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Konkani Language Our ancestors resided in Trihotraputra, they came into contact with other languages with the result a new language--Konkani took shape. Since Konkani was their main contact language, they became to known as Konkanis. The locality where they resided became Konkan. Konkani is the language spoken by the people who are predominantly found in Goa and the stretch of land along the Arabian Sea on the western side of the Deccan Peninsula which has been referred to as Konkan. According to some scholars, Konkani is the remnant of the old Marathi on the ground that they find various Konkani expressions in old Marathi works like Dyaneshwari . But their view cannot be maintained as Konkani words in Dyaneshwari are not used by the present day Marathi writers. On the contrary, it would appear that it is the influence of Konkani over Marathi in those days that resulted in copious use of Konkani expressions in Marathi works like Dyaneshwari. It is not known whether Konkani ever had a script of its own. It is supposed that the ancient Brahmi script served the purpose. Later Brahmi was replaced by Devanagari and now the local script of the region (including Roman) is used. While this has added a dynamic element to Konkani, it has also made communications between regions difficult. Growth of Konkani Konkani flourished under the fostering care of the Hindu rulers. It evolved its own dramatical form and expression. It developed its own rich folklore, proverbs, lullabies, nursery rhymes. Thus Konkani had developed its own indigenous literature. A important Konkani work was the translation of the Bible by William Carey in 1808, which is in the Nagari script. The earliest known block printing in the Konkani language has been in the Devnagari script. In 1556, the Portuguese brought the first printing press to India. But as there was no qualified technician to operate, it had to lie idle. This machine was used in 1622 when Fr. Thomas Stephens, a British missionary published Doctrina Christi (Doctrine of Christ). While the title of the book is in Latin, the text is completely in Konkani in Roman script. This is widely believed to be the first printed book ever published in an Asian language. A singular honor for Konkani ! Fr. Thomas Stephens went on to publish in 1640, Arte Da Lingoa Canarim (The Art of Language of Canara) written by anonymous scholastic in 1580. This is believed to be the first grammar written for any Indian language other than Sanskrit. An affidavit claiming authorship to a certain Ayurvedic treatise signed by Appu Bhat, Rang Bhat and Vinayak Pandit of Kochi written in Konkani in 1675 is also the first evidence of Devanagari in block print. The first Konkani newspaper O Konkani was published in 1886, followed by Salak in 1889. The oldest still in print is Rakno, a weekly started on Christmas Day in 1938 and published from Mangalore. There is even a Konkani daily - Sunampranth - published from Goa. On the cultural front, an exclusively Konkani art-form called Zagor (religious stories dramatized) is still retained in Goa. Growth Arrested Muslim domination had an adverse effect on the growth of Konkani. One result was that the Muslim converts, the Navayts, mostly in the Bhatkal (Karnataka) areas started adopting the Persian / Arabic script. This was followed by the Portuguese conquest of Goa which dealt a serious blow to the development of Konkani language and literature. There was zealous burning of old manuscripts in the belief that they contained pagan doctrines. The aim of the invaders and their missionaries caused the temples to be burnt and old literature to be destroyed so that there would be no traces left. The invaders tried to exterminate the language by issuing a royal proclamation in 1684 forbidding the use of Konkani by the native population. Saraswats and other Hindus who were left in Goa and those who moved elsewhere as a sequel to the prosecution by the invaders thus allowed other languages like Marathi, Kannada and Malayalam to make inroads into their language. This was useful as these were languages used in administration, business and legal affairs. But in the process a lot of literary wealth in the form of folk tales, songs, sayings, proverbs were lost. On account of lack of support and patronage by the rulers, the language did not thrive. As they did not reside in a single place and their homes scattered all over, the language did not have a common script. Therefore in Konkan-Devnagari, Bhatkal-Kannada and Persian, Kerala-Malayalam were used, When in the schools, the education was imparted in the language of the respective states. Variations in Konkani One of the side effects of this kind of polyglottism among the diverse sections of Konkani speaking people has been the incursion of the large number of words from Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and even Portuguese and Persian or Arabic into Konkani spoken today in different tracts. For example, the Konkani spoken by the Saraswats and other Hindus in Goa and in the districts of Maharashtra into which they spread out has many words and expressions borrowed from Marathi. The Konkani spoken by the Saraswats and other migrants from Konkan into Kerala incorporates many Malayalam words and even their pronunciation tends to have distinct Malayalee accent. The language spoken by the Christians in Goa has many words drawn from Portuguese language. The Navayts of Bhatkal (Karnataka) and its neighborhood have Persian or Arabic influence in the language they used. Resurgence Even as the Saraswats and other Hindus who were left in Goa and more who had to migrate from Goa were unwittingly weaned away from Konkani into the use of other languages during the Inquisition by the Portuguese and its aftermath, when the seeds of revival of Konkani were being sown. Side by side with the persecution of the Konkani language in Goa by the Portuguese who forbade the use of any other language other than Portuguese for State and religious purposes, many padres realized the value of Konkani for the propagation of Christianity. They studied Konkani, sermonized in Konkani and even composed its grammar. A new range of Christian literature developed in Konkani from the labors of Portuguese missionaries and the Indian converts. Many hymns, lyrics, biographies of Christian Saints and other books propagating Christianity got written in Konkani language using mostly the Roman script. The Konkanies of today represent less than 0.5% of India's population. But their small number has not prevented from creditable contribution to societal growth. They were one of the first to recognize the need for education. It has been estimated that at least 40% of all schools and educational institutions (including convents) in Karnataka have been founded or are managed by people or organizations of Konkani origin, a good many of them more than 100 years old. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that the level of literacy among the Konkanies is relatively high and it is not uncommon to find some of them pursuing engineering, technological and scientific careers. Health and medicine is another area of special concern to the Konkanies. A large number of them have taken to the medical profession with success. Others have set up institutions for training and treatment and achieved renown in this effort. Some Konkani persons have become eminent. Today, Konkani is spoken in India. India and countries overseas by more than 5 million people to no less than three religions, twenty odd castes, sub-castes and sects, with a multitude of sub-dialects and variations. Recognition for this language came at last with Government of India having included Konkani in the 8 th schedule of the Constitution of India. and awarded it the status of a National language. In December 1995, the First World Konkani Convention was held in Mangalore (Karnataka) to bring together Konkanies spread the world over for interblending, better understanding and mutual appreciation. http://members.tripod.com/~sudhapai/konkani.html --- Manohar Pednekar
