Origin Of Pronominals In Konkani

August 13, 2025

Yesterday, I wrote a “mega thread” (one of the longest Twitter/X threads I have ever written single-handedly) on the origin of personal pronouns in Konkani. This post is going to be an expanded version wherein I will delve into the origin of Konkani pronominals in greater detail.

{ ^! = reconstructed or unattested }

First & Second person pronominals

Starting with 1sɢ = hā̃v हांव /ˈɦä̃ʋ/ “I”, it derives from Sanskrit 1ɴᴏᴍ.sɢ ahakam अहकम् (the general form being ahám अ॒हम्) via Prakrit ahaaṁ अहअं via Apabhramsha haüṁ हउं [cf. Gujarati hũ હું, Braj hãũ हौं , Sindhi āū̃ آئُون आऊँ]. The 1ᴘʟ = āmĩ आमीं /ˈämĩ(ː)/ “we” derives from Sanskrit 1ɪɴsᴛ.ᴘʟ asmā́bʰiḣ अ॒स्माभिः॑ via Prakrit amʰēhiṁ अम्हेहिं via Apabhramsha amʰeiṁ अम्हेइं (attested Southern form is amʰaiṁ अम्हइं)[cf. Marathi āmʰi आम्ही, Gujarati ame અમે, Assamese āmi আমি, Hindi ham हम].

ahám ⟿ ahakam → ahaaṁ → haüṁ → ^!hāüṁ → hā̃v
asmā́bʰiḣ → amʰēhiṁ → amʰēiṁ → ^!āmʰiṁ → āmĩ

(The Prakrit form amʰēhiṁ could suggest a previous form ^!asmēbʰiḣ)

The 2sɢ = tũ तूं /ˈt̻ũ(ː)/ “thou”, derives from Sanskrit 2ɴᴏᴍ.sɢ tᵤvám त्व॒म् via Prakrit tuhaṁ तुहं which continued in Apabhramsha as tuhaṁ or tuvaṁ तुहं/तुवं [cf. Marathi tu तू, Hindi tū तू, Punjabi tū̃ ਤੂੰ]. Interestingly some varieties of Konkani have this pronominal as tũva तुंव [ˈt̻ũʋə ~ ˈt̻ũʋə̃ ~ ˈt̻ũə̃] which is perhaps a conservatism. The 2ᴘʟ = tumĩ तुमीं /ˈt̻umĩ(ː)/ “you” derives from Sanskrit 2ɪɴsᴛ.ᴘʟ ^!tuṣmā́bʰiḣ ^!तु॒ष्माभिः॑ (the general form being yuṣmā́bʰiḣ यु॒ष्माभिः॑) via Prakrit tumʰēhiṁ तुम्हेहिं via Apabhramsha tumʰeiṁ तुम्हेइं (attested southern form is tumʰaiṁ तुम्हइं)[cf. tumʰi तुम्ही, Old Gujarati tumʰe તુમ્હે, Assamese tumi তুমি, Hindi tum तुम]. The [t] here is in analogy the singular and is a pretty common thing throughout middle Indo-Aryan.

tᵤvám → tuhaṁ → tuhaṁ → ^!tuaṁ → tũ
yuṣmā́bʰiḣ ⟿ ^!tuṣmā́bʰiḣ→ tumʰēhiṁ → tumʰeiṁ → ^!tumʰiṁ → tumĩ

(The Prakrit form tumʰēhiṁ could suggest a previous form ^!tuṣmēbʰiḣ)

It is important to note that the first and second person pronominals in either Konkani or Sanskrit/Prakrit do not explicitly indicate gender. In Konkani, they are grammatically treated to be neuter because their origins are typical to neuter declensional bases. This fact, changes with the third person pronoun wherein gender is explicitly indicated and of which Konkani (like Sanskrit and Prakrit) has three.

Third person proximal pronominals

The 3sɢ.ᴍ-ᴘʀᴏx = ho हो /ˈɦɔ/ “he” probably derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.sɢ.ᴍ-ᴘʀᴏx ^!ēṣakaḣ ^!एषकः which would have given Prakrit ^!ēsagō ^!एसगो (we do find ēṣaḣ becoming ēsō in Prakrit), which we see in Apabhramsha as ehau एहौ (and ehu एहु), [ehau → ^!hau → ho]. The 3sɢ.ғ-ᴘʀᴏx = hi ही /ˈɦi(ː)/ “she” probably derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.sɢ. ғ-ᴘʀᴏx ^!ēṣikā ^!एषिका (the -ikā thematic added to an ēṣ- stem) which would give Prakrit ^!ēsigā ^!ऐसिगा or ^!ēsiā ^!ऐसिआ, which then would have become ^!ehia ^!एहिअ in Apabhramsha, [^!ehia → ^!hia → hi]. The 3sɢ.ɴ-ᴘʀᴏx = hẽ हें /ˈɦɛ̃/ “it” probably derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.sɢ.ɴ-ᴘʀᴏx ^!ēṣakam ^!एषकम् which would have given Prakrit ^!ēsagaṁ ^!एसगं which then would have become ^!ehayaṁ ^!एहयं ~ ^!ehaaṁ ^!एहअं in Apabhramsha, [^!ehayaṁ → ^!haeṁ → hẽ].

