Northern Andamanese language
| Northern Andamanese | |
|---|---|
| Native to | India |
| Region | Andaman Islands; North Andaman island |
| Ethnicity | Andamanese |
Native speakers | 3 (2020)[1] |
Great Andamanese
| |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | nort2678 |
 Great andamanese [sic] is classified as Critically Endangered according to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[2] | |
Northern Andamanese is the critically endangered native language of North Andaman Island. It is closely related to Akakede and seems to have consisted of four mutually intelligible dialects: Akachari (Cari), Akakhora (Kora), Akabo (Bo), and Akajeru (Jeru). Jeru is the only one with speakers remaining.[3][4]
When the North Andamanese people were resettled to Strait Island, a koiné developed from the resulting mixture of dialects. It went extinct in the early 2000s.
For more specific information, see the individual dialects.
Great Andamanese koiné
| Mixed Great Andamanese | |
|---|---|
| Great Andamanese koiné | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Strait Island |
| Ethnicity | 60 (2020)[5] |
| Extinct | 2009, with the death of Nao Jr., the last semi-fluent speaker[5] |
Mixed Khora–Bo–Jeru–Sare on a Jeru base | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gac |
| Glottolog | mixe1288 |
| ELP | Mixed Great Andamanese |
 | |
Great Andamanese koiné is based primarily on Jeru, with lexical and grammatical influence from other Northern Andamanese dialects (Aka-Bo, Aka-Kora and Aka-Cari).
Phonology
Vowels
The Great Andamanese koiné has a seven-vowel system.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
Consonants
| Labial | Dental /Alveolar |
Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | tʃ | k |
| voiceless aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | ʈʰ | kʰ | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɖ | dʒ | ||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | |||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
Grammar
It is a head-marking polysynthetic and agglutinative language with a SOV pattern. It has a very elaborate system for marking inalienability,[6] with seven possessive markers reflecting different body-divisions. These markers appear as proclitics that classify a large number of nouns as dependent categories.[7]
Vocabulary
| Gloss | Great Andamanese | Devanagari |
|---|---|---|
| nest | aaracha | आराचा |
| housefly | ijibu | ईजीबू |
| snake (king cobra) | ulukhu | ऊलूखू |
| chilli | ekajira | एकाजीरा |
| deer | airen | ऐरेन |
| fishing net | ocho | ओचो |
| axe | aulo | औलो |
| snail | kalatop | कालाटौप |
| dugong | kauroing | कौरौईञ |
| coconut | khider | खीदेर |
| road | ngorto | ङौरतौ |
| betelnut | chaum | चौम |
| dolphin | choa | चोआ |
| bat | jibet | जीबेट |
| fish | nyure | ञूरे |
| heron | taka | टाका |
| tongue | thatat | ठातात |
| sunset | diu | डीऊ |
| black pig | dirim raa | डीरीम राऽ |
| leaf | taich | तौच |
| dew | thun | थून |
| scorpion | dikiraseni | दीकीरासेनी |
| mosquito | nipho | नीफो |
| mushroom | pata | पाता |
| crow | phatkaa | फाटका |
| frog | phorube | फोरूबे |
| rope | pharako | फाराको |
| green turtle | belotauro | बेलोटौरौ |
| grey pigeon | mirit | मीरीत |
| rooster | maucho | मौचौ |
| strewn leaves | yephaay taich | येफाऽय तैच |
| bamboo | rat | रैट |
| tusked male pig | ratairlauto | रातैरलौतो |
| smoke | lep | लेप |
| fire | luro, wuro | लूरो, वूरो |
| waist jewellery | shirbele | शीरबेले |
| snake | shubi | शूबी |
| crocodile | sarekateyo | सारेकातेयो |
| White-bellied Sea-Eagle | karatchom | करटचोम |
| Pacific Golden Plover | chelele | चैलेले |
| Oriental Honey Buzzard | taulom-tut-bio | टौलोम-तूत-बीओ |
| Whimbrel | chautot | चौटोट |
- Column in yellow denotes loanword derived from Hindi
Place names
Vocabulary:[10]
| Contemporary name | Present Great Andamanese name |
|---|---|
| Andaman Islands | Marakele |
| South Andaman Island | Sorobul |
| Little Andaman | Ilimu Tauro |
| Strait Island | Khringkosho |
| Havelock Island (Swaraj Island) | Thi Lar Siro |
| Interview Island | Bilikhu Tara Phong |
| Neill Island (Shaheed Island) | Tebi Shiro |
| Baratang Island | Boa |
| Bluff Island | Lurua |
| Landfall Island | Mauntenga |
| Long Island | Bol Phong |
| Inglis Island | Jirikta Phong |
| Port Blair | Laotara Nyo |
| Diglipur | Thitaumul |
| Mayabunder | Ret Phor |
| Saddle Peak | Puluga Chang |
References
- ^ Akajeru at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Report) (3rd ed.). UNESCO. 2010. p. 31.
- ^ Zamponi, Raoul; Comrie, Bernard (2021). A grammar of Akajeru: fragments of a traditional North Andamanese dialect (PDF). Grammars of world and minority languages. London: UCL Press. ISBN 978-1-80008-093-5.
- ^ Bernard Comrie & Raoul Zamponi. 2019. Subgrouping and lexical distance in the Great Andamanese family. In Wortschätze & Sprachwelten, Beiträge zu Sprachtypologie, kontrastiver Wort- bzw. Wortschatzforschung und Pragmatik, edited by Michail L. Kotin, 35–57. Berlin: Peter Lang
- ^ a b Mixed Great Andamanese at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020)
- ^ Anvita Abbi (2006), "Endangered Languages of the Andaman Islands", LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics, 64.) München
- ^ Anvita Abbi (2009), "The Unique Structure of the Present Great Andamanese: An Overview of the Grammar", VOGA(Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese), archived from the original on October 24, 2010
- ^ Andamani Varnamala (PDF), Centre for Linguistics Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2008, archived from the original on April 22, 2021
- ^ "GA Lexicon". VOGA. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Indigenous knowledge place names". Andamanese.org. Retrieved 1 May 2025.