Konkani Language - Grammar

Grammar

Konkani grammar has an overall Sanskrit structure and is similar to other Indo-Aryan languages. Notably Konkani grammar is also influenced by Dravidian languages. Konkani is a language rich in morphology and syntax. It cannot be described as a stress language nor as a tone language.

• Speech can be classified in any of the following parts:

1. naam (noun)
2. sarvanaam (pronoun)
3. visheshan (adjective)
4. kriyapad (verb)
5. kriyavisheshana (adverb)
6. ubhayanvayi avyaya
7. shabdayogi avyaya
8. kevalaprayogi avyaya

Like most of the Indo-Aryan languages Konkani is an SOV language, meaning among other things that not only is the verb found at the end of the clause but also modifiers and complements tend to precede the head and postpositions are far more common than prepositions. In terms of syntax Konknai is a head-last language unlike English which is an SVO language.

• Almost all the verbs, adverbs, adjectives and the avyayas are either tatsama or tadbhava.

The following table illustrates this:

Verbs and their roots:

• Present indefinite of the auxiliary is fused with present participle of the primary verb, and the auxiliary is partially dropped. The southern dialects when came in contact with Dravidian languages this difference became more prominent in dialects spoken in Karnataka whereas Goan Konkani still retains the original form.

e.g.: I eat and I am eating sound similar in Goan Konkani, due to loss of auxiliary in colloquial speech. hāv khātā corresponds to I am eating. On the other hand in Karnataka Konkani hāv khātā corresponds to I eat, and hāv khātoāsā or hāv khāter āsā means I am eating

• Out of eight grammatical casess, Konkani has totally lost the dative, the locative and the ablative. It has partially lost the accusative and the instrumental cases too. So the preserved cases are: the nominative, the genitive and the vocative case.