Konkani, affectionately called Mãi-Bhas (“Mother Tongue”) by speakers, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in the Indian State of Goa, in pockets along India’s Konkan Coast (especially Mangalore), and in large Goan and Mangalorean expat communities in Pakistan (Karachi), the Persian Gulf, Mozambique (Maputo), Kenya, Uganda, the UK, Portugal, Canada, and the US.

Konkani is written in 5 scripts – Nagari (Devanagari), Romi (Latin), Kannada, Malayalam, and Perso-Arabic.

In 2011 it was estimated that 2.3 million Konkani speakers live in India. Because of the large diaspora of Konkani speakers, global estimates of the language vary, but figures range from roughly 2 to 7 million, with most estimates falling around 3-4 million fluent speakers globally.

Konkani is the state language of Goa, and is recognized as an official language of India.

This post mainly utilizes Romi Konkani (“Latin-Script Konkani”), for 3 practical reasons:

It is the script I am most familiar with and can consult with my family regarding accuracy
Unlike all other Indic languages, Romi Konkani is not an English transliteration of a foreign script, but a native standard form with 500 years of written tradition. It's used in official capacities by the State of Goa and millions of Konkani-speakers.
I’ve found that Romi Konkani is the most accessible to English-speakers and those without previous exposure to the Nagari script.

History

Origins & Goykanadi Script:

The oldest surviving Old Konkani inscription was written in the 100s CE near Aravalem, Goa, in the now-extinct Goykanadi Script, presumed to be the original native script for Konkani. As early as 981 CE, Old Konkani was being written in multiple scripts, evidenced by Old Konkani inscriptions in both Nagari and Kannada at Jain pilgrimage sites in Gomateshuara (near modern Bangalore).

Warring States and New Scripts:

Through the 1300s and 1400s, several Sultanates (Delhi, Bahamani, Bijapur) and the southern Karnata Empire warred over ownership of much of the Konkan Coast, leading Konkani-speaking people to migrate away and adopt other scripts, including the Nagari Script (in modern-Maharashtra), the Kannada Script (in modern-Karnataka), and the Malayalam Script (in modern-Kerala).

Meanwhile, the establishment of Sultanate trade-routes introduced Persian loanwords and the Perso-Arabic Script, still used by some of the Muslim population. Arab traders also brought East African slaves to the region, descendants of whom are today known as the Siddis, and who incorporated limited Swahili and Bantu words.

Romi (Latin) Script & Portuguese Influence:

The 1510 conquest of Goa by Portugal was a watershed moment in the evolution of Konkani. The Portuguese brought the first Printing Press to Asia, and in 1616, the first mass-produced Indian-language book was authored in Konkani and Marathi. This book, the so-called “Christian Puranas”, was an epic poem version of the Christian Bible, in the literary style of the Hindu puranas – 11,000 stanzas of 4 verses. The printing press established Romi Konkani in India, especially in dictionaries, grammar books, and Christian and Hindu religious texts.

Despite an on-and-off printing of Konkani books, the Portuguese government was most known for instating the Portuguese Inquisition, which included religious and linguistic persecution of the Konkani people.

Romi Konkani transcriptions of historic texts such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana were smuggled out of Goa, where they survive in the Braga Public Library in Portugal today.

Finally, the Portuguese-Maratha wars in North Goa resulted in a larger migration of Konkani speakers to Mangalore, where they exist as a significant minority today.

Modern History and Language “Agitation”:

In the 1960s, Goa was liberated from the then-authoritarian Salazarist government of Portugal, and annexed to the Indian Union. The state voted against a proposed merger with Maharashtra, ensuring that Konkani would remain politically independent.

Despite this, it wasn’t until the “Language Agitation” civil dissent campaign of the 1980s that Konkani was officially recognized as a state- and national-language of India (in 1992). The Indian Constitution was only recently translated into Konkani, in April 2019.

Linguistics

Much like Marathi, its sibling to the north, Konkani developed from a Sanskrit-based Prakrit – an intermediate form between Sanskrit and modern Indo-Aryan languages such as Konkani, Marathi, Sinhalese (a language of Sri Lanka) and Maldivi (a language of the Maldives).

Classification

Indo-European -> Indo-Iranian -> Indo-Aryan -> Southern Zone -> Marathi-Konkani -> Konkani

Mutually Intelligible Dialects

Dialect	Location where most prevalent
*Antruz Konkani*	*Central Goa, official standard dialect*
Bardeskari Konkani	North Goa province of Bardez
Saxtti Konkani	South Goa province of Salcette
Mangalorean Konkani	Mangalore dialect, historically similar to Bardeskari
Chitpavani & Malvani Konkani	Maharashtra dialect, found in coastal regions
Daldi & Siddi Konkani	Karnataka dialect, found in Muslim and Afro-Indian communities, respectively

Loanwords:

While Konkani is not a creole language, as sometimes claimed, it does have a rich tradition of loanwords, owing to the Konkan Coast’s unique location on Indian Ocean trade routes. Here are a few examples:

Konkani	Meaning	Loanword Origin
Mãi	Mother	from Portuguese “Mãe”
Sussegad	Restful	from Portuguese “Sossegado”
Communidad	Community	from Portuguese “Comunidade”
Chavi	Key	from Portuguese “Chave”
Zonelle	Window	from Portuguese “Janela”
Balcav	Balcony	from Portuguese “Balcão”
Patrav	Boss	from Portuguese “Patrão”
Novo	New	from Portuguese “Novo”
Beiju	Kiss	from Portuguese “Beijar”
Batatt	Potato	from Portuguese “Batata”
Pav	Bread	from Portuguese “Pão"
Mezz	Table	from Portuguese “Mesa”
Tiatr	Theatre	from Portuguese “Teatro”
Natal	Christmas	from Portuguese “Natal”
Duddu	Money	from Kannada “Duddu”
Tantim	Egg	from Kannada “Tatti”
Saiba	(an honorific title)	from Persian “Sahib”
Noxib	Fate	from Persian
Bhogos	Forgive	from Persian

