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.
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).[3]
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. [4]
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,[5] 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.[6]
The Great Andamanese koiné has a seven-vowel system.
Column in yellow denotes loanword derived from Hindi
Grammatical featuresedit
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.[9][10]
Seven basic zones in the partonomy of the body and grammaticalisation process in PGA
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'
^ abcMixed Great Andamanese at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020)
^A. N. Sharma (2003), Tribal Development in the Andaman Islands, page 75. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi.
^Aka-Jeru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) Mixed Great Andamanese at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^Anvita Abbi (2006), "Endangered Languages of the Andaman Islands", LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics, 64.) München
^ Anvita Abbi (2009), "The Unique Structure of the Present Great Andamanese: An Overview of the Grammar", VOGA(Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese)
^Andamani Varnamala(PDF), Centre for Linguistics Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2008
^Anvita Abbi (2018), A sixth language family of India: Great Andamanese, its historical status and salient present-day features, UCT Press
^Anvita Abbi (2011), Body divisions in Great Andamanese: Possessive classification, the semantics of inherency and grammaticalization, UJBPC
Bibliographyedit
Raoul Zamponi. 2022. A Grammar of Akajeru : Fragments of a Traditional North Andamanese Dialect.
External linksedit
Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese- VOGA
Aka-Jeru language- Omniglot
March 21, 2024
jeru, language, jeru, language, jeru, also, known, yerawa, confused, with, järawa, moribund, great, andamanese, language, northern, group, jeru, spoken, interior, south, coast, north, andaman, sound, island, koiné, jeru, other, northern, great, andamanese, lan. The Jeru language Aka Jeru also known as Yerawa not to be confused with Jarawa 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 koine 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 JeruAka JeruNative toIndiaRegionAndaman Islands interior and south North Andaman island Sound island Presently Strait IslandNative speakers3 2020 1 Language familyGreat Andamanese NorthernJeruLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code akj class extiw title iso639 3 akj akj a Glottologakaj1239Mixed Great AndamaneseGreat Andamanese koineNative toIndiaRegionStrait IslandEthnicity60 2020 2 Extinctlast semi fluent speaker Nao Jr died in 2009 2 Language familyMixed Khora Bo Jeru Sare on a Jeru baseLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code gac class extiw title iso639 3 gac gac a Glottologmixe1288 Contents 1 History 2 Grammar 3 Great Andamanese koine 4 Vocabulary 5 Grammatical features 6 Great Andamanese place names 7 Sample text 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External linksHistory editAs 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 3 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 4 Grammar editSee Great Andamanese languages for more general grammatical description Great Andamanese koine editGreat Andamanese koine 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 5 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 6 The Great Andamanese koine has a seven vowel system Vowels Front Central BackClose i uClose mid e oOpen mid ɛ ɔOpen aConsonants Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal VelarNasal m n ɲ ŋPlosive voiceless p t ʈ tʃ kvoiceless aspirated pʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰvoiced b d ɖ dʒFricative s ʃTrill clarification needed ɾApproximant w l jVocabulary edit nbsp PGA varnamalaKoine vocabulary 7 8 Meaning Great Andamanese IPA this appears to be messed up Devanagarinest aaracha araca आर च housefly ijibu iɟibu ईज ब snake king cobra ulukhu ulukʰu ऊल ख chilli ekajira ekaɟira एक ज र deer airen ɛren ऐर नfishing net ocho oco ओच axe aulo ɔlo औल snail kalatop kalaʈɔp क ल ट पdugong kauroing kɔrɔiɲ क र ईञcoconut khider kʰider ख द रroad ngorto ŋɔrtɔ ङ रत betelnut chaum cɔm च मdolphin choa coa च आbat jibet ɟibeʈ ज ब टfish nyure ɲure ञ र heron taka ʈaka ट क tongue thatat ʈʰatat ठ त तsunset diu ɖiu ड ऊblack pig dirim raa ɖirim raː ड र म र ऽleaf taich tɔc त चdew thun tʰun थ नscorpion dikiraseni dikiraseni द क र स न mosquito nipho nipʰo न फ mushroom pata pata प त crow phatkaa pʰaʈka फ टक frog phorube pʰorube फ र ब rope pharako pʰarako फ र क green turtle belotauro beloʈɔrɔ ब ल ट र grey pigeon mirit mirit म र तrooster maucho mɔcɔ म च strewn leaves yephaay taich jepʰaːj tɛc य फ ऽय त चbamboo rat rɛʈ र टtusked male pig ratairlauto ratɛrlɔto र त रल त smoke lep lep ल पfire luro wuro luro wuro ल र व र waist jewellery shirbele ʃirbele श रब ल snake shubi ʃubi श ब crocodile sarekateyo sarekatejo स र क त य White bellied Sea Eagle karatchom karaʈcom करटच मPacific Golden Plover chelele cɛlele च ल ल Oriental Honey Buzzard taulom tut bio ʈɔlom tut bio ट ल म त त ब ओWhimbrel chautot cɔʈoʈ च ट टColumn in yellow denotes loanword derived from HindiGrammatical features editWith 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 9 10 Seven basic zones in the partonomy of the body and grammaticalisation process in PGA Classes Partonomy of human body Bodydivision markers Verbs Adjectives Adverbs1 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 editIslands Contemporary place name Present Great Andamanese place nameAndaman Islands MarakeleSouth Andaman Island SorobulLittle Andaman Ilumu TauroStrait Island KhringkoshoHavelock Island Swaraj Island Thi Lar SiroInterview Island Bilikhu TaraphongNeill Island Shaheed Island Tebi ShiroBaratang Island BoaBluff Island LuruaLandfall Island MauntengaPlaces Port Blair Laotara NyoDiglipur ThitaumulMayabunder Rait PhorSample text editThe following is a sample text in Present Great Andamanese in Devanagari the Latin script and IPA क र त नम क Kuro t on mikakurot onmikɑम मmommomम र तल ऽ miritlaa mirit lɑː ब ल कbilikbilikल क एम त laukoemat lɔkɔemɑt प आक रpeakarpeɑkɑrआतल aatloɑt loत पछ क topchhiketopcʰikeआतaatɑtल च laichelɑiceल छल नlechhlinlecʰlinआ aa ɑ क त कkotikkot ikआaaɑऔक क ड ऽकछ न aukaukodaakchhineɔkɔkodɑːkcʰineआतल aatloɑt loक र तत ऽत क म ऽन Karat tatak emin kɑrɑt t ɑːt ɑkemiːn क र त नम क म म म र तल ऽ ब ल क ल क एम त प आक र आतल त पछ क आत ल च ल छल न आ क त