Andamanese languages
Encyclopedia
The Andamanese languages form a proposed language family spoken by the Andamanese
peoples
, a group of Negritos who live in the Andaman Islands
, a union territory
of India
. Its validity is disputed. There are two clear families of Andamanese languages, Great Andamanese
and Ongan
, as well as Sentinelese, which is unknown
and therefore at present unclassifiable
.
penal colony
and the subsequent arrival of immigrant settlers and indentured labourers mainly from the Indian subcontinent
brought the first sustained impacts upon these societies, particularly among the Great Andamanese groups.
By the turn of the 20th century most of these populations were greatly reduced in numbers, and the various linguistic and tribal divisions among the Great Andamanese effectively ceased to exist, despite a census of the time still classifying the groups as separate. Their linguistic diversity also suffered as the surviving populations intermingled with one another, and some also intermarried with Karen (Burmese)
and Indian
settlers.
By the latter part of the 20th century the majority of Great Andamanese languages had become extinct.
At the start of the 21st century only about 50 or so individuals of Great Andamanese descent remained, resettled to a single small island (Strait I.
); about half of these speak what may be considered a modified version (or creole
) of Great Andamanese, based mainly on Aka-Jeru
. This modified version has been called "Present Great Andamanese" by some scholars, but also may be referred to simply as "Jero" or "Great Andamanese". Hindi
increasingly serves as their primary language, and is the only language for around half of them.
The Ongan languages survive mainly because of the greater isolation of the peoples who speak them. This isolation has been reinforced by an outright hostility towards outsiders and extreme reluctance to engage in contact with them by South Andamanese tribes, particularly the Sentinelese and Jarawa
. The Sentinelese have been so resistant that their language remains entirely unknown to outsiders.
system based largely on body parts, in which every noun
and adjective
may take a prefix according to which body part it is associated with (on the basis of shape, or functional association). Thus, for instance, the "aka-" at the beginning of the Great Andamanese languages' names is a prefix for objects related to the tongue
. (See Great Andamanese languages
for examples.) Another peculiarity of terms for body parts is that they are inalienably possessed
, requiring a possessive adjective
prefix to complete them, so one cannot say "head" alone, but only "my, or his, or your, etc. head".
The basic pronouns are almost identical throughout the Great Andamanese languages; Aka-Bea will serve as a representative example (pronouns given in their basic prefixal forms):
The Ongan pronouns are rather different; Önge is cited here:
Judging from the available sources, the Andamanese languages have only two cardinal number
s: one and two and their entire numerical lexicon is one, two, one more, some more, and all.
The Andaman languages fall into two clear families, Great Andamanese and Ongan, plus one unattested language, Sentinelese
:
In addition,
These have frequently been assumed to be related. However, the similarities between Great Andamanese and Ongan are so far mainly of a typological morphological
nature, with little demonstrated common vocabulary. As a result, even long-range researchers such as Joseph Greenberg
have expressed doubts as to the validity of Andamanese as a family.
Blevins (2007) summarizes,
As alluded to in this quotation, Greenberg proposed that the Great Andamanese are related to western Papuan languages
as members of a larger phylum he called Indo-Pacific
, but this is not generally accepted by other linguists. Stephen Wurm
states that the lexical similarities between Great Andamanese and the West Papuan
and certain languages of Timor
"are quite striking and amount to virtual formal identity […] in a number of instances", but considers this to be due to a linguistic substratum
rather than a direct relationship. Blevins (2007) proposes that the Ongan languages are related to Austronesian
.
Andamanese
The Andamanese people are the various aboriginal inhabitants of the Andaman Islands, which is the northern district of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India, located in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. They include the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, and...
peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
, a group of Negritos who live in the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
, a union territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its validity is disputed. There are two clear families of Andamanese languages, Great Andamanese
Great Andamanese languages
The Great Andamanese languages are a nearly extinct language family spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India.- History :...
and Ongan
Ongan languages
Ongan, or South Andamanese, is a small family of two languages, Önge and Jarawa, spoken in the southern Andaman Islands:*Ongan**Önge or Onge; 96 speakers in 1997, mostly monolingual...
, as well as Sentinelese, which is unknown
Uncontacted peoples
Uncontacted people, also referred to as isolated people or lost tribes, are communities who live, or have lived, either by choice or by circumstance, without significant contact with globalized civilisation....
and therefore at present unclassifiable
Unclassified language
Unclassified languages are languages whose genetic affiliation has not been established by means of historical linguistics. If this state of affairs continues after significant study of the language and efforts to relate it to other languages, as in the case of Basque, it is termed a language...