Phonology and Phonotactics

As this is not my area of expertise, I direct you to this fantastic breakdown of Konkani phonology in the Kannada script, Romi script, and Nagari script: https://extraetc.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/the-konkani-vowels/

Here’s an excerpt:

Konkani has two vowels not found in many other Indo-Aryan languages. They are ɛ and ɔ. They are roughly equivalent to the sound made by ‘a’ in cat and ‘au’ in caught respectively. Romi Konkani uses the characters ‘e’ and ‘o’ respectively for these. Kannada mostly follows suit although sometimes cat is written as ಕ್ಯಾಟ್. In Devanagari, ɛ is written ऍ. […]

Morphology and Syntax

Konkani nouns have three genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter.

Nouns, pronouns, and adjectives undergo declension in 8 tenses: the Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive, Vocative, Instrumental, Locative, and Ablative. Here's an example with clickable sound recordings for Put (meaning "son").

Tense	Inflection Use	Singular	Plural
Stem word	---	Puta	Putam
Nominative	"Son(s)"	Put	Put
Vocative	"O son" / "O sons"	Puta	Putamnô
Genitive (masculine possessor)	"My son(s)" (e.g. as a father)	Putacho	Putancho
Genitive (feminine possessor)	"My son(s)" (e.g. as a mother)	Putachi	Putanchi
Genitive (neuter possessor)	"My son(s)" (without gender)	Putachem	Putanchem
Dative & Accusative	"To the son(s)"	Putak	Putank
Instrumental	"By means of a son / sons"	Putan	Putamnim

Written Samples:

A traditional Konkani poem by João António of Goa, re-published in 1996:

Konkani Line	English Translation
Inocenti *mujem* *vido*	This innocent life of mine
*Sacrificar* kortam tuka,	I am offering as sacrifice to you,
*Mujem* *kallizo* rê ugottam	I open my heart to you,
*Poilem* entrad tuka ditam.	You are the first allowed in.
Aji disu rê sucachó,	Today is a day of happiness,
Sorgari *uzvadd* noketranchó.	The sky is lit with stars.
*Beiju* tuka ditam rê *mogachó*,	I am giving you a kiss of love,
Ulas ghalun sontosachó.	With a sigh of happiness.

A Modern Konkani Newspaper, published in 2019:

Front page of the "Amcho Avaz" (Konkani for "Our Voice"), one of the most circulated Romi Konkani newspapers.
A zoomed-in "Lifestyle" page of the Amcho Avaz.

Vocal (Music) Samples:

The Konkani language has a centuries-old tradition of using music to unite disparate dialects, scripts, geographies, and religions. I highly recommend you check out the sampling of Konkani-language music below:

The traditional Konkani Mando (which probably originates from the French Minuet) is a social dance in 3/4 time.

Contemporary Mando - Adeus Korcho Vellu Paulo ("Time to say Goodbye")
1. “Queenie” Fernandes, a contemporary Konkani singer, with a slow Jazz adaptation of a traditional Mando, called “Adeus Korcho Vellu Paulo” – “Time to say Goodbye”
Traditional Mando - Adeus Korcho Vellu Paulo ("Time to say Goodbye")
1. Performed in a traditional style by Konkani artists in Portugal.
A Cappella Mando - Tambde Rosa ("Red Rose")
1. A Swedish A Cappella group practice for a charity event in Menezes Braganza Hall in Goa. The group received help from Goan musicians on standard Konkani pronunciation.

Big Band Era songs:

LISBOA – “Lisbon”
1. “Lisboa” (meaning “Lisbon” in Konkani), performed by Konkani trumpeter Chris Perry (born Christovam Pereira) and sung by Bombay-born Konkani singer Lorna Cordeiro (known mononymously as Lorna)
BEBDO – “Drunkard”
1. “Bebdo” (meaning “Drunkard”), sung by Lorna and performed by Chris Perry. Has subtitles in English.

Movie Trailer Sample:

Nachom-ia Kumpasar ("Let's dance to the rhythm"), a 2015 film devoted to the entangled lives of famous Konkani singers in Bombay. It was included in the shortlist at the 2016 Oscars for Best Picture and Best Original Score

Sources / Further Reading:

A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992 by Manohararāya Saradesāya (from books.google.com/books?id=1YILeUD_oZUC)
Songs from Goa: Mandos (from songs-from-goa.at/info30-mando.html#a88)
Konkani Grammar Declensions (from nostalgoa.com/konkani-grammar-declensions/)
African (Siddi) Settlements in India by Abdulaziz Lodhi, Uppsala University, Sweden (njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol1num1/lodhi.pdf)
Romi Konkani: The story of a Goan script (from firstpost.com/living/romi-konkani-the-story-of-a-goan-script-born-out-of-portuguese-influence-which-faces-possible-decline-6510431.html)
Konkani: A Language in Crisis (from livemint.com/Leisure/AJVHke7VvvvVPerV1jv8WO/Konkani-a-language-in-crisis.html)

Much thanks to /u/galaxyrocker for helping me with this Language of the Week submission! Also check out the /r/LearnKonkani sub for resources around learning Konkani.

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Dev Boro Dis Dium! – This week’s language of the week: Konkani!