Konkani alphabets
Scripts to write the Konkani language
Konkani alphabets refers to the five different scripts (Devanagari, Roman, Kannada, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic scripts) currently used to write the Konkani language.
As of 1987, the "Goan Antruz dialect" in the Devanagari script has been declared Standard Konkani and promulgated as an official language in the Indian state of Goa. Konkani in the Roman script is not mandated as an official script by law. However, an ordinance passed by the government of Goa allows the use of Roman script for official communication. This ordinance has been put into effect by various ministries in varying degrees. For example, the 1996 Goa Panchayat Rules stipulate that the various forms used in the election process must be in both the Roman and Devanagari script. Although Konkani is spoken by 2.3 million to 2.5 million people, its scripts are usually dismissed in the modern age, with people often resorting to writing in Hindi (in phonetic sense) or Kannada.
Ancient
The earliest inscription in Konkani in Goykanadi script (extinct now) is of the Gupta period in the 2nd century CE found at Aravalem, Goa. It reads
śacipurācē śirasi
(On the top of Shachipura)
The famous inscription at the foot of the colossal Jain monolith Gomaṭēśvara (Bāhubali) Konkani: gomṭo - pretty masc., īśvar - God at Shravanabelagola of 981 CE reads,
(Chavundaraya got it done, Gangaraya got it done again.)
At the foot of the Gommateshwara at Shravanabelagola there are two inscriptions. One on the right foot and one on the left.
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