Konkani people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 7.4 million (2007) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Karnataka | 706,397 |
| Goa | 602,606 |
| Maharashtra | 522,000 |
| Kerala | 113,432 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 27,000 |
| Languages | |
| Konkani (Including Katkari, Varli, Kadodi, Phudagi and Kukna) | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Christianity, Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-Aryans · Kannadigas · Tuluvas · Marathis | |
The Konkani people (Koṅkaṇī lok also Koṅkaṇe, Koṅkaṇstha) are an ethno-linguistic community found mainly in the Konkan Coast of south western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language. They originate from coastal Karnataka and Goa.
The word Konkan and, in turn Konkani, is derived from Kuṅkaṇ or Kuṅkaṇu. Different authorities explain etymology of this word differently. Some include:
Thus the name Konkane, comes from the word Konkaṇ, which means the people of Konkan.
The Konkani people speak different dialects of Konkani, their native tongue; although a very high percentage are bilingual.
In general, in Konkani the masculine form used to address a Konkani speaker is Koṅkaṇo and the feminine form is Koṅkaṇe. The plural form is Konkane or Konkani. In Goa Konkano now refers only to Hindus, and Catholic Goans do not address themselves as Konkanos as they were banned by the Portuguese from referring to themselves this way. Saraswat Brahmins of Canara refer to the Konkanis as Āmcigelo /Āmcigelī. This literally means our tongue or people speaking our tongue. Though this is not common amongst the Goans, they normally refer to Konkani as Āmgelī bhās or our language. Sometimes Āmgele can be used in the Goan context to mean people from my community.
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