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Jarawa language (Andaman Islands)

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Not to be confused with Jarawa language (Nigeria).
Jarawa
Aong
Native toIndia
RegionAndaman Islands; interior and south central Rutland island, central interior and south interior of South Andaman island, Middle Andaman island, west coast, 70 square km reserve.
EthnicityJarawa
Native speakers
270 (2001–2002)[1]
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%.
Ongan
  • Jarawa
Language codes
ISO 639-3anq
Glottologjara1245
ELPJarawa
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Järawa or Jarwa is an Ongan language spoken by the Jarawa people of the interior and south central Rutland Island, central interior and south interior South Andaman Island, and the west coast of Middle Andaman Island.

Järawa means 'foreigners' in Aka-Bea, the language of their traditional enemies. Like many peoples, they call themselves simply aong "people".

Phonology

Jarawa has six vowels and sixteen consonants, along with possible additional retroflexes, aspirates, and/or another vowel phoneme.[2]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i   u
Close-mid e   o
Mid   ə  
Open   a  

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m n
Plosive voiceless p t c k
voiced b d ɟ ɡ
Fricative h (hʷ)
Trill r
Approximant l j w

Characteristics

Word-initial contrast between /p/ and /b/ is disappearing, with /p/ becoming /b/ (note that in Onge /p/ is not phonemically present).[3]

Jarawa words are at least monosyllabic, and content words are at least bimoraic.[3] Maximal syllables are CVC.[3]

/c/ voices intervocalically in derived environments, /ə/ syncopates when followed by another vowel across a morpheme boundary, /ə/ becomes [o] when the next syllable has a round vowel, and whole syllables may be deleted in fast speech.[3]

References

  1. ^ Chittaranjan Kumar Paty & Forest, government, and tribe (2007:102)
  2. ^ Blevins (2007:160–161)
  3. ^ a b c d Blevins (2007:161)

Bibliography

  • Blevins, Juliette (2007), "A Long Lost Sister of Proto-Austronesian? Proto-Ongan, Mother of Jarawa and Onge of the Andaman Islands", Oceanic Linguistics, 46 (1): 154–198, doi:10.1353/ol.2007.0015


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