form of a fish, from the bottoms of the water and offered it to
Manu
, he is the one Saviour of the world, that is Narayana my God.).
A hymn from the later 16th century goes
vaikuṇṭhācē̃ jhāḍa tu gē phaḷa amṛtācē̃, jīvita rākhilē̃ tuvē̃ manasakuḷācē̃.
76
Early Konkani was marked by the use of pronouns like
dzo
jī
, and
jẽ
. These are replaced in contemporary Konkani by
koṇa
. The conjunctions
yedō
and
tedō
("when" and "then") which were used in early Konkani are no longer in use.
77
The use of
-viyalẽ
has been replaced by
-aylẽ
. The pronoun
moho
, which is similar to the Brajbhasha word
mōhē
has been replaced by
mākā
Medieval
edit
This era was marked by several invasions of Goa and subsequent exodus of some Konkani families to
Canara
(today's coastal Karnataka), and Cochin.
Exodus (between 1312 and 1327) when General
Malik Kafur
of the
Delhi Sultans
Alauddin Khalji
, and
Muhammed bin Tughlaq
destroyed
Govepuri
and the
Kadambas
Exodus subsequent to 1470 when the
Bahmani
kingdom captured Goa, and subsequent capture in 1492 by Sultan
Yusuf Adil Shah
of
Bijapur
Exodus of converted Muslims to Bijapur-held territory due to the
Portuguese conquest of Goa
in 1510
Migration of Hindu converts to
Canara
in South India after the
Christianisation of Goa
, the subsequent
Goa Inquisition
, and the
Sackings of Goa and Bombay-Bassein
These events caused the Konkani language to develop into multiple dialects with multiple scripts. The exodus to coastal Karnataka and Kerala required Konkani speakers in these regions to learn the local languages. This caused penetration of local words into the dialects of Konkani spoken by these speakers. Examples include
dār
(door) giving way to the word
bāgil
. Also, the phoneme "a" in the Salcette dialect was replaced by the phoneme "o".
Other Konkani communities came into being with their own dialects of Konkani. The
Konkani Muslim
communities of
Ratnagiri
and
Coastal Karnataka
came about due to a mixture of intermarriages of Arab seafarers, Middle East businessman, Britishes and locals as well as conversions of Hindus to Islam.
78
Another migrant community that picked up Konkani are the
Siddis
, who are descended from
Bantu peoples
from South East Africa that were brought to the
Indian subcontinent
as slaves.
79
Contemporary
edit
Contemporary Konkani is written in Devanagari, Kannada, Malayalam, Persian, and Roman scripts. It is written by speakers in their native dialects. The Goan Antruz dialect in the Devanagari script has been promulgated as Standard Konkani.
Revitalisation
edit
See also:
Konkani Language Agitation
Konkani language was in decline, due to the use of Portuguese as the official and social language among the Christians, the predominance of Marathi over Konkani among Hindus, and the Konkani Christian-Hindu divide. Seeing this, Vaman Raghunath Varde Valaulikar set about on a mission to unite all Konkanis, Hindus as well as Christians, regardless of caste or religion. He saw this movement not just as a nationalistic movement against Portuguese rule, but also against the pre-eminence of Marathi over Konkani. Almost single-handedly he crusaded, writing a number of works in Konkani. He is regarded as the pioneer of modern Konkani literature and affectionately remembered as
Shenoi Goembab
80
His death anniversary, 9 April, is celebrated as World Konkani Day (Vishwa Konkani Dis).
81
Madhav Manjunath Shanbhag, an advocate by profession from Karwar, who with a few like-minded companions travelled throughout all the Konkani speaking areas, sought to unite the fragmented Konkani community under the banner of "one language, one script, one literature". He succeeded in organising the first
All India Konkani Parishad
in Karwar in 1939.
82
Successive
adhiveshans
of All India Konkani Parishad were held at various places in subsequent years. At least 29
adhiveshans
of All India Konkani Parishad have been held since.
Post-independence period
edit
Following India's independence and its subsequent
annexation of Goa
in 1961, Goa was absorbed into the Indian Union as a Union Territory, directly under central administration.
However, with the reorganisation of states along linguistic lines, and growing calls from Maharashtra, as well as Marathis in Goa for the merger of Goa into Maharashtra, an intense debate was started in Goa. The main issues discussed were the status of Konkani as an independent language and Goa's future as a part of Maharashtra or as an independent state. The
Goa Opinion Poll
, a plebiscite, retained Goa as an independent state in 1967.
80
However, English, Hindi, and Marathi continued to be the preferred languages for official communication, while Konkani was sidelined.
Recognition as an independent language
edit
With the continued insistence of some Marathis that Konkani was a dialect of Marathi and not an independent language, the matter was finally placed before the
Sahitya Akademi
Suniti Kumar Chatterji
, the president of the Akademi appointed a committee of linguistic experts to settle the dispute. On 26 February 1975, the committee came to the conclusion that Konkani was indeed an independent and literary language, classified as an Indo-European language, which in its present state was heavily influenced by the Portuguese language.
Official language status
edit
All this did not change anything in Goa. Finally, fed up with the delay, Konkani activists launched an agitation in 1986, demanding official status for Konkani. The agitation turned violent in various places, resulting in the death of six agitators from the Catholic community:
Floriano Vaz
from Gogol Margao, Aldrin Fernandes, Mathew Faria, C. J. Dias, John Fernandes, and Joaquim Pereira, all from
Agaçaim
. Finally, on 4 February 1987, the
Goa Legislative Assembly
passed the Official Language Bill, making Konkani the official language of Goa.
Konkani was included in the
Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India
as per the
Seventy-First Amendment
on 20 August 1992, adding it to the list of official languages.
Geographical distribution
edit
Modern day Goan Konkani in
Devanagari
The Konkani language originated and is spoken widely in the western coastal region of India known as
Konkan
. The native lands historically inhabited by Konkani people include the
Konkan division
of
Maharashtra
, the state of
Goa
and the territory of
Daman
, the
Uttara Kannada
Udupi
Dakshina Kannada
districts of
Karnataka
belagavi
Mysore
, and
Bengaluru
along with many districts in
Kerala
such as
Kasaragod
Kochi
Alappuzha
Thiruvananthapuram
and
Kottayam
. All of the regions and areas have developed distinct
dialects
pronunciation
and
prose
styles, vocabulary, tone, and sometimes, significant differences in grammar.
