Andamanese languages

The Andamanese languages form a language family spoken by the Andamanese indigenous peoples in the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India. There are two recognized subfamilies, Great Andamanese and South Andamanese. The Great Andamanese languages are further divided into Central and Northern groups. All of the Great Andamanese languages except Pucikwar became extinct in the 20th century; as the few-surviving individuals of indigenous Great Andamanese descent inter-married with Karen (Burmese) and Indian settlers, their linguistic and tribal distinctions were lost and these few dozen today are primarily speakers of Hindi. The South Andamanese languages survive mainly because of the greater isolation of the peoples who speak them, reinforced by the extreme reluctance and outright hostility they have long maintained towards outside contact (particularly true of the Sentinelese and Jarawa).

Related Topics:
Language family - Andamanese - Indigenous peoples - Andaman Islands - Union territory - India - Great Andamanese - South Andamanese - 20th century - Great Andamanese - Karen (Burmese) - Indian - Hindi - Sentinelese - Jarawa

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