The Jeru language, Aka-Jeru (also known as Yerawa, not to be confused with Järawa), is a moribund Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group. Jeru was spoken in the interior and south coast of North Andaman and on Sound Island. A koiné of Aka-Jeru and other northern Great Andamanese languages was once spoken on Strait Island; the last semi-fluent speaker of this, Nao Jr., died in 2009.[2] Aka-Jeru is the last surviving member of the Great Andamanese languages. According to a grammar on Aka-Jeru, it and Aka-Cari are dialects of a singular language, with lexical correspondency between the two at 93%.[3]
| Jeru | |
|---|---|
| Aka-Jeru | |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Andaman Islands; interior and south North Andaman island, Sound island. Presently Strait Island |
| Ethnicity | Jeru |
Native speakers | 3 (2020)[1] |
Great Andamanese
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | akj |
akj.html | |
| Glottolog | akaj1239 |
 | |
History
As the numbers of Great Andamanese progressively declined over the succeeding decades, the various Great Andamanese tribes either disappeared altogether or became amalgamated through intermarriage. By 1994, the 38 remaining Great Andamanese who could trace their ancestry and culture back to the original tribes belonged to only three of them (Jeru, Bo, and Cari).[4]
The resulting Great Andamanese language was based on Jeru or a creole based on several languages, of which Jeru was a primary component. The last fluent speaker, Nao, died in 2009. [5]
Phonology
Consonants
Aka-Jeru has the following consonants:[3]
Vowels
Aka-Jeru has the following vowels:[3]
Grammar
See Great Andamanese languages for more general grammatical description.
Great Andamanese koiné
 | It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Mixed Great Andamanese. (Discuss) (May 2024) |
Great Andamanese koiné is based primarily on Jeru, with lexical and grammatical influence from other North Great Andamanese languages (Aka-Bo, Aka-Kora and Aka-Cari). It is a head-marking polysynthetic and agglutinative language with a SOV pattern. It has a very elaborate system for marking inalienability,[6] with seven possessive markers reflecting different body-divisions. These markers appear as proclitics that classify a large number of nouns as dependent categories. It is proposed that the Great Andamanese conceptualise their world through these interdependencies and thus the grammar encodes this important phenomenon in every grammatical category expressing referential, attributive and predicative meaning.[7]
Phonology
Vowels
The Great Andamanese koiné has a seven-vowel system.
Consonants
Vocabulary
Koiné vocabulary:[8][9][clarification needed]
| Gloss | Great Andamanese | IPA[this appears to be messed up] | Devanagari |
|---|---|---|---|
| nest | aaracha | araca | आराचा |
| housefly | ijibu | iɟibu | ईजीबू |
| snake (king cobra) | ulukhu | ulukʰu | ऊलूखू |
| chilli | ekajira | ekaɟira | एकाजीरा |
| deer | airen | ɛren | ऐरेन |
| fishing net | ocho | oco | ओचो |
| axe | aulo | ɔlo | औलो |
| snail | kalatop | kalaʈɔp | कालाटौप |
| dugong | kauroing | kɔrɔiɲ | कौरौईञ |
| coconut | khider | kʰider | खीदेर |
| road | ngorto | ŋɔrtɔ | ङौरतौ |
| betelnut | chaum | cɔm | चौम |
| dolphin | choa | coa | चोआ |
| bat | jibet | ɟibeʈ | जीबेट |
| fish | nyure | ɲure | ञूरे |
| heron | taka | ʈaka | टाका |
| tongue | thatat | ʈʰatat | ठातात |
| sunset | diu | ɖiu | डीऊ |
| black pig | dirim raa | ɖirim raː | डीरीम राऽ |
| leaf | taich | tɔc | तौच |
| dew | thun | tʰun | थून |
| scorpion | dikiraseni | dikiraseni | दीकीरासेनी |
| mosquito | nipho | nipʰo | नीफो |
| mushroom | pata | pata | पाता |
| crow | phatkaa | pʰaʈka | फाटका |
| frog | phorube | pʰorube | फोरूबे |
| rope | pharako | pʰarako | फाराको |
| green turtle | belotauro | beloʈɔrɔ | बेलोटौरौ |
| grey pigeon | mirit | mirit | मीरीत |
| rooster | maucho | mɔcɔ | मौचौ |
| strewn leaves | yephaay taich | jepʰaːj tɛc | येफाऽय तैच |
| bamboo | rat | rɛʈ | रैट |
| tusked male pig | ratairlauto | ratɛrlɔto | रातैरलौतो |
| smoke | lep | lep | लेप |
| fire | luro, wuro | luro, wuro | लूरो, वूरो |
| waist jewellery | shirbele | ʃirbele | शीरबेले |
| snake | shubi | ʃubi | शूबी |
| crocodile | sarekateyo | sarekatejo | सारेकातेयो |
| White-bellied Sea-Eagle | karatchom | karaʈcom | करटचोम |