ēṣaḥ ⟿ ^!ēṣakaḣ → ^!ēsagō → ^!esaɣo → ^!ehao → ehau → ^!hau → ho
^!ēṣikā→ ^!ēsigā → ^!esiɣā → ^!ehiā → ^!ehia → ^!hia → hi
^!ēṣakam→ ^!ēsagaṁ → ^!esaɣaṁ→ ^!ehayaṁ → ^!ehayaṁ → ^!haeṁ → hẽ

The 3ᴘʟ.ᴍ-ᴘʀᴏx = he हे /ˈɦe/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ.ᴍ-ᴘʀᴏx ētē एते via Prakrit ēē एए which then gives Apabhramsha e ए. The h- was probably added in Konkani to make it uniform with other 3rd person proximal pronominals. The 3ᴘʟ.ғ-ᴘʀᴏx = hyo ह्यो /ˈɦjo/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ.ғ-ᴘʀᴏx ētāḣ एताः which gives Prakrit ēyāō एयाओ which would expectedly become Apabhramsha ^!eyao/^!eyo ^!एयओ/^!एयो and the h- gets added producing hyo. The 3ᴘʟ.ɴ-ᴘʀᴏx = hĩ हीं /ˈ ɦĩ(ː)/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ.ɴ-ᴘʀᴏx ētāni एतानि which gives Prakrit ēyāiṁ एयाइं which is reflexed in Apabhramsha as eyaiṁ एयइं, it isn’t hard to derive hĩ from this form, the h- being added for uniformity (as usual).

ētē → ēē → e → he
ētāḣ → ēyāō → ^!eyao → ^!eyo → ^!heyo → hyo
ētāni → ēyāiṁ → eyaiṁ → ^!eaiṁ → ^!heiṁ → hĩ

Third person distal pronominals

The 3sɢ.ᴍ-ᴅɪsᴛ = to तो /ˈt̻ɔ/ “he” probably derives from Sanskrit 3ɢᴇɴ.sɢ.ᴍ-ᴅɪsᴛ ^!tasyakaḣ ^!तस्यकः (thematic -akaḣ suffixed on tasya-) which would give Prakrit ^!tassagō ^!तस्सगो which then is reflexed in Apabhramsha as tāsu/tasu/taho तासु/तसु/तहो, [taho → *tao → *tau → to]. The remaining 3rd person singular distal pronominals- 3sɢ.ғ-ᴅɪsᴛ = ti /ˈt̻i(ː)/ “she” and 3sɢ.ɴ-ᴅɪsᴛ = tẽ /ˈt̻ɛ̃/ “it” are probably generated by analogy to 3sɢ.ғ-ᴘʀᴏx = hi ही /ˈɦi(ː)/ “she” and 3sɢ.ɴ-ᴘʀᴏx = hẽ हें /ˈɦɛ̃/ “it”.

tásya ⟿ ^!tasyakaḣ → ^!tassagō → ^!tassaɣo → ^!tasao → taho→ ^!tao→ to
^!tēṣikā→ ^!tēsigā → ^!tesiɣā → ^!tehiā → ^!teia → ^!tia → ti [analogous formation]
^!tēṣakam→ ^!tēsagaṁ → ^!tesaɣaṁ→ ^!tehayaṁ → ^!teayaṁ → ^!taeṁ → tẽ [analogous formation]

The 3ᴘʟ.ᴍ-ᴅɪsᴛ = te ते /ˈt̻e/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ.ᴍ-ᴅɪsᴛ tē ते via Prakrit tē ते via Apabhramsha te ते. The 3ᴘʟ.ғ-ᴅɪsᴛ = tyo त्यो /ˈt̻jo/ “they” is probably an analogous formation to hyo described above. The 3ᴘʟ.ɴ-ᴅɪsᴛ = tĩ तीं /ˈt̻ĩ(ː)/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ.ɴ-ᴅɪsᴛ tāni तानि which gives Prakrit tāiṁ ताइं which is reflexed in Apabhramsha as taiṁ तइं, it isn’t hard to derive tĩ from this form.

tē → tē→ te→ te
tāḣ → tāō → ^!teyao → ^!teyo→ tyo [analogous formation]
tāni → tāiṁ → taiṁ → ^!teiṁ → tĩ

