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Konkani (Devanāgarī/Marathi कोंकणी koṃkaṇī) is an Indo-Aryan language, although it includes a wealth of words derived from various Dravidian languages. It started as a vernacular of Sanskrit, with inevitable corruption of the words. It has been relatively free of influence of any other language except a little of Portuguese (in the last few centuries) and some Kannada (supposedly during the Kadamba period of 12-14th centuries). Konkani is not a dialect of Marathi and it has been established that when the Konkani language had reached maturity, the Marathi language was in its developmental stages. The Goa, Karwar and adjoining areas were claimed by Maharashtra. However Goa was made an independent state and Karwar was included in Karnataka inspite of the dispute about Konkani's existence as a separate language.

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 speakers fleeing the Portugese inquisition of Goa during the early years of Portuguese rule. To this day the temple of the Kula Deva (Family Deity) of most Konkani people living outside Goa, can be found within Goa. In areas controlled by Portugese during the inquisition (~1560 - 1774 ad), all temples were destroyed by the Portugese and churches built over them. Konkanis smuggled their deities across the Zuari River into what was then territory ruled by the Adil Shah of Gulbarga. There the temples were maintained in small wooden shacks. After Goa's independence in 1961, Konkanis returned to Goa in large numbers and rebuilt their temples.

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 in Mangalore, and other coastal regions of Karnataka. Two other minor scripts have been used: Perso-Arabic by Karnatakan Muslims known as ‘Bhatkali’, descended from inhabitants of the city of Bhatkal, in the south of Karnataka, who converted to Islam during the reign of Tippu Sultan (c1749–1799), and Malayalam script in a small community, centred around the city of Cochin in Kerala state. In recent years, though, this community has started producing publications in the widely-known devanagari script.

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 Christam (the Doctrine of Christ) (1622). As part of the Portugese Inquisition, attempts were made to systematically destory all aspects of konkani culture. This included temples, which were also the repositories of written scriptures and other works. The present lack of any pre-Portugese Konkani literature points to the unmerciful destruction of the Konkani heritage. That the language itself survives the more than 400 years of alien subjugation attests to the resilience of nomadic Konkani people.

See also

• Konkani people
• Languages of India
• List of national languages of India
• List of Indian languages by total speakers

External links

• The Origins of the Konkani Language
• Information on the 2006 North American Konkani Convention
• Konkani Heritage and Culture
• Learn Mangalorean Konkani online
• Konkani Catholics Blog, The
• Konkani Word Processor: Madhyam developed by Balendu Sharma Dadhich
• Discussion Group for Konkani Catholics
• Ethnologue report for Konkani
• Learn Konkani online
• Thomas Stevens Konknni Kendr, Goa
• Lyrics of Konkani Songs
• History of Mangalorean Konkani Christians
• Konkani Cuisines from Mangalore
• Mother Tongue blues by Madhavi Sardesai

• Indo-Aryan languages
• Languages of India