.
History
The indigenous Andamanese peoples have lived on the islands for thousands of years, and for the great majority of this period their societies and languages have remained quite undisturbed by external influences. Although the existence of the islands and their inhabitants was long known to maritime powers and traders of the South– and Southeast–Asia region, contact with these peoples was highly sporadic and very often hostile; as a result, almost nothing is recorded of them or their languages until the mid-18th century. From the 1860s onwards, the setting up of a permanent BritishBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
and the subsequent arrival of immigrant settlers and indentured labourers mainly from the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
brought the first sustained impacts upon these societies, particularly among the Great Andamanese groups.
By the turn of the 20th century most of these populations were greatly reduced in numbers, and the various linguistic and tribal divisions among the Great Andamanese effectively ceased to exist, despite a census of the time still classifying the groups as separate. Their linguistic diversity also suffered as the surviving populations intermingled with one another, and some also intermarried with Karen (Burmese)
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
and Indian
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
settlers.
By the latter part of the 20th century the majority of Great Andamanese languages had become extinct.
At the start of the 21st century only about 50 or so individuals of Great Andamanese descent remained, resettled to a single small island (Strait I.
Strait Island
Strait Island is a tribal reservation in a Union territory of India.-Description:Strait Island is a small island of 6.01 km² located 5.5 km east of Baratang Island, Great Andaman, in the Diligent Strait that separates Great Andaman from Ritchie's Archipelago. The population as of the 2001...
); about half of these speak what may be considered a modified version (or creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
) of Great Andamanese, based mainly on Aka-Jeru
Aka-Jeru language
The Jeru language, Aka-Jeru , is a Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group. Whether Jeru is extinct is disputed. The Andaman website reports 7 speakers; at issue is whether the surviving Great Andamanese language is Jeru, Pucikwar, or a creole based on several languages, of which Jeru is a...
. This modified version has been called "Present Great Andamanese" by some scholars, but also may be referred to simply as "Jero" or "Great Andamanese". Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
increasingly serves as their primary language, and is the only language for around half of them.
The Ongan languages survive mainly because of the greater isolation of the peoples who speak them. This isolation has been reinforced by an outright hostility towards outsiders and extreme reluctance to engage in contact with them by South Andamanese tribes, particularly the Sentinelese and Jarawa
Jarawa (Andaman Islands)
The Jarawa are one of the adivasi indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands. Their present numbers are estimated at between 250-350 individuals. Since they have largely shunned interactions with outsiders, many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are poorly understood...
. The Sentinelese have been so resistant that their language remains entirely unknown to outsiders.
Grammar
The Andamanese languages are agglutinative languages, with an extensive prefix and suffix system. Possibly their most distinctive characteristic is a noun classNoun class
In linguistics, the term noun class refers to a system of categorizing nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of characteristic features of its referent, such as sex, animacy, shape, but counting a given noun among nouns of such or another class is often clearly conventional...
system based largely on body parts, in which every noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
and adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
may take a prefix according to which body part it is associated with (on the basis of shape, or functional association). Thus, for instance, the "aka-" at the beginning of the Great Andamanese languages' names is a prefix for objects related to the tongue
Tongue
The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...
. (See Great Andamanese languages
Great Andamanese languages
The Great Andamanese languages are a nearly extinct language family spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India.- History :...
for examples.) Another peculiarity of terms for body parts is that they are inalienably possessed
Inalienable possession
In linguistics, inalienable possession refers to the linguistic properties of certain nouns or nominal morphemes based on the fact that they are always possessed. The semantic underpinning is that entities like body parts and relatives do not exist apart from a possessor. For example, a hand...
, requiring a possessive adjective
Possessive adjective
Possessive adjectives, also known as possessive determiners, are a part of speech that modifies a noun by attributing possession to someone or something...
prefix to complete them, so one cannot say "head" alone, but only "my, or his, or your, etc. head".
