Konkani is an Indo-European language spoken in India by about 3-4 million people according to the 2001 census. It is one of the 22 official languages recognized by the Indian constitution. It is the state language of Goa and 57% of the population speak the language currently. In additon to Goa, there are substantial speakers of the language in coastal Karnataka, coastal Maharashtra and Kerala. The language has been historically influenced by other local Dravidian languages namely Kannada, Tulu, Kodava, Marathi due to the continuous migrations of the community.
The word "Konkani" is used to describe both a language of the Indian subcontinent and a group of people. The word is derived from "kum", meaning “Mother Earth” and "Kana", meaning 'dust' or 'atom'. Thus, Konkani would mean "a part of Mother Earth". This appellation could well describe the hardy people of the Konkan region, who are primarily farmers and fishermen.
The Konkani people trace their history as far back as the fourth millennium BC. With their population concentrated in Mangalore, South coastal Maharashtra, North coastal Kerala and northern Karnataka, they share their name with the coastline and the language they speak. At present, Konkani is the official language of Goa where the Konkani people are thought to have settled around the 11th century AD.
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 amongst the Konkani population of Karnataka. Malayalam script is used by the expatriate Konkani community, centred around the city of Cochin. In recent years, many of these communities have started producing publications in the widely-known Devanagari script as well as the Roman.
Alternative Names for Konkani are KONKAN STANDARD, BANKOTI, KUNABI, NORTH KONKAN, CENTRAL KONKAN, CONCORINUM, CUGANI, and KONKANESE. Dialects of Konkani are PARABHI (KAYASTHI, DAMANI), KOLI, KIRISTAV, DHANAGARI, BHANDARI, THAKURI (THAKARI, THAKRI, THAKUA, THAKURA), KARHADI, SANGAMESVARI (BAKOTI, BANKOTI), GHATI (MAOLI), and MAHARI (DHED, HOLIA, PARVARI). The dialects listed are closely related. More distinct dialects or closely related languages: Katkari (Kathodi, Katvadi), Varli, Vadval, Phudagi, Samvedi, and Mangelas. Others speak nonstandard Konkani. The three letter code for Konkani is KNK.