83
According to the 2001 estimates of the Census Department of India, there were 2,489,016 Konkani speakers in India.
84
The Census Department of India, 2011 figures put the number of Konkani speakers in India as 2,256,502 making up 0.19% of India's population. Out of these, 788,294 were in
Karnataka
, 964,305 in
Goa
85
399,255 in
Maharashtra
, and 69,449 in
Kerala
. It ranks 19th on the List of Scheduled Languages by strength. The number of Konkani speakers in India fell by 9.34% in the decade 2001–2011. It is the only scheduled language apart from Urdu to have a negative growth rate in the decade. A very large number of Konkanis live outside India, either as expatriates (
NRIs
) with
work visas
or as naturalised citizens and permanent residents of other host countries (
immigrants
). Determining their numbers is difficult since Konkani is a
minority language
that is very often not recognised by censuses and surveys of various government agencies and NGOs catering to Indians abroad.
During the days of
Portuguese Goa
and
British rule
in
Pre-Partition India
many Goans and non-Goan Konkani people went to foreign countries as economic migrants to the colonies of
Portuguese
and
British Empire
respectively, and also to the Pakistan of
Pre-Partition India
. The migratory trend has continued well into the post-colonial era and a significant number of Konkani people are found in
Kenya
Uganda
Pakistan
, the
Persian Gulf countries
Portugal
and the
European Union
, and the
British Isles
and the rest of the
Anglosphere
. Many families still continue to speak different Konkani dialects that their ancestors spoke, which are now highly influenced by the languages of the dominant majority.
Status and issues
edit
This article
contains statements that are
anachronistic
Please help
improve it
by updating, clarifying, or removing such statements.
October 2021
Learn how and when to remove this message
The Konkani language has been in danger of dying out over the years for many of the following reasons:
The fragmentation of Konkani into various, sometimes mutually unintelligible, dialects.
The dominance of
Marathi
and the large degree of
bilingualism
of Konkani Hindus in
Goa state
, the union territory of
Damaon
and the
Konkan division
of Maharashtra.
additional citation(s) needed
Progressive inroads made by
Urdu
into the
Konkani Muslim
community.
verification needed
Mutual animosity among various religious sects and caste groups; including a secondary status of Konkani culture to religion.
The migration of Konkanis to various parts of India and around the world.
The lack of opportunities to study Konkani in schools and colleges. Even until recently there were few Konkani schools in Goa. Populations outside the native Konkani areas have absolutely no access to Konkani language studies, literature and media.
The preference among Konkani parents to speak to their children in
potaachi bhaas
(language of the stomach) over
maai bhaas
mother tongue
). They sometimes speak primarily in English to help their children gain a grip on English in schools.
As such, Konkani has been classified in the "Unsafe" Category of the
UNESCO
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
since 2009.
86
Efforts have been made to stop this downward trend of usage of Konkani, starting with
Shenoi Goembab
's efforts to revive Konkani. The recognition granted by
Sahitya Akademi
to Konkani and the institution of an annual award for Konkani literature has helped to a certain extent.
Some organisations, such as the
Konkan Daiz Yatra
organised by Konkani Bhasha Mandal,
World Konkani Centre
and the newer Vishwa Konkani Parishad have laid great stress on uniting all factions of Konkanis.
Opposition
edit
Marathi dispute
edit
Main article:
Konkani language agitation
José Pereira, in his 1971 work
Konkani – A Language: A History of the Konkani Marathi Controversy
, pointed to an essay on Indian languages written by John Leyden in 1807, wherein Konkani is called a "dialect of Maharashtra" as an origin of the language controversy.
Another linguist to whom this theory is attributed is
Grierson
. Grierson's work on the languages of India,
the Linguistic Survey of India
, was regarded as an important reference by other linguists. In his book, Grierson had distinguished between the Konkani spoken in coastal Maharashtra (then, part of Bombay) and the Konkani spoken in Goa as two different languages. He regarded the Konkani spoken in coastal Maharashtra as a dialect of Marathi and not as a dialect of Goan Konkani itself. In his opinion, Goan Konkani was also considered a dialect of Marathi because the religious literature used by the Hindus in Goa was not in Konkani itself, but in Marathi.
S. M. Katre's 1966 work,
The Formation of Konkani
, which utilised the instruments of modern historical and comparative linguistics across six typical Konkani dialects, showed the formation of Konkani to be distinct from that of Marathi.
87
Shenoi Goembab
, who played a pivotal role in the Konkani revival movement, rallied against the pre-eminence of Marathi over Konkani amongst Hindus and Portuguese amongst Christians.
Goa's accession to India in 1961 came at a time when Indian states were being reorganised along linguistic lines. There were demands to merge Goa with Maharashtra. This was because Goa had a sizeable population of Marathi speakers and Konkani was also considered to be a dialect of Marathi by many. Konkani Goans were opposed to the move. The status of Konkani as an independent language or as a dialect of Marathi had a great political bearing on Goa's merger, which was settled by a plebiscite in 1967 (the
Goa Opinion Poll
).
The
Sahitya Akademi
(a prominent literary organisation in India) recognised it as an independent language in 1975, and subsequently Konkani (in
Devanagari
script) was made the official language of Goa in 1987.
Karnataka
edit
MLC
Ivan D'Souza
attempted to speak in Konkani at the
Karnataka
state's Legislative Council, but was urged not to by the Chairman D H Shankaramurthy as most of the audience did not know Konkani. Even though Mr D'Souza pleaded that Konkani was amongst the 22 official languages recognised by the Indian Constitution, he was not given permission to continue in Konkani.
88
Even though there are substantial Konkani
Catholics
in Bengaluru, efforts to celebrate Holy Mass in Konkani have met with opposition by
Kannada
"activists". Konkani Holy Masses has been held in the Sabbhavana and Saccidananda chapels of the Carmelite and Capuchin Fathers respectively, in
Yeswanthpur
and
Rajajinagar
, Bangalore. These services are under threat from Kannada groups who do not want
church services
to be held in any language other than
Kannada
citation needed
even though Kannada Catholics constitute only 30% of the Catholic population in the Archdiocese. Konkani activists and associations have been demanding Konkani language mass and services for a long time.
