Konkani language

Konkani (Devanagari: कोंकणी, Romi: Konknni, Kannada: ಕೊಂಕಣಿ, Malayalam: കൊങ്കണി, Nastaliq: کونکنی; IAST: Kōṅkṇī, IPA: [kõkɳi]), 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. Many Konkani dialects are spoken along and beyond the Konkan region, from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; most of which are only partially mutually intelligible with one another due to a lack of linguistic contact and exchanges with the standard and principal forms of Konkani. It is also spoken by migrants outside of the Konkan proper, in Nagpore, Surat, Cochin, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Karachi, New Delhi, etc. Dialects such as Malvani, Chitpavani, and Damani in Maharashtra are threatened by language assimilation into the linguistic majority of non-Konkani states and territories of India.