Introduction to Konkani

Konkani is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-European family of languages spoken in the Konkan coast of India. It has approximately 7.6 million speakers of its two individual languages, Konkani and Goan Konkani.

Konkani is the official language in the Indian state of Goa and is also one of the Official languages of India. Konkani does not have a unique script. Scripts of the other languages native to the regions its speakers inhabit are used. Devanagari has been mandated as the official script.

Phonology

The Konkani language has 16 basic vowels (excluding 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.

Vowels

Vowels in Konkani language

One of the most distinguishing features of Konkani phonology is the use of ɵ, the Close-mid central vowel, instead of the schwa as used in Hindi and Marathi.

Whereas most Indian languages use only one of the three front vowels, represented by the Devanagari grapheme ए(IPA:e), Konkani uses three: e, ɛ and æ.

The Near-open front unrounded vowel (æ), as used in Konkani is different from its standard IPA definition. It is positioned betweenɛ and æ and slightly longer than æ. The standard pronunciation of æ is only used for loan-words.

Nasalizations exist for all vowels except for ʌ

Geographical distribution

The Konkani language is spoken widely in the Western Coastal region of India known as Konkan. This consists of the Konkan division of Maharashtra, Goa, South Canara, North Canara and some pockets in Kerala. Each region has a different dialect, pronunciation style, vocabulary, tone and sometimes, significant differences in grammar.

The Census Department of India, 1991 figures put the number of Konkani speakers in India as 1,760,607 making up 0.21% of India's population. Out of these, 602,606 were in Goa, 706,397 in Karnataka, 312,618 in Maharashtra and 64,008 in Kerala. It ranks 15th in the list of Scheduled Languages by strength. According to the 2001 estimates of the The Census Department of India, there are 2,489,015 Konkani speakers in India. A very large number of Konkanis stay outside India, either as expatriates or citizens of other countries (NRIs). Determining their numbers is difficult.

Ethnologue puts the number of Konkani speakers at 3.6 million in 2000.

History

Origins

The Konkani language developed primarily in Gomantak (now Goa) in the Konkan, the narrow strip of land between the Sahyadri mountains and the Arabian Sea on the western coast of India. There are two theories regarding the origins of Konkani. One theory states that the Brahmins who resided along the banks of the Saraswati river must have migrated to Gomantak, when seismic activity in the Himalayas made the river run underground around 1900 BC. They brought their own dialect of Shauraseni Prakrit, which over time evolved into modern Konkani. But most of the language experts believe that Konkani originated from Maharashtri Prakrit, and was highly influneced by Marathi, Tulu, Kannada and later by Arabic, Persian and Portuguese.

Another theory is that Konkani is a Sanskritised version of a language spoken by the Kokna tribe, who may have been the primary settlers in the Konkan region. The Aryans who came to the Konkan picked up the language and added various Sanskrit words.

Early years

Konkani as a language flourished in Goa. It is believed that the Brahmi script may have been used initially for writing in Konkani but it fell into disuse. It is also believed that Brahmi gave way to the Devanagari script. However, no evidence has been found to support these claims. In the 1300s, the development of Marathi and the availability of religious and literary works in Marathi, led to its use extensively for religious purposes among the Hindus of Goa. Konkani existed only as a spoken language until the arrival of the Portuguese.

Other communities

Other Konkani communities came into being with their own dialects of Konkani. The Konkani Muslim communities of Ratnagiri and Bhatkal came about due to a mixture of intermarriage of Arab seafarers and locals as well as conversions of Hindus to Islam.Another migrant community that picked up Konkani was the Siddis who were sailor-warriors from Ethiopia.

Migration and fragmentation

The arrival of the Portuguese lead to major changes in Konkani. The conversion of Konkanis to Christianity and the religious policies of the Portuguese caused a large number of Konkanis to flee to neighbouring territories. The isolation of Hindu and Christian Konkanis added to the fragmentation of Konkani into multiple dialects.

The language spread to Canara (coastal Karnataka), Kokan-patta (coastal Konkan division of Maharashtra) and Kerala during the last 500 years due to migration of Konkanis. Although a few Konkanis may have been present in the neighbouring areas and there may have been migrations due to economic reasons in the past, the main cause of migration was the Portuguese control over Goa.

It was spread to these areas by Hindu Konkani and Christian Konkani speakers in three waves of migration. The first migration occurred during the early years of Portuguese rule and the Inquisition of 1560s. The second wave of migration was during the 1571 C.E. war with the Sultan of Bijapur. The third wave of migration happened during the wars of 1683-1740 A.D. with the Marathas. While the first wave was of Hindus, the second and third waves were mainly those of Christians.

These migrant communities grew in relative isolation and each developed its own dialect. Since these communities had to interact with others in local languages on a daily basis, Konkani dialects show strong local influences in terms of script, vocabulary and also style.

Konkani in Portuguese era

Early in the era of Portuguese colonization, Christian missionaries realized the importance of propagating in local tongues and translated Christian Literature into Konkani and sometimes Marathi, the most notable among them being Fr Thomas Stephens.

However, in 1684 A.D., the Portuguese administration banned the use of local languages in their Indian territories. They mandated the use of Portuguese not just for official purposes but everyday conversations including speaking at homes or bazaars. This was because local languages served as a medium for Hindu religious instruction. They also wanted to sever the links the new converts had with their old religion.

Coupled with the imposition of Portuguese as an official language, it lead to a steady decline of Konkani, which unlike most Indian languages had absolutely no state patronage.

The Hindus of Goa had been using Marathi as a language of religious ceremonies from a long time. Also the interaction between Marathis and Konkanis in the past, that had resulted in Konkanis being bilingual with Marathi, now cemented the status of Marathi as the liturgical and literary language of Hindus in Goa, including Konkanis. Similarly, upper class Christians used Konkani only to communicate with the lower classes and poor, using Portuguese in social gatherings. The use of Portuguese led to the influence of Portuguese in Konkani, especially in the dialects spoken by the Christians.

Meanwhile, the migrant communities outside Goa kept Konkani alive, and the language became more fragmented. The Devanagari script came into use in Maharashtra, while Kannada Script was used by migrants to Karnataka.