term is derived from the Persian word for coast, kinara; if so, it would mean "the language of the coast". The problem is that this term overlaps with Kanarese or Kannada. All the European authors, however, recognised two forms of the language in Goa: the plebeian, called Canarim, and the more regular (used by the educated classes), called Língua Canarim Brâmana or simply Brâmana de Goa. The latter was the preferred choice of the Europeans, and also of other castes, for writing, sermons, and religious purposes. There are different views as to the origin of the word Konkan and hence Konkani: V. P. Chavan states that the etymology of Konkan and hence Konkani is derived from the Kannada word konku meaning 'uneven ground'. The Kannada origin suggests that Konkana might have included Kannada territory and 'uneven ground' suggests the hilly nature of the territory. Konku in Kannada also means that which is 'not straight' and is 'crooked. The word Konkan comes from the Kukkana (Kokna) tribe, who were the original inhabitants of the land where Konkani originated. According to some texts of Puranas, Parashurama shot his arrow into the sea and commanded the Sea God to recede up to the point where his arrow landed. The new piece of land thus recovered came to be known as Konkan meaning piece of earth or corner of earth, kōṇa (corner) + kaṇa (piece). This legend is mentioned in Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana. History Proposed substrate influences The substratum of the Konkani language lies in the speech of Austroasiatic tribes called Kurukh, Oraon, and Kukni, whose modern representatives are languages like Kurukh and its dialects including Kurux, Kunrukh, Kunna, and Malto. According to the Indian Anthropological Society, these Australoid tribes speaking Austro-Asiatic or Munda languages who once inhabited Konkan, migrated to Northern India (Chota Nagpur Plateau, Mirzapur) and are not found in Konkan any more. Olivinho Gomes in his essay "Medieval Konkani Literature" also mentions the Mundari substratum. Goan Indologist Anant Shenvi Dhume identified many Austro-Asiatic Munda words in Konkani, like mund, mundkar, dhumak, goem-bab. This substratum is very prominent in Konkani. The grammatical impact of the Dravidian languages on the structure and syntax of Indo-Aryan languages is difficult to fathom. Some linguists explain this anomaly by arguing that Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan were built on a Dravidian substratum. Some examples of Konkani words of Dravidian origin are: naall (coconut), madval