Origin and migration:  
Phase1 Investigations have revealed that Konkani is close to Mundari language, a language of  proto-ostroloid aborigines. Their ancestors who lived in this place were from Konk community. That is how this land is called Konkvan or Konkan. Presently, Konk community in Goa is known by the names - Gawdi, Kunnbi and Velips.  Around the 1 st century AD, Aryans from North India, East Punjab, Bengal and Rajasthan came and settled in Konkan. On their way down south they assimilated the Prakrit language and mixed it among the Konk community. Around 9 th and 10 th century Konkani got its complete form. Thus Konkani has its roots in the traditional Sanskrit and other sister languages. The first writing in Konkani is found on the corner stone of Gomateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola.  It reads, “Shree Chamunderaye karaviyale.” 
 
Phase 2: The Saraswat Brahmins of today, originally led an agrarian life on the banks of the river Saraswati in North India. Around 2500 B.C.E., the Saraswati river either went underground or changed its course causing them to migrate to Trihotrapura or modern Tirhoot in Bihar. These Saraswat Brahmins are believed to have responded to the behest of Parashurama and migrated to Konkan.  Another reason for their migration into Konkan is the marital relationships between the Kadamba king Jayakeshi (1050-1080) of Goa and the Saraswat king from Trihotra. The migrated Brahmins settled in 66 villages in Goa. The word for 66 is Sasashtt and from it comes the word Sashtti or Salcete. Similarly Tiswadi also means 30 villages where the Konkani speaking Brahmins who had migrated from the north were residing.  
 

Growth of Konkani: The Konkan people were noted for their skill in trade and agriculture and hence a lot of kings patronised their stay in their kingdoms. The mother tongue of the famous rulers of Konkan – Shilaharas, Rashtrakutas, Kadambas and Vijayanagara etc., was Konkani. But for business purposes they used Kannada. The Konkan people reached the zenith of their glory under the patronage of Vijayanagara kingdom (1336 -1469). The Kadambas who had their capital at Chandrapura (present Chandor) are also responsible for the rise and glory of Konkani.  A written text in Konkani dating back to 1187 by a Shilahara king of North Konkan, namely Abarijit has been found. Similarly in Bandora, Goa, a written text in Konkani written in Devanagari script dating back to 14 th Century has been found. It is written by the first king of Vijayanagara empire namely Devarayu. A stone inscription in Konkani dating back to 1474 is found in front of Nagesh Temple at Bandivada. 

Growth arrested: The misfortune fell on the Konkan people when it was annexed by Bahamani kingdom of Bijapur. The attitude of these Muslim rulers to forcefully convert the Konkani speaking Hindus made many to migrate to southern parts of the West Coast.  Incidentally, the Hindu Brahmins (Mhala Pai, the Sardesai of Verne), sought the help of the Portuguese to overthrow the Muslim rulers, a move from the frying pan to the fire. The Portuguese began their rampage of forcefully converting the Hindus to Christianity. In a bid to do away with all that is connected with the practice of paganism, they imposed the most dreaded ‘Inquisition’. Accordingly they banned the locals from speaking Konkani and imposed the use of Portuguese at all levels. The Hindu temples were destroyed and Churches were built. A lot of valuable Konkani literature was simply burnt. This made a lot of Hindus, who were obviously persecuted, to migrate to various parts of South India. Even those who were converted to Christianity fled since they were torn apart from their cultural roots. Many 
migrations are also believed to have taken place due to the attacks from the Marathas and the plagues. The migrating Konkan people found a favourable atmosphere among the kings of South India who gave them land to cultivate since they were good farmers.  Some even served the kings in matters of administration and business. 
 
The Revival: The master plan of the Portuguese to completely do away with Konkani did not work due to the love of the people for their language. The Jesuit missionaries realised that it was difficult to enforce Portuguese on the uneducated people belonging to lower strata of society and this hindered conversion. Therefore they thought it best to use Konkani in their conversion agenda to win over the simple and poor people. They found it wise to study and sermonize in Konkani and even compose its grammar.  The English Jesuit, Thomas Stevens wrote the grammar of Konkaniand completed his masterpiece, ‘Christa Purana’, which has been considered as the most valuable contribution towards inculturation and propagation of Christianity.  Variations in Konkani: Today, if we glance along the Konkan belt, we will notice that the languages of the parent and neighbouring states have influenced Konkani. Konkani spoken by the Saraswats and other Hindus in Goa and Maharastra has many words borrowed from Marathi. The Muslim Navayts of Bhatkal have Persian or Arabic influence in the Konkani they use. The Konkani spoken by the Christians in Goa has many words drawn from Portuguese. The Konkani spoken in the Kanara districts has many Kannada words in it. The Konkani spoken by the Catholic Christians of Mangalore whose priests were recruited for a long time from Goa, has less Kannada than that of Saraswat Konkani, and fewer Portuguese words than in the Konkani spoken by the Catholic Christians in Goa. The Konkani spoken by the Saraswats and other migrants from Konkan into Kerala incorporates many Malayalam words and their pronunciations tend to have a distinct Malayalee accent. 

Resurgence: Today, Konkani is spoken in India and countries overseas by more than 5 million people belonging to no less than three religions, twenty odd castes, sub-castes and sects, with a multitude of sub-dialects and variations. Recognition for the language has come at last with the Government having included Konkani in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India and awarded it the status of a National language. Already in Goa, Konkani has been given the status of a state language. This recognition and the resurgence of ethnic pride among the Konkani speaking people to popularize Konkani heritage, 
literature, culture, art and folk-lore, has today led to the first ever World Konkani Convention.  
As true sons of the soil, it is now our prime duty to give Konkani and the Konkan heritage a rightful place in our Konkan delegation. 
  

KONKANI DIALECTS 
According to Konkani experts, there are more than 20 dialects in Konkani. The dialects can be classified under these six names which indicate the regions where one finds a complete change in the dialect of Konkani : 
1. Bardesi, (North Goa) 2. Kodiyali (Karwar) 3. Sashti (Salcete – Goa) 4. Manglluri (Mangalore) 5. Kerali (Kerala) 6. Anthruzi (Ponda – Goa)