Anvita Abbi
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
anvitaabbi@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
Various studies in the past, both linguistic and genetic, suggest that Andamanese languages might be the last representatives of pre-Neolithic Southeast Asia. Perhaps, they represent the initial settlement by modern humans (Hagelberg et al 2002). Genetic and epigenetic data (Endicott et al 2003) suggest long-term isolation of the Andamanese for a substantial period of time, extensive population substructure, and /or two temporally distinct settlements. Geographical isolation, probably aided the survival of ancient human lineages in the Andamanese. Living Andamanese tribes can be grouped into four major groups: the Great Andamanese, the Jarawa, the Onge and the Sentinelese. Barring Sentinelese, all other tribes have come into contact with the mainlanders. The demographic scale of these islanders is inversely related to the period of contact with the mainlanders. These tribals have lived in isolation from each other in the past.
The research findings discussed in the present paper are a result of recent field studies conducted to obtain a first hand account of the languages spoken by these hunter and gatherer tribes. An attempt has been made to give a brief typological sketch of the grammars of Jarawa, Onge and Great Andamanese. The comparative study of the sound system, the basic word list and the kinship terms indicates genetic link between Onge and Jarawa but not between these and the Great Andamanese. The dependent marking languages under consideration are sov types with modifier following the head. Data has been collected by fieldwork undertaken by the author in the jungles of the Andaman Islands. This account of the structures of these endangered languages is unique and novel. The languages are class apart and do not seem to resemble any of the known linguistic structures. The presentation accompanies photographs, audio and video recordings of the endangered tribes and their languages.