Konkani

Konkani is one of the most well-known languages that are associated with the city of Mangalore in Karnataka. This is actually the language spoken by the people who belong to the Konkani community. This language of Mangalore, like Tulu, has not got the acknowledgement that it deserves.

The writers of Konkani origins have not contributed much to this language and have gone on to enrich other languages like Marathi and Kannada. The Aryans who came to India have created many languages, which are classified into two broad groups; these are the Shouraseni Prakrit and the Prakrit of Magadha. The Konkani language of Mangalore is supposed to belong to the Shouraseni Prakrit group. The script in use for the Konkani language is the Nagari script, though, previously, the Brahmi script was in practice.

The Marathi people claimed that Konkani language is a descendant of Marathi, which further reduced its importance. However, there are some rays of hope for the Konkanis. The language of Konkani has been recognized as a language different from any other language in India by the Central Literary Academy of India.


Konkani has been declared the official language of the union territory of Goa and hence this language of Mangalore has got national prominence. The Karnataka government has set up an institute primarily for the nurture of all the aspects related to the culture of the Konkanis, which includes its language.


Last Updated on 21 September 2011