Konkani language in the context of "Scheduled languages of India"

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⭐ Core Definition: Konkani language

Konkani (/ˈkɒŋkəni/ KONG-kə-nee), formerly Concani or Concanese, 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, and the official language of the Indian state of Goa. It is also spoken in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat as well as Damaon, Diu & Silvassa.

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. The first known Konkani inscription, dated to the 2nd century AD and sometimes claimed as "Old Marathi" is the one at Arvalem; 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. Other Konkani inscriptions are found scattered across the Konkan region, especially from Kurla in Bombay (Mumbai) to Ponda, Goa.

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Konkani language in the context of Goa

Goa (/ˈɡ.ə/ GOH; Konkani: [ɡõːj]; Portuguese: [ˈɡoɐ] ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bordered by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coastline. It is India's smallest state by area and fourth-smallest by population. Panaji (also Panjim) is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is its largest city by population. The state's official language is Konkani, spoken by the majority of its inhabitants.

The Portuguese, who first voyaged to the subcontinent in the early 16th century as merchants, conquered it shortly thereafter. Goa became an overseas territory of the Portuguese Empire and part of what was then known as Portuguese India, remaining under Portuguese rule for approximately 451 years until its annexation by India in December 1961. The historic city of Margão, or Madgaon, still reflects the cultural legacy of colonisation.

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Konkani language in the context of Goa, Daman and Diu

Goa, Daman and Diu (Konkani: Goem, Damanv ani Diu, Portuguese: Goa, Damão e Dio) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the annexation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first governor. The Goa portion of the territory was granted full statehood within the Indian union on 30 May 1987, Daman and Diu remained a separate territory until December 2019, when it was merged with Dadra and Nagar Haveli and is today the territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Damaon, Dio & Silvassa).

The areas of Goa and Damaon are located at the southern and northern edges of the Konkan region, the two geographically separated from each other by land and sea, the two areas were among the many other possessions that were ruled over for centuries by the Portuguese in Goa and Bombay.

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Konkani language in the context of Konkani language agitation

The Konkani language agitations were a series of protests between 1961 and 1987 that advocated for Konkani as the official language. Protests were led by Goans in the former territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. It involved citizen journalism, student activism, and political demonstrations; as Konkani was denied official status, even after it was established that Konkani is not a dialect of Mahratti in 1975.

The civil unrest ceased after Konkani, in the Devnagari script, was granted premier official status and Marathi was declared an associate official language of Goa.

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Konkani language in the context of South Canara

South Canara (South Kannada) was a district of the Madras Presidency of British Raj, located at 13°00′N 75°24′E / 13.00°N 75.40°E / 13.00; 75.40. It comprised the towns of Kasaragod and Udupi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas of Madras Presidency, with Tulu, Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Hindustani, and Beary languages being spoken while English, Tamil and Hindustani remained the official languages. It was succeeded by the Tulu-speaking areas of Dakshina Kannada district, the Malayalam-speaking area of Kasaragod district and the Amindivi islands sub-division of the Laccadives, in the year 1956.

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Konkani language in the context of Kasaragod district

Kasaragod district (Malayalam: [kaːsɐrɡoːɖɨ̆] (Tulu: Kāsrōḍ, Kannada: Kāsaragūḍu, Konkani: Kāsāragōḍa; English: Kassergode) is one of the 14 districts in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Its northern border Thalappady is located just 9 km south to Ullal, which is the southernmost portion of the major port city Mangalore, on the southwestern Malabar coast of India.

Kasaragod is the northernmost district of Kerala and is also known as Saptha Bhasha Sangama Bhoomi (The place where Seven languages meets)

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Konkani language in the context of Salsette Island

Salsette Island (Portuguese: Salsete, Konkani: साष्टी, romanized: sāṣṭī, Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. The cities of Mumbai (Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district), Thane and Mira-Bhayandar (both part of Thane district) lie on it, making it very populous and one of the most densely populated islands in the world. The island forms the central part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and has a population of more than 20 million inhabitants living on an area of about 619 square kilometres (239 sq mi).

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Konkani language in the context of Kannada script

The Kannada script (IAST: Kannaḍa lipi; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. It is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic. Kannada script is also widely used for writing Sanskrit texts in Karnataka. Several minor languages, such as Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Beary and Sanketi also use alphabets based on the Kannada script. The Kannada and Telugu scripts share very high mutual intellegibility with each other, and are often considered to be regional variants of single script. Other scripts similar to Kannada script are Sinhala script (which included some elements from the Kadamba script), and Old Peguan script(used in Burma).

The Kannada script (ಅಕ್ಷರಮಾಲೆ akṣaramāle or ವರ್ಣಮಾಲೆ varṇamāle) is a phonemic abugida of forty-nine letters. The character set is almost identical to that of other Brahmic scripts or often known as Brahmi Lipi. Consonantal letters imply an inherent vowel. Letters representing consonants are combined to form digraphs (ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರ ottakṣara) when there is no intervening vowel. Otherwise, each letter corresponds to a syllable.

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Konkani language in the context of Lehenga

The lehenga, lehnga or langa (also known as a ghagra, chaniyo, Paro, paavada, or lacha) is a form of ankle-length skirt from the Indian subcontinent. Different patterns and styles of traditional embroidery are used to decorate lehenga. Gota patti embroidery is often used for festivals and weddings. The lehenga, also known as the ghagra, is a traditional Indian garment that became popular in the 16th century, mainly in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The lehenga became a favorite attire for Mughal women of all ages and classes due to its royal appeal and convenience. The lehenga is sometimes worn as the lower portion of a gagra choli or langa voni. Ghagra in Hindi (also ghagro in Konknni), was also used to refer to the half slip or petticoat, a skirt worn as an undergarment below the sari.

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