Abbi Anvita. Endangered Languages of the Andaman Islands

Lincom Europa, 2006. — 117 p. — ISBN: 3895868663.
Format / Quality: MP3 / 1411 kkpsThe only typological work ever undertaken on the Andamanese languages. This is a book on the languages of one of the world's most endangered and ancient linguistic groups - the Andamanese. Andamanese, a language isolate, is considered the fifth language family of India. Based on fieldwork conducted in the impregnable jungles of the Andaman Islands, the author brings out a comparative linguistic sketch of Great Andamanese, Jarawa, and Onge. The book provides the first detailed description of phonology, word formation processes, morphophonemic processes, lexicon containing words from various semantic fields, and syntax of the three languages. Similarities and differences between Great Andamanese, Jarawa and Onge are discussed to suggest possible genealogical affiliations and language contact. In addition, the book contains information on the nature of the field work pursued by the author, as well visual materials, which help contextualize the different tribes and their languages, in terms of civilization and environment. This is very relevant in the context of Tsunami-havoc that led to dislocation of some of the Andamanese tribes. The provided CD-Rom contains sound files, which help to provide more detailed phonetic and prosodic information as well as phonetic variation among the speakers of the dying and 'mixed' language such as Great Andamanese.