89
It is still the official language of the
Mangalore Diocese
90
Multilingualism
edit
According to the Census Department of India, Konkani speakers show a very high degree of
multilingualism
. In the 1991 census, as compared to the national average of 19.44% for bilingualism and 7.26% for trilingualism, Konkani speakers scored 74.20% and 44.68% respectively. This makes the Konkans the most multilingual community of India.
This has been due to the fact that in most areas where Konkans have settled, they seldom form a majority of the population and have to interact with others in the local tongue. Another reason for bilingualism has been the lack of schools teaching Konkani as a primary or secondary language.
The bilingualism of Konkanis with Marathi in Daman Goa and Maharashtra has been a source of great discontent because it has led to the belief that Konkani is a dialect of Marathi
87
and hence has no bearing on the future of Goa.
Scripts and dialects
edit
Main article:
Konkani alphabets
The problems posed by multiple scripts and varying dialects have come as an impediment in the efforts to unite Konkani people. The Goa state's decision to use
Devanagari
as the official script and the Antruz dialect has been met with opposition both within Goa and outside it.
Critics contend that the Antruz dialect is unintelligible to most Goans, let alone other Konkani people outside Goa, and that Devanagari is used very little as compared to
Romi Konkani
in Goa or Konkani in the
Kannada
script.
Prominent among the critics are Konkani Christians in Goa, who were at the forefront of the Konkani agitation in 1986–87 and have for a long time used the Roman script, including producing literature in Roman script. They demanded Roman script be given equal status to Devanagari.
91
In Karnataka, which has the largest number of Konkani speakers after Goa, leading organisations and activists have similarly demanded that Kannada script be made the medium of instruction for Konkani in local schools instead of Devanagari.
92
The government of Karnataka has given its approval for teaching of Konkani as an optional third language from 6th to 10th standard students either in Kannada or Devanagari scripts.
93
Outside India
edit
Emigration has also brought the Konkani language to foreign countries, such as the
United States
Canada
, the
United Arab Emirates
and
Kenya
Phonology
edit
See also:
Konkani phonology
The Konkani language has 16 basic vowels (excluding an equal number of long vowels), 36 consonants, 5 semi-vowels, 3 sibilants, 1 aspirate, and many
diphthongs
. Like the other
Indo-Aryan languages
, it has both long and short vowels and syllables with long vowels may appear to be stressed. Different types of nasal vowels are a special feature of the Konkani language.
94
The
palatal
and
alveolar
stops are
affricates
. The palatal glides are truly palatal but otherwise the consonants in the palatal column are
alveopalatal
95
The
voiced/voiceless
contrasts are found only in the stops and affricates. The fricatives are all voiceless and the
sonorants
are all voiced.
95
The initial vowel-syllable is shortened after the
aspirates
and
fricatives
. Many speakers substitute unaspirated consonants for aspirates.
95
Aspirates in a non-initial position are rare and only occur in careful speech.
Palatalisation
/non-palatisation is found in all
obstruents
, except for palatal and alveolars. Where a palatalised alveolar is expected, a palatal is found instead. In the case of sonorants, only unaspirated consonants show this contrast, and among the glides only labeo-velar glides exhibit this. Vowels show a contrast between oral and nasal ones
95
Vowels
edit
Vowels
Front
Central
Back
Close
Close-mid
ɵ̃
Open-mid
ɛ̃
ɔ̃
Open
One of the most distinguishing features of Konkani
phonology
is the use of
, the
close-mid central vowel
, instead of the
schwa
found in
Hindustani
and
Marathi
Whereas many Indian languages use only one of the three front vowels, represented by the Devanagari grapheme ए, Konkani uses three:
/e/
/ɛ/
and
/æ/
Nasalizations
exist for all vowels except for
/ʌ/
Konkani cannot be described as a
stress-timed language
, nor as a
tonal language
96
Consonants
edit
Labial
Dental
Alveolar
Retroflex
(Alveolo-)
palatal
Velar
Glottal
Nasal
plain
murmured
mʱ
nʱ
ɳʱ
Stop
Affricate
voiceless
t͡s
t͡ɕ
aspirated
pʰ
tʰ
t͡sʰ
ʈʰ
t͡ɕʰ
kʰ
voiced
d͡z
d͡ʑ
murmured
bʱ
dʱ
d͡zʱ
ɖʱ
d͡ʑʱ
ɡʱ
Fricative
note 6
Approximant
plain
murmured
ʋʱ
lʱ
Flap
Trill
plain
lateral
97
murmured
ɾʱ
The consonants in Konkani are similar to those in
Marathi
Grammar
edit
Konkani grammar is similar to other Indo-Aryan languages. Notably, Konkani grammar is also influenced by Dravidian languages.
Speech can be classified into any of the following parts:
98
naam
noun
sarvanaam
pronoun
visheshan
adjective
kriyapad
verb
kriyavisheshana
adverb
ubhayanvayi avyaya
shabdayogi avyaya
kevalaprayogi avyaya
interjection
Like most of the Indo-Aryan languages, Konkani is an
SOV
language, meaning among other things that not only is the verb found at the end of the clause but also
modifiers
and complements tend to precede the head and
postpositions
are far more common than
prepositions
. In terms of syntax, Konkani is a
head-last
language, unlike English, which is an
SVO
language.
99
Almost all the verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and the
avyaya
s are either
tatsama
or
tadbhava
98
Verbs
edit
Verbs are either
tatsama
or
tadbhava
98
Verbs and their roots:
Konkani verbs
Sanskrit/Prakrit Root
Translation
वाच vaach (tatsama)
वच् vach
read
आफय, आपय aaphay, aapay (tatsama)
आव्हय् aavhay
call, summon
रांध raandh (tatsama)
रांध् raandh
cook
बरय baray (tadbhav)
वर्णय् varnay
write
व्हर vhar (tadbhav)
हर har
take away
भक bhak (tadbhav)
भक्ष् bhaksh
eat
हेड hedd (tadbhav)
अट् att
roam
ल्हेव lhev (tadbhav)
लेह् leh
lick
शीन sheen (tadbhav)
छिन्न chinna
cut
Source:
Koṅkaṇî Dhatukosh
98
Present indefinite of the auxiliary is fused with
present participle
of the primary verb, and the auxiliary is partially dropped.
98
When the southern dialects came in contact with Dravidian languages this difference became more prominent in Karnataka and Kerala whereas Goan Konkani still retains the original form.
