Jarawa language (Andaman Islands)

Jarawa
Aong
Spoken in India
Region Andaman Islands
Ethnicity Jarawa people|Jarawa people (Andaman Islands)|Jarawa
Native speakers 266  (2001–2002)[1]
Language family
Ongan
  • Jarawa
Language codes
ISO 639-3 anq

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, their traditional enemies. Like many peoples, they call themselves simply aong "people".

Contents

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
Nasal m n
Plosive p b t d c ɟ k 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 Onge doesn't have a /p/ at all).[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]

Bibliography

References

External links