The basic pronouns are almost identical throughout the Great Andamanese languages; Aka-Bea will serve as a representative example (pronouns given in their basic prefixal forms):
| I, my | d- | we, our | m- |
| thou, thy | ŋ- | you, your | ŋ- |
| he, his, she, her, it, its | a | they, their | l- |
The Ongan pronouns are rather different; Önge is cited here:
| I, my | m- | we, our | et-, m- |
| thou, thy | ŋ- | you, your | n- |
| he, his, she, her, it, its | g- | they, their | ekw-, n- |
Judging from the available sources, the Andamanese languages have only two cardinal number
Cardinal number
In mathematics, cardinal numbers, or cardinals for short, are a generalization of the natural numbers used to measure the cardinality of sets. The cardinality of a finite set is a natural number – the number of elements in the set. The transfinite cardinal numbers describe the sizes of infinite...
s: one and two and their entire numerical lexicon is one, two, one more, some more, and all.
The languages and their classification
Sentinelese language
Sentinelese is the unknown language of the Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands, India. It is presumably a distinct Andamanese language, but how closely it may be related to other languages of those families is unknown...
:
- Great AndamaneseGreat Andamanese languagesThe Great Andamanese languages are a nearly extinct language family spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India.- History :...
: Spoken by the Great AndamaneseGreat AndamaneseGreat Andamanese is a collective term used to refer to related indigenous peoples who lived throughout most of the Great Andaman archipelago, the main and closely situated group of islands in the Andaman Islands. Numbering between 200 and 700, each of the Great Andamanese peoples maintained a...
people; Aka-JeruAka-Jeru languageThe Jeru language, Aka-Jeru , is a Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group. Whether Jeru is extinct is disputed. The Andaman website reports 7 speakers; at issue is whether the surviving Great Andamanese language is Jeru, Pucikwar, or a creole based on several languages, of which Jeru is a...
, had 36 speakers in 1997 who are bilingual in HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. - OnganOngan languagesOngan, or South Andamanese, is a small family of two languages, Önge and Jarawa, spoken in the southern Andaman Islands:*Ongan**Önge or Onge; 96 speakers in 1997, mostly monolingual...
: Two languages spoken by 300 people, mostly monolingual.
In addition,
- SentineleseSentinelese languageSentinelese is the unknown language of the Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands, India. It is presumably a distinct Andamanese language, but how closely it may be related to other languages of those families is unknown...
; likely at least 50 speakers, and perhaps up towards 250 (the population of the SentineleseSentineleseThe Sentinelese are one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. They inhabit North Sentinel Island which lies westward off the southern tip of the Great Andaman archipelago...
is unknown).
These have frequently been assumed to be related. However, the similarities between Great Andamanese and Ongan are so far mainly of a typological morphological
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
nature, with little demonstrated common vocabulary. As a result, even long-range researchers such as Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Harold Greenberg was a prominent and controversial American linguist, principally known for his work in two areas, linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.- Early life and career :...
have expressed doubts as to the validity of Andamanese as a family.
Blevins (2007) summarizes,
As alluded to in this quotation, Greenberg proposed that the Great Andamanese are related to western Papuan languages
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. The term does not presuppose a genetic relationship. The concept of Papuan peoples as distinct from Melanesians was first suggested and named by Sidney Herbert Ray in 1892.-The...
as members of a larger phylum he called Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific languages
Indo-Pacific is a hypothetical language macrofamily proposed in 1971 by Joseph Greenberg. Supporters of Indo-Pacific see it as an extremely ancient and internally diverse family...
, but this is not generally accepted by other linguists. Stephen Wurm
Stephen Wurm
Stephen Adolphe Wurm was a Hungarian-born Australian linguist.- Biography :Wurm was born in Budapest, the second child to the German-speaking Adolphe Wurm and Hungarian-speaking Anna Novroczky, and was christened Istvan Adolphe Wurm...
states that the lexical similarities between Great Andamanese and the West Papuan
West Papuan languages
The West Papuan languages are a hypothetical language family of about two dozen Papuan languages of the Bird's Head Peninsula of far western New Guinea and the island of Halmahera, spoken by about 220 000 people in all....
and certain languages of Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
"are quite striking and amount to virtual formal identity […] in a number of instances", but considers this to be due to a linguistic substratum
Substratum
In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum is a language which has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum is the language that has higher power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum...
rather than a direct relationship. Blevins (2007) proposes that the Ongan languages are related to Austronesian
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
.
External links
- The LINGUIST List MultiTree Project: Andamanese Family Trees
- Ethnologue entry for Andamanese languages
- South Asia Bibliography – Andamanese
- Andaman Association
- Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese Anvita Abbi, Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityJawaharlal Nehru UniversityJawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
- The Andamanese Language Family (I) & (II)
- Burenhult's Paper on Andamanese
- Another link to Burenhult on Andamanese