For example, "I eat" and "I am eating" sound similar in Goan Konkani, due to loss of auxiliary in colloquial speech. "Hāv khātā" corresponds to "I am eating". On the other hand, in Karnataka Konkani "hāv khātā" corresponds to "I eat", and "hāv khātoāsā" or "hāv khāter āsā" means "I am eating". However the word "jito" (living) is universal, "to jitoāsā" (he is living).
Out of eight
grammatical cases
, Konkani has totally lost the
dative
, the
locative
, and the
ablative
98
It has partially lost the
accusative
and the
instrumental cases
too.
98
So the preserved cases are: the
nominative
, the
genitive
, and the
vocative case
98
Apabhramsha and metathesis
edit
Like Marathi and Gujarati, the Konkani language has three genders. During the Middle Ages, most of the Indo-Aryan languages lost their neuter gender, except Maharashtri, in which it is retained much more in Marathi than Konkani.
98
Gender in Konkani is purely grammatical and unconnected to gender.
98
Metathesis
is a characteristic of all the middle and modern Indo-Aryan languages including Konkani. Consider the Sanskrit word "स्नुषा" (daughter-in law). Here, the ष is dropped, and स्नु alone is utilised, स्नु-->स/नु and you get the word सुन (metathesis of
ukar
).
100
Unlike Sanskrit,
anusvara
has great importance in Konkani. A characteristic of
Middle Indo-Aryan
dialects, Konkani still retains the
anusvara
on the initial or final syllable.
98
Similarly
visarga
, is totally lost and is assimilated with उ and/or ओ. For example, in Sanskrit दीपः becomes दिवो and दुःख becomes दुख.
Konkani retains the pitch accent, which is a direct derivative of Vedic accent, which probably would account for "nasalism" in Konkani.
98
The "breathed" accent is retained in most of the
tatsama
s than the
tadbhava
s.
98
Declension
also affects the accent.
98
Konkani has lost its passive voice, and now the transitive verbs in their perfects are equivalent to passives.
Konkani has rejected ऋ, ॠ, ऌ, ॡ, ष, and क्ष, which are assimilated with र, ख, ह, श and स.
98
Sanskrit compound letters are avoided in Konkani. For example, in Sanskrit द्वे, प्राय, गृहस्थ, उद्योत become बे, पिराय, गिरेस्त, and उज्जो respectively in Konkani.
98
Vocabulary
edit
The vocabulary from Konkani comes from a number of sources. The main source is Prakrits. So Sanskrit as a whole has played a very important part in Konkani vocabulary. Konkani vocabulary is made of
tatsama
(Sanskrit loanwords without change),
tadhbhava
(evolved Sanskrit words),
deshya
(indigenous words) and
antardeshya
(foreign words). Other sources of vocabulary are Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Finally, Kannada, Marathi, and Portuguese have enriched its lexical content.
99
Loanwords
edit
Since Goa was a major trade centre for visiting Arabs and Turks, many Arabic and Persian words infiltrated the Konkani language.
64
A large number of Arabic and Persian words now form an integral part of Konkani vocabulary and are commonly used in day-to-day life; examples are
karz
(debt),
fakt
(only),
dusman
(enemy), and
barik
(thin).
64
Single and compound words are found wherein the original meaning has been changed or distorted. Examples include
mustaiki
(from Arabic
mustaid
, meaning "ready"), and
kapan khairo
("eater of one's own shroud", meaning "a miser").
Most of the old Konkani Hindu literature does not show any influence from Portuguese. Even the dialects spoken by the majority of Goan Hindus have a very limited Portuguese influence. On the other hand, dialects spoken by the Catholics from Goa (as well as the Canara to some extent) and their religious literature show a strong Portuguese influence. They contain a number of Portuguese lexical items, but these are almost all religious terms. Even in the context of religious terminology, the missionaries adapted native terms associated with Hindu religious concepts. (For example,
krupa
for grace, Y
amakunda
for hell, V
aikuntha
for paradise and so on). The syntax used by
Goan Catholics
in
their literature
shows a prominent Portuguese influence. As a result, many Portuguese loanwords are now commonly found in common Konkani speech.
101
102
The Portuguese influence is also evident in the
Marathi–Konkani
spoken in the former Northern Konkan district,
Thane
a variant of Konkani used by
Bombay East Indians
Catholic community.
Sanskritisation
edit
Konkani is not highly Sanskritised like
Marathi
, but still retains
Prakrit
and
apabhramsa
structures, verbal forms, and vocabulary. Though the Goan Hindu dialect is highly Prakritised, numerous Sanskrit
loanwords
are found, while the Catholic dialect has historically drawn many terms from Portuguese. The Catholic literary dialect has now adopted Sanskritic vocabulary itself, and the Catholic Church has also adopted a
Sanskritisation
policy.
95
Despite the relative unfamiliarity of the recently introduced Sanskritic vocabulary to the new Catholic generations, there has not been wide resistance to the change.
95
On the other hand, southern Konkani dialects, having been influenced by
Kannada
− one of the languages of Dravidian origin − have undergone re-Sanskritisation over time.
95
Writing systems
edit
The name
Konkani
in the five scripts it is written in:
Devanagari
Kannada
Latin
Malayalam
Arabic
Main article:
Konkani script
Konkani has been compelled to become a language using a multiplicity of scripts, and not just one single script used everywhere. This has led to an outward splitting up of the same language, which is spoken and understood by all, despite some inevitable dialectal convergences.
103
Past
edit
Main article:
Goykanadi
The
Brahmi script
for Konkani fell into disuse.
104
Later, some inscriptions were written in
old Nagari
. However, owing to the Portuguese conquest in 1510 and the subsequent various restrictions imposed by the Inquisition, some early forms of Devanagari fell out of use in Goa.
103
The Portuguese promulgated a law banning the use of non-Roman scripts for Konkani in Goa.
36
Another script, called
Kandevi
or
Goykandi
, was used for Konkani since the times of the
Kadambas
, although it lost its popularity after the 17th century. Kandevi/Goykandi is very different from the
Halegannada
script, with strikingly similar features.
105
Unlike Halegannada, Kandevi/Goykandi letters were usually written with a distinctive horizontal bar, like the Nagari scripts. This script may have been evolved out of the
Kadamba script
, which was extensively used in Goa and Konkan.
106
The earliest known inscription in Devanagari dates to 1187 AD.