Relative pronominals

The 3sɢ.ᴍ-ʀᴇʟ = j̈o जो /ˈ d͡zɔ/ “he” probably derives from Sanskrit Rɴᴏᴍ.sɢ.ᴍ-ᴘʀᴏx ^!yakaḣ ^!यकः (an extended form of yaḣ) which would have given Prakrit ^!jagō ^!जगो (we do find yaḣ becoming jō in Prakrit), which would be ^!jau ^!जौ in Apabhramsha, [^!jau → j̈o]. The remaining relative pronominals singular distal pronominals- 3sɢ.ғ-ᴅɪsᴛ = ji जी /ˈȡ͡ʑi(ː)/ “she” and 3sɢ.ɴ-ᴅɪsᴛ = jẽ जें /ˈȡ͡ʑɛ̃/ “it” are probably generated by analogy to 3sɢ.ғ/ɴ-ᴘʀᴏx/ᴅɪsᴛ [hi, hẽ] & [ti, tẽ].

yaḥ ⟿ ^!yakaḣ → ^!jagō → ^!jaɣo → ^!jao → jau → j̈o
^!yikā→ ^!jigā → ^!jiɣā → ^!jiā → ^!jia → ji [analogous formation]
^!yakam→ ^!jagaṁ → ^!jaɣaṁ→ ^!jayaṁ → ^!jaeṁ → jẽ [analogous formation]

The 3ᴘʟ.ᴍ-ʀᴇʟ= je जे /ˈȡ͡ʑe/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ.ᴍ-ʀᴇʟ yē ये via Prakrit jē जे via Apabhramsha je जे. The 3ᴘʟ.ғ-ᴅɪsᴛ = jyo ज्यो /ˈȡ͡ʑjo/ “they” is probably an analogous formation to hyo/tyo described above. The 3ᴘʟ.ɴ-ᴅɪsᴛ = jĩ जीं /ˈȡ͡ʑĩ(ː)/ “they” derives from Sanskrit 3ɴᴏᴍ.ᴘʟ. ɴ-ʀᴇʟ yāni यानि which gives Prakrit jāiṁ जाइं which is reflexed in Apabhramsha as jaiṁ जइं, it isn’t hard to derive jĩ from this form.

yē → jē→ je→ je
yāḣ → jāō → ^!jeyao → ^!jeyo→ jyo [analogous formation]
yāni → jāiṁ → jaiṁ → ^!jeiṁ → jĩ

Reflexive pronominal

The ʀғʟx - āpuṇ आपूण /ˈäpu(ː)ɳ/ like all the other cognates in New Indo-Aryan derive from Sanskrit ɢᴇɴ.ᴍ.sɢ. ātmanaḣ आत्मनः via Prakrit appaṇō/^!appuṇō अप्पणो/^!अप्पुणो via Apabhramsha appaṇu/^!appuṇu अप्पणु/^!अप्पुणु.

ātmanaḣ ⟿ ^!ātpmanaḣ → ^!appuṇō → ^!appuṇu → ^!āpuṇu → āpuṇ

The other reflexive pronominal svatā स्वता /ˈsʋət̻ä/ seems to be a learned borrowing from the Sanskrit adverbial svataḣ स्वतः. Whilst svataḣ in Sanksrit is treated as an indeclinable, the Konkani reflexive svatā स्वता has declensional forms and functions indistinguishably from the above reflexive āpuṇ आपूण.

Interrogative pronominal

In Old Konkani, the interrogative pronominal used to be triform- koṇu कोणु /ˈkoɳu/ sɢ.ᴍ, koṇi कोणी /ˈkoɳi/ sɢ.ғ & koṇa कोण /ˈkɔɳə/ sɢ.ɴ indicating the three genders just like other third person pronominals discussed above. That triform system has since collapsed in modern varieties of Konkani into just one pronoun koṇ कोण /ˈkɔɳ/ (a continuation of the neuter umlaut affected form).

The form koṇa कोण /ˈkɔɳə/ sɢ.ɴ derives from Sanskrit kaḣ púnar कः पुनर् (~ कः पुनः) ‘who?’ via Prakrit ^!kapaṇa ^!कपण [?] (attested in Pali as kō pana) via Apabhramsha kavaṇa कवण.

kaḣ púnaḣ → ^!kapaṇō → ^!kavaṇō → kavaṇu → koṇu

[The Old Konkani feminine koṇi was probably formed by adding the feminine suffix -i (← -ia ← -iā ← -iɣā ← -igā ← -ikā) to the stem koṇ]

kaḣ púnar → ^!kapaṇa → kavaṇa → koṇa → koṇ /ˈkɔɳ/

References:

G. V. Tagare, “Historical Grammar of Apabhramsa”
S. M. Katre, “The Formation of Konkani”
D. C. Sircar, “A grammar of the Prakrit language”
शेणै गोंयबाब (वामन वर्दे वालावलीकार), “कोंकणिची व्याकरणी बांदावळ”