Linguistic Convergence

Emeneau (1956) observed India as a linguistic area, having a multitude of languages belonging to four major families, which are subjected to constant contacts. Research in the area of language contact is of much interest among sociolinguists. Through convergence languages become closer even though they belong to different family of languages, since they evolve a common core. The contact of Konkani, an Indo-Aryan language, with Malayalam – a Dravidian language - dates back to thirteenth century AD. This study attempts to answer a set of questions concerning the internal mechanisms of a language contact situation and its effects in the mental structure of the bilingual.