76
The
Roman script
has the oldest preserved and protected literary tradition, beginning from the 16th century.
107
Present
edit
Konkani is written in five scripts:
Devanagari
Roman
Kannada
Malayalam
, and
Perso-Arabic
Because Devanagari is the official script used to write Konkani in Goa and Maharashtra, most Konkanis (especially Hindus) in those two states write the language in Devanagari. However, Konkani is widely written in the Roman script (called
Romi Konkani
) by many Konkanis, (especially Catholics).
65
This is because for many years, all Konkani literature was in the Latin script, and Catholic
liturgy
and other religious literature has always been in the Roman script. Most people of Karnataka use the
Kannada script
; however, the Saraswats of
Karnataka
use the Devanagari script in the
uttara Kannada
district.
Malayalam script
was used by the Konkani community in Kerala, but there has been a move towards the usage of the Devanagari script in recent years.
108
Konkani Muslims
use Arabic script to write Konkani. There has been to trend towards the usage of the Arabic script among Muslim communities; this coincides with them mixing more Urdu and Arabic words into their Konkani dialects.
citation needed
When the Sahitya Akademi recognised Konkani in 1975 as an independent and literary language, one of the important factors was the literary heritage of Romi Konkani since the year 1556. However, after Konkani in the Devanagari script was made the official language of Goa in 1987, the Sahitya Akademi has supported only writers in the Devanagari script. For a very long time there has been a rising demand for official recognition of Romi Konkani by Catholics in Goa because a sizeable population of the people in Goa use the Roman script. Also a lot of the content on the Internet and the staging of the famed
Tiatr
is written in Romi Konkani. In January 2013, the
Goa Bench
of the Bombay High Court issued a notice to the state government on a
Public Interest Litigation
filed by the
Romi Lipi Action Front
seeking to amend the Official Language Act to grant official language status to Romi Konkani but has not yet been granted.
109
Alphabet/
vaṇamāḷha
edit
The vowels, consonants, and their arrangement are as follows:
110
/ɐ/
/ɑː/
/i/
/iː/
/u/
/uː/
/eː/
ai
/aːi/
/oː/
au
/aːu/
अं
aṃ
/ⁿ/
अः
aḥ
/h/
ka
/k/
kha
/kʰ/
ga
/ɡ/
gha
/ɡʱ/
ṅa
/ŋ/
ca
/c,
t͡ʃ/
cha
/cʰ,
t͡ʃʰ/
ja
/ɟ,
d͡ʒ/
jha
/ɟʱ,
d͡ʒʱ/
ña
/ɲ/
ṭa
/ʈ/
ṭha
/ʈʰ/
ḍa
/ɖ/
ḍha
/ɖʱ/
ṇa
/ɳ/
ta
/t̪/
tha
/t̪ʰ/
da
/d̪/
dha
/d̪ʱ/
na
/n/
pa
/p/
pha
/pʰ/
ba
/b/
bha
/bʱ/
ma
/m/
ya
/j/
ra
/r/
la
/l/
va
/ʋ/
ṣa
/ʂ/
śa
/ɕ,
ʃ/
sa
/s/
ha
/ɦ/
ḷa
//ɭ//
क्ष
kṣa
/kʃ/
ज्ञ
jña
/ɟʝɲ/
Further information:
Kannada script
and
Malayalam script
Dialects
edit
Venn diagram of the ISO codes of the Konkani languages
Konkani, despite having a small population, shows a very high number of
dialects
. The dialect tree structure of Konkani can easily be classified according to the region, religion, caste, and local tongue influence.
better source needed
Based on the historical events and cultural ties of the speakers,
N G Kalelkar
has broadly classified the dialects into three main groups:
better source needed
Northern Konkani
: Dialects spoken in
Damaon, Diu & Silvassa
territory and the
Konkan division
of Maharashtra with cultural ties to
Mahratti
Central Konkani
: Dialects in Goa, where Konkani came in close contact with
Portuguese history & culture
Southern Konkani
: Dialects spoken in Karnataka, and the
Kassergode
district & the
Cochin
district of Kerala. Southern Konkani has absorbed substantial amounts of loanwords from
Kanarese
Tulu
Malabarese
Goan Konkani
edit
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does not
cite
any
sources
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See also:
Maharashtri Konkani
Entrance to Konkani section of the Golden Heart Emporium, Margao, Goa
Goan Konkani
refers to all the central dialects of the Konkani
macrolanguage
except for those that fall under
Maharashtri Konkani
. These dialects are collectively assigned the language code
gom
under the
ISO 639-3
classification.
In common usage, Goan Konkani refers collectively only to those dialects of Konkani spoken primarily in the state of
Goa
, for eg. The Antruz, Bardeskari & Saxtti dialects. But in the broader linguistic context, Goan Konkani also includes dialects spoken outside the official boundaries of Goa, such as
Malvani Konkani
, Chitpavani Konkani, Karwari Konkani,
Mangalorean
Konkani etc.
Organisations
edit
The campus of the
Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr (TSKK)
, a research institute working on issues related to the Konkani language, located at Alto Porvorim, near
Panaji
in Goa
There are organisations working for Konkani but, primarily, these were restricted to individual communities. The
All India Konkani Parishad
founded on 8 July 1939, provided a common ground for Konkani people from all regions.
111
A new organisation known as Vishwa Konkani Parishad, which aims to be an all-inclusive and pluralistic umbrella organisation for Konkanis around the world, was founded on 11 September 2005.
Mandd Sobhann is the premier organisation that is striving hard to preserve, promote, propagate, and enrich the Konkani language and culture. It all began with the experiment called 'Mandd Sobhann' – a search for a Konkani identity in Konkani music on 30 November 1986 at Mangalore. What began as a performance titled 'Mandd Sobhann', grew into a movement of revival and rejuvenation of Konkani culture; and solidified into an organization called Mandd Sobhann. Today, Mandd Sobhann boasts of all these 3 identities namely - a performance, a movement and an organization.
The Konkan Daiz Yatra, started in 1939 in Bombay (Mumbai), is the oldest Konkani organisation. The
Konkani Bhasha Mandal
was born in Mumbai on 5 April 1942, during the Third Adhiveshan of
All India Konkani Parishad
. On 28 December 1984,
Goa Konkani Akademi
(GKA) was founded by the government of Goa to promote Konkani language, literature, and culture.