| Pacific Golden Plover | chelele | cɛlele | चैलेले |
| Oriental Honey Buzzard | taulom-tut-bio | ʈɔlom-tut-bio | टौलोम-तूत-बीओ |
| Whimbrel | chautot | cɔʈoʈ | चौटोट |
- Column in yellow denotes loanword derived from Hindi
Grammatical features
With respect to the Great Andamanese family, the use of proclitics in Great Andamanese language shows how the language family is unique in such a way that the body division markers that appear as proclitics pervade the entire grammatical system of the language, a fact not shared by any other known language of the world so far.[10][11]
| Classes | Partonomy of human body | Body division markers | Verbs | Adjectives | Adverbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mouth and its semantic extension | a= | mouth-related activity, origin, e.g. a=ɟire 'abuse', a=kopho 'sprout' | mouth-related attributive quality of a person, e.g. a=mu 'mute', a=tutlup 'greedy' | deictic meaning of front or back, anteriority of an action, e.g. a=karap 'behind', a=kaulu 'prior to' |
| 2 | major external body parts | ɛr= | activity in which the front part of the body is involved. e.g. er=luk 'weigh' | attribute of size, external beauty, e.g. er=buŋoi 'beautiful' | deictic meaning of adjacency, uncontrollable actions/emotions, e.g. er=betto:ʃo 'adjacent to/near X', er=achil 'surprised' |
| 3 | extreme ends of the body like toes and fingernails | oŋ= | hand-related activity, action to do with extremities of body, e.g. oŋ=cho 'stitch', oŋ=tuɟuro 'trembling of hands' | attributes related to limbs, e.g. oŋ=karacay 'lame', 'handicapped', oŋ=toplo 'alone' | Indicating manner, e.g. oŋ=kocil 'fast', 'hurriedly' |
| 4 | bodily products and part-whole relationship | ut= | directional, away from the ego, experiential, e.g. ut=cone 'leave', ut=ʈheʈhe-bom 'be hungry' | attributive quality of an X after a part is taken out of it, e.g. ut=lile 'decay', ut=lɔkho 'bare' | emerging out of something, deictic meaning of 'towards X', e.g. ot=le, 'seaward' ot=bo 'backwards' |
| 5 | organs inside the body | e=, ɛ= | internalised action, when the effect of an action can be seen on the object, or experienced, e.g. e=lɛco 'suck', ɛ=rino 'tear' | inherent attribute of X, e.g. e=sare 'salty', ɛ=bɛn 'soft' | deictic meaning of 'in the middle of X' e.g. te=khil, e=kotra 'inside' |
| 6 | parts designating round shape/sexual organs | ara= | action that involves side or middle portion of the body, e.g. ara=ɖelo 'be pregnant' | attribute of size, 'time' and belly-related, e.g. ara=pheʈkhetɔ 'big bellied', ara=kaʈa 'stout/dwarf' | deixis of immediate vertical or horizontal space, e.g. ara=balo 'behind X', tara=tal 'right under X' |
| 7 | parts for legs and related terms | o= ~ ɔ= | action which results in roundish object or in a definite result, e.g. o=cɔrno 'make nest', o=beo 'sting' | external attribute of an X, shape or structure, e.g. o=baloŋ 'round', o=phelala 'slippery' | temporal deixis relating to 'sun rise' or directional deixis, e.g. o=ʈɔ: 'day break', o=kara 'sunset' |
Great Andamanese place names
| Contemporary place name | Present Great Andamanese place name |
|---|---|
| Andaman Islands | Marakele |
| South Andaman Island | Sorobul |
| Little Andaman | Ilumu Tauro |
| Strait Island | Khringkosho |
| Havelock Island (Swaraj Island) | Thi Lar Siro |
| Interview Island | Bilikhu Taraphong |
| Neill Island (Shaheed Island) | Tebi Shiro |
| Baratang Island | Boa |
| Bluff Island | Lurua |
| Landfall Island | Mauntenga |
| Port Blair | Laotara Nyo |
| Diglipur | Thitaumul |
| Mayabunder | Rait Phor |
Sample text
The following is a sample text in Present Great Andamanese, in Devanagari, the Latin script, and IPA.
कूरोतोनमीका
Kuro-t'on-mika
kurot̪onmikɑ
मोम
mom
mom
मीरीतलाऽ,
miritlaa,
mirit̪lɑː,
बीलीक
bilik
bilik
लौकौएमात,
laukoemat,
lɔkɔemɑt̪,
पेआकार
peakar
peɑkɑr
आतलो
aatlo
ɑt̪lo
तोपछीके
topchhike
topcʰike
आत
aat
ɑt
लैचे
laiche
lɑice
लेछलीन
lechhlin
lecʰlin
आ,
aa,
ɑ,
कोतीक
kotik
kot̪ik
आ
aa
ɑ
औकौकोडाऽकछीने
aukaukodaakchhine
ɔkɔkodɑːkcʰine
आतलो
aatlo
ɑt̪lo
कारातताऽताकेमीऽन।
Karat-tatak-emin.
kɑrɑt̪t̪ɑːt̪ɑkemiːn.
Mr. Pigeon stole a firebrand at Kuro-t'on-mika, while God was sleeping. He gave the brand to the late Lech, who then made fires at Karat-tatak-emin.
References
Bibliography
External links
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