Konkani people (Devanagari:कोंकणी लोक,Koṅkaṇī lok,कोंकणे Koṅkaṇe,or sometimes कोंकणस्थ Koṅkaṇstha), form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language.
The word Konkan and in turn Konkani is derived from Kuṅkaṇ or Kuṅkaṇu.Different authorities explain etymology of this word differently. Some include:
- Koṇ meaning top of the mountain.
- Name of aboriginal mother goddess,which is sometimes sanskritised to mean goddess Renuka.
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. This is because the Konkanis are spread out across the western coast of India,and dwell in areas where they have to interact with other non-Konkani speaking people on daily basis.They can be found in the Maharashtra, Konkan Division, Goa, Canara .
Read more about Konkani People: Konkanis Today, Culture
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