112
The
Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr (TSKK)
is a popular research institute based in the
Goan
capital
Panaji
. It works on issues related to the Konkani language, literature, culture, and education.
113
The
Dalgado Konkani Academy
is a popular Konkani organisation based in Panaji.
World Konkani Centre,
Mangalore
The Konkani Triveni Kala Sangam is one more famed Konkani organisation in
Mumbai
, which is engaged in the vocation of patronising Konkani language through the theatre movement. The
government of Karnataka
established the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Akademy on 20 April 1994.
114
The Konkani Ekvott is an umbrella organisation of the Konkani bodies in Goa.
The
First World Konkani Convention
was held in Mangalore in December 1995. The Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation came into being immediately after the World Konkani Convention in 1995.
115
The
World Konkani Centre
built on a three-acre plot called Konkani Gaon (Konkani Village) at Shakti Nagar,
Mangalore
was inaugurated on 17 January 2009,
116
"to serve as a nodal agency for the preservation and overall development of Konkani language, art, and culture involving all the Konkani people the world over."
The North American Konkani Association (NAKA) serves to unite Konkanis across the United States and Canada. It serves as a parent organization for smaller Konkani associations in various states. Furthermore, the Konkani Young Adult Group serves as a platform under NAKA to allow young adults across America (18+) of Konkani descent to meet each other and celebrate their heritage. Every 2–4 years, a Konkani Sammelan, where Konkanis from across the continent attend, is held in a different city in the US. A Konkani Youth Convention is held yearly. Past locations have included
NYC
and
Atlanta
; the upcoming youth convention is slated to be held in
Chicago
, IL in June.
Literature
edit
Main article:
Konkani literature
Cover of
Dovtrina Christam
by
Fr. Thomas Stephens
, first published work in Konkani, and any Indian language
During the
Goa Inquisition
which commenced in 1560, all books found in the Konkani language were burnt, and it is possible that old Konkani literature was destroyed as a consequence.
117
The earliest writer in the history of Konkani language known today is
Krishnadas Shama
from
Quelossim
in Goa. He began writing 25 April 1526, and he authored
Ramayana
Mahabharata
, and
Krishnacharitrakatha
in
prose
style. The manuscripts have not been found, although transliterations in Roman script are found in
Braga
in Portugal. The script used by him for his work is not known.
118
The first known printed book in Konkani was written by an English
Jesuit
priest,
Fr. Thomas Stephens
in 1622, and entitled
Doutrina Christam em Lingoa Bramana Canarim
(Old Portuguese for:
Christian Doctrine in the Canarese Brahman Language
). The first book exclusively on Konkani grammar,
Arte da Lingoa Canarim
, was printed in 1640 by Father Stephens in Portuguese.
42
Media
edit
Radio
edit
All India Radio
started broadcasting Konkani news and other services. Radio Goa Pangim started a Konkani broadcast in 1945. AIR Mumbai and Dharwad later started Konkani broadcasts in the years 1952 and 1965 respectively. Portuguese Radio, Lisbon started services in 1955 for India, East Africa, and Portugal. Similarly
Trivandrum
Alleppey
Trichur
, and
Calicut
AIR centres started Konkani broadcasts.
42
In Manglore and Udupi, many weekly news magazines are published in Konkani.
Rakno
Daize
, and a few others are very famous among the Christian community. Every Roman Catholic parish will publish three or four magazines in a year.
edit
Udentichem Sallok
was the first Konkani periodical published in 1888, from Poona, by
Eduardo Bruno de Souza
. It started as a monthly and then as a fortnightly. It closed down in 1894.
119
Dailies
edit
Sanjechem Nokhetr
was started in 1907 by
B. F. Cabral
in
Bombay
, and is the first
Concanim
(or Konkani) newspaper. It contained detailed news of
Bombay
British India
, as it was published from there. In 1982,
Novem Goem
was a daily edited by
Gurunath Kelekar
, F. M. Rebello and
Felicio Cardozo
. It was started due to people's initiative. In 1989, Fr.
Freddy J. da Costa
, began a Konkani daily
Goencho Avaz
. It became a monthly after one and a half year. Presently there is just a single Konkani daily newspaper, called
Bhaangar Bhuin
. For a long time, there was another Konkani daily,
Sunaparant
, which was published in
Panjim
Weeklies
edit
O Luzo-Concanim
was a Concanim (Konkani)- Portuguese bilingual weekly, begun in 1891, by Aleixo Caitano José Francisco. From 1892 to 1897,
A Luz, O Bombaim Esse, A Lua, "O Intra Jijent
and
O Opinião Nacional
were bilingual Concanim- Portuguese weeklies published. In 1907,
O Goano
was putblished from Bombay by Honorato Furtado and Francis Xavier Furtado. It was a trilingual weekly in Portuguese, Konkani and English.
The Society of the Missionaries of Saint Francis Xavier, publish the Konkani weekly (satollem) named
Vauraddeancho Ixtt
. from Pilar. It was started in 1933 by Fr.
Arsencio Fernandes
and Fr.
Graciano Moraes
Fortnightly
edit
There is a fortnightly published newspaper since 2007 called
Kodial Khaber
, edited by Venkatesh Baliga Mavinakurve and published by Baliga Publications, Mangalore.
Monthlies
edit
Katolik Sovostkai
was started in 1907 by Roldão Noronha. It later became a fortnightly before ceasing publication.
Dor Mhoineachi Rotti
is the oldest running Konkani periodical. It is dedicated to the spreading of the devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
, and was initially named Dor Muineachi Rotti Povitra Jesucha Calzachem Devoçãõ Vaddounchi. Note that the til (tilde mark) over ãõ in Devoçãõ is one single til. Fr.
Vincent Lobo
, from Sangolda in Goa, who was then curator at the St. Patrick's Church in Karachi, began it in 1915, to feed the spiritual thirst and hunger of the large number of Konkani speaking people there, on noticing the absence of Konkani spiritual literature. The name was changed subsequently to "Dor Muiniachi Rotti, Concanim Messenger of the Sacred Heart". On Fr. Vincent Lobo's death on 11 November 1922, Fr.
António Ludovico Pereira
, also from Sangolda, took over the responsibility. Dor Mhoineachi Rotti had an estimated readership of around 12,000 people then. After the death of Fr. António Ludovico Pereira on 26 July 1936, Fr.
