The Konkani Language and its Fragments
Prakash John Mascarenhas
The source for this page is the Sil.org website of the Summer Institute of Languages. However, while informative, it is inaccurate.
The chief errors:
- All these entries are shown as if they are different, independent languages. As a matter of fact, they are dialects, and therefore, they should be grouped under one head.
- The name, Goanese, is foolish, using a double suffix, -an, as in Tongan,
of Tonga, and -ese. While officially preferred by the British India government,
it is deprecated as being a term of racial abuse, derogatory. The correct
name is Goan.
- There is no real distinction between Konkani and Goan Konkani, an artificial distinction without any logical basis whatsoever.
- Kukna is merely a corrupt name for the Konkani language, and does not exist as a separate dialect - impossible anyway, when it is supposed to be spoken in the far north and far south of the Konkan.
- The dialect Vasavi, which should actually be Vasava, is shown as a dialect of Gujarathi. As a matter of fact, it is a Konkani dialect.
Sil's Ethnolog entries:
- Katkari
- Konkani
- Goan Konkani
- Kukna
- Phudagi
- Samvedi
- Varli, Warli
- Vasavi
- My Classification.
KATKARI
[KFU] 4,951 (1961 census).��Maharashtra, Raigad and Thane districts, along the foothills of the Sahayadri Range; Rajasthan, northwest, Onga, Samicha Parebati, Mubusha, Jhadol police station areas; Gujarat, Surat, Bharuch, Sabarkantha, Dang districts; Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Amboli and Dapada Panchayat areas. Alternate names: KATARI, KATAKARI, KATHODI, KATVADI.�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
KONKANI
[KNK] 4,000,000 (1999 WA), including 99,000 Thakuri (1991 IMA).��North and central coastal strip of Maharashtra; Karnataka; Dadra and Nagar Haveli; Kerala. Alternate names: KONKAN STANDARD, BANKOTI, KUNABI, NORTH KONKAN, CENTRAL KONKAN, CONCORINUM, CUGANI, KONKANESE.� Dialects: PARABHI (KAYASTHI, DAMANI), KOLI, KIRISTAV, DHANAGARI, BHANDARI, THAKURI (THAKARI, THAKRI, THAKUA, THAKURA), KARHADI, SANGAMESVARI (BAKOTI, BANKOTI), GHATI (MAOLI), MAHARI (DHED, HOLIA, PARVARI).�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
KONKANI, GOANESE
[GOM] �Population total all countries 2,000,000 (1977 Voegelin and Voegelin).� Alternate names: GOMATAKI, GOAN.� Dialects: STANDARD KONKANI (GOANESE), BARDESKARI (GOMANTAKI), SARASVAT BRAHMIN, KUDALI (MALVANI), DALDI (NAWAITS), CHITAPAVANI (KONKANASTHS), MANGALORE.�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
KUKNA
[KEX] 570,419 (1981 census), plus 100,000 second language speakers (1998).��Gujarat, Dangs and Valsad districts; Maharashtra, Dhule, Nasik, and Thane districts; Dadra and Nagar Haveli; Karnataka, Kanara; Rajasthan. Alternate names: KANARA, KOKNA, KOKNI.�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
PHUDAGI
[PHD] ��Maharashtra. Alternate names: VADVAL.�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
SAMVEDI
[SMV] ��Maharashtra.
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
VARLI
[VAV] 470,000 including 33,971 in Maharashtra (1981 census) and 126,108 in Gujarat (1971 census).��Maharashtra, northern Thane District, especially Dahanu and Talasari taluks, and some in Nasik and Dhule districts; Gujarat, Valsad District, especially Dharampur taluk; Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Davari dialect in far north Thane District and southern Gujarat; Nihiri elsewhere. Alternate names: WARLI.� Dialects: DAVARI, WESTERN NIHIRI, EASTERN NIHIRI.�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern zone, Konkani.�
VASAVI
[VAS] 900,000 or more (1997 BSI).��Maharashtra, small villages and hamlets around the Tapti River; Gujarat, Surat and Bharuch districts, north of the Tapti River in the southern areas of Akkalkuwa and Akrani tahsils on a narrow belt of land between the Satpudas the the Tapti banks; some in the Satpudas; south of the Tapti in the central and northern Nandurbar and Nawapur tahsils. Alternate names: VASAVE, VASAVA, VASAVA BHIL.� Dialects: DEHVALI (AMBODI), DUNGRI (DOGRI).�
Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Gujarati.�
My Classification:
That was SIL's classification. According to my classification, the dialects are: Vasava tribal & local; Dang district tribal & local; Katkars - nomadic, hill-dwelling, shepherding tribe; Agri tribal; Warli, Koli & Nakhwa tribes - I still don't know whether they are factions of a single original tribe or separate tribes; Kunabi tribal; Samvedi - a Brahmin tribe; "East Indian" - a creole of Konkani, Portuguese and Marathi; Bankoti local; Kudal, Malvan, Kankavali, Sawantwadi & Pedne local; Bardes local; Ilhas or Tiswadi (Sheron, Narve, etc.) riverine islands local; Shasti local; Karwar local; Hubli-Dharwad local; Daldi or Navayat Muslims tribal; Konkanastha - descendents of the former pre-Islamic, pre-European Konkan ruling elites.
Outside of the historic Konkan:
Mangalore (Kodial) local; Cochin (Kochi) local.