Antanasio Moniz
, from
Verna
, took over. On his death in 1953, Fr.
Elias D'Souza
, from
Bodiem
Tivim
in
Goa
became the fourth editor of Dor Mhoineachi Rotti. After shifting to
Velha Goa
in
Goa
around 1964, Fr.
Moreno de Souza
was editor for around 42 years. Presently the Dor Mhuineachi Rotti is owned by the
Jesuits
in Goa, edited by Fr.
Vasco do Rego
, S. J. and printed and published by Fr. Jose Silveira, S.J. on behalf of the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Goa.
Dor Mhoineachi Rotti
will complete 100 years on 1 January 2015.
Gulab
is a monthly from Goa. It was started by late Fr. Freddy J. da Costa in 1983, and was printed in colour, then uncommon.
Konkani periodicals published in Goa include
Vauraddeancho Ixtt
(Roman script, weekly),
Gulab
(Roman script, monthly),
Bimb
(Devanagari script, monthly),
Panchkadayi
(Kannada script, monthly) and
Poddbimb
(Roman script, monthly).
Konkani periodicals published in Mangalore include "Raknno" (Kannada script, weekly), "DIVO" (Kannada Script, weekly from Mumbai), "Kutmacho Sevak" (Kannada script, monthly), "Dirvem" (Kannada script, monthly),"Amcho Sandesh" (Kannada script, monthly) and "Kajulo" (Kannda script, children's magazine, monthly).
Konkani periodical published in Udupi include "Uzwad" (Kannada script, monthly) and Naman Ballok Jezu (Kannada script, monthly).
Ekvottavorvim Uzvadd (Devanagari Script, monthly) is published from Belgaum since 1998. Panchkadayi Konkani Monthly magazine from Manipal since 1967.
Digital and audible
edit
The first complete literary website in Konkani started in 2001 using Kannada script was www.maaibhaas.com by Naveen Sequeira of Brahmavara. In 2003 www.daaiz.com started by Valley Quadros Ajekar from Kuwait, this literary portal was instrumental in creating a wider range of readers across the globe, apart from various columns, literary contests, through Ashawadi Prakashan, he published several books in Konkani, including the first e-book 'Sagorachea Vattecheo Zori' released by Gerry DMello Bendur in 2005 at Karkala.
www.poinnari.com is the first literary webportal in Konkani using three scripts (Kannada, Nagari and Romi), started in 2015, is also conducted the first National level literary contest in dual scripts in Konkani in 2017.
'Sagorachea Vattecheo Zori' is the first e-book in Konkani, a compilation of 100 poems digitally published by www.daaiz.com and digitally published in 2005 by Ashawadi Prakashan in Karkala.
'Kathadaaiz' is the first digital audio book digitally published in 2018 by www.poinnari.com. This audio book is also available in the YouTube channel of Ashawari Prakashan.
'Pattim Gamvak' is the first e-Novel written in Kannada script Konkani in 2002 by Valley Quadros Ajekar from Kuwait, published in www.maaibhaas.com in 2002–3.
'Veez' is the first digital weekly in Konkani, started in 2018 by Austine D'Souza Prabhu in Chicago, USA. Veez is the only magazine publishing Konkani in 4 scripts; Kannada, Nagari, Romi and Malayalam.
Television
edit
Main article:
List of Konkani-language television channels
The
Doordarshan
centre in Panjim produces Konkani programs, which are broadcast in the evening. Many local Goan channels also broadcast Konkani television programs. These include: Prudent Media, Goa 365, HCN, RDX Goa, and others.
Film
edit
Main article:
Konkani cinema
Music
edit
On 1 February 2024, the song 'Addicted' by EZD and Chrystal Farrell entered
Spotify
charts of
UAE
at 3rd position alongside artists like
Taylor Swift
and
The Weeknd
, creating a record of becoming the first ever Konkani song on the charts.
120
In popular culture
edit
Many Konkani songs of the Goan fisher-folk appear recurrently in a number of
Hindi films
. Many Hindi movies feature characters with a Goan Catholic accent. A famous song from the 1957 movie
Aasha
, contains the Konkani words "mhaka naka" and became extremely popular. Children were chanting "
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
", which inspired
C Ramchandra
and his assistant John Gomes to create the first line of the song, "Eena Meena Deeka, De Dai Damanika". Gomes, who was a
Goan
, added the words "mhaka naka" (Konkani for "I don't want"). They kept on adding more nonsense rhymes until they ended with "Rum pum po!".
121
122
An international ad campaign by
Nike
for the
2007 Cricket World Cup
featured a Konkani song "Rav Patrao Rav" as the background theme. It was based on the tune of an older song "
Bebdo
", composed by
Chris Perry
and sung by
Lorna Cordeiro
. The new lyrics were written by Agnello Dias (who worked in the ad agency that made the ad), recomposed by Ram Sampat, and sung by Ella Castellino.
A Konkani cultural event called "Konkani Nirantari", was conducted by Mandd Sobhann, a
Mangalorean Christian
organisation founded in 1986 AD.
123
124
125
The event was held at
Mangalore
on 26 and 27 January 2008, it entered the
Guinness Book of World Records
for holding a 40-hour-long non-stop Konkani musical marathon; beating a
Brazilian
musical troupe, who had previously held the record of singing non-stop for 36 hours.
126
See also
edit
Bombay East Indian dialect
Southern Saraswat Konkani
Konkani in the Roman script
Konkani Language Agitation
Konkani people
Konkani phonology
Konkani Poets
Konkani Scripts
List of loanwords in Konkani
Languages of India
Languages with official status in India
List of languages by number of native speakers in India
Maharashtri
Malvani people
Marathi–Konkani languages
Paisaci
Sahitya Akademi Award to Konkani Writers
World Konkani Centre
World Konkani Hall of Fame
Notes
edit
Devanagari
कोंकणी
Romi
Konknni
Kannada
ಕೊಂಕಣಿ
Malayalam
കൊങ്കണി
Nastaliq
کونکنی
IAST
Kōṅkṇī
IPA:
[kõkɳi]
Roman script is not mandated as an official script by law. However, an ordinance passed by the government of Goa allows the use of Roman script for official communication. This ordinance has been put into effect by various ministries in varying degrees. For example, the 1996 Goa Panchayat Rules stipulate that the various forms used in the election process must be in both the Roman and Devanagari script.
"Panchayat Raj Act And Rules"
(PDF)
panchayatsgoa.gov.in
. 1996.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 10 June 2022.
The use of Kannada script is not mandated by any law or ordinance. However, in the state of Karnataka, Konkani is used in the Kannada script instead of the Devanagari script.
Konkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called
Konkan
, on the western coast of India. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the
Daman Ganga River
to the north and the
Kali River
to the south; the north–south length is about 650 km and the east–west breadth is about 50 km. The dialect spoken in Goa, coastal Karnataka and in some parts of Northern Kerala has distinct features and is rightly identified as a separate language called Konkani.
Chavundaraya
was the military chief of the Ganga dynasty-era King Gangaraya. This inscription on the Bahubali statue draws attention to a Basadi (Jain Temple) initially built by him and then modified by Gangaraya in the 12th century AD. Ref: S. Settar in Adiga (2006), p256
The above inscription has been quite controversial, and is touted as old-Marathi. But the distinctive instrumental
viyalem
ending of the verb is the hallmark of the Konkani language, and the verb
sutatale
or
sutatalap
is not prevalent in Marathi. So linguists and historians such as S.B. Kulkarni of Nagpur University, V.P. Chavan (former vice-president of the Anthropological Society of Mumbai), and others have thus concluded that it is Konkani.
/f/ was introduced into Konkani phonology via. Portuguese and largely replaces /pʰ/ in Goan and Mangalorean Christian dialects, however /pʰ/ is still retained in formal speech.
References
edit
Mother Tongue blues
– Madhavi Sardesai
Whiteley, Wilfred Howell (1974).
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Where East looks West: success in English in Goa and on the Konkan Coast Volume 125 of Multilingual matters
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Administrator.
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mint
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M. Saldanha 717. J. Thekkedath, however, quotes Jose Pereira to the following effect: "A lay brother of the College of St Paul around 1563 composed the first grammar of Konkani. His work was continued by Fr Henry Henriques and later by Fr Thomas Stephens. The grammar of Fr Stephens was ready in manuscript form before the year 1619." (Jose Pereira, ed., "Gaspar de S. Miguel's Arte da Lingoa Canarim, parte 2a, Sintaxis copiossisima na lingoa Bramana e pollida,"
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Arte Canarina na lingoa do Norte. Anonymous MS, edited by Cunha Rivara under the title: Gramática da Língua Concani no dialecto do Norte, composta no seculo XVII por um Missionário Português; e agora pela primeira vez dada à estampa (Nova Goa: Imprensa Nacional, 1858). Cunha Rivara suggested that the author was either a Franciscan or a Jesuit residing in Thana on the island of Salcete; hence the reference to a 'Portuguese missionary' in the title.
Portuguese chronicler
João de Barros
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Decadas de Asia
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Thane Creek
of Mumbai) as the northern border of this Concan region. But he sets the "Rio Aliga" (
Kali River
) as the political boundary between the "Kingdom of Decan" (
Deccan sultanates
) and the "Province of Canará" (vassal of "Bisnaga",
Vijayanagara Empire
).
Mariano Saldanha, "História de Gramática Concani,"
Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 8 (1935–37)
715. See also M. L. SarDessai,
A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992
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"Mangaluru : MLC Ivan D'Souza told not to speak in Konkani"
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14 January
2015
"Bangalore: Kannada Activists Target Konkani Catholics Again at Sadbhavana"
. Daijiworld Media Network. 2 December 2012
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14 January
2015
Saldanha-Shet, I J (25 March 2014).
"An exquisite edifice in Mangalore"
. No. Bangalore. Deccan Herald
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19 January
2015
PTI (20 February 2007).
"Goa group wants Konkani in Roman script"
The Times of India
Archived
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. Retrieved
23 August
2013
"Kannada script must be used to teach Konkani"
The Hindu
. Chennai, India. 14 March 2006. Archived from
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"News headlines"
. Daijiworld.com
. Retrieved
14 July
2012
Bhat, V. Nithyanantha.
The Konkani language: historical and linguistic perspectives
(in English and Konkani). Sukṛtīndra Oriental Research Institute. pp. 43, 44.
Cardona, George (2007).
The Indo-Aryan Languages
. Routledge. p. 1088.
ISBN
978-0-415-77294-5
Caroline Menezes.
"The question of Konkani?"
(PDF)
. Project D2, Typology of Information Structure". Archived from
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on 8 April 2008
. Retrieved
10 February
2008
Masica, Colin
(1991),
The Indo-Aryan Languages
, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 97,
ISBN
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Janardhan, Pandarinath Bhuvanendra (1991).
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. Foreign Language Study / Indic Languages Konkani language About (in English and Konkani). P.B. Janardhan. pp. 540 pages.
Kurzon, Dennis (2004).
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ISBN
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(2001).
Linguistic structure and language dynamics in South Asia: papers from the proceedings of SALA XVIII Roundtable
. Motilal Banarsidass, 2001 – Language Arts & Disciplines -. pp. 409 pages(Chapter 4 Portuguese influence on Konkani syntax).
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Ghantkar, Gajanana (1993).
History of Goa through Gõykanadi script
(in English, Konkani, Marathi, and Kannada). pp. Page x.
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2008
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2008
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2012
Saradesāya, Manohararāya (2000).
A history of Konkani literature: from 1500 to 1992
. Sahitya Akademi. p. 317.
ISBN
978-81-7201-664-7
Bhembre, Uday (September 2009).
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. Sunaparant Goa. pp.
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57.
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. pp.
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"इजीडी और क्रिस्टल फॉरेल का गाना 'एडिक्टेड' ने टेलर स्विफ्ट को भी छोड़ा पीछे, बनाया ये रिकॉर्ड!"
NDTVIndia
Joshi, Lalit Mohan (2002).
Bollywood: popular Indian cinema
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Ashwin Panemangalore (16 June 2006).
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DNA
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6 July
2007
"Mangalore: Mandd Sobhann Completes 25 Glorious Years"
"The Founders"
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"Mangalore: Guinness Adjudicator Hopeful of Certifying Konkani Nirantari"
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1 February
2008
Further reading
edit
Malli, Karthik (25 April 2019).
"Romi Konkani: The story of a Goan script, born out of Portuguese influence, which faces possible decline"
Firstpost
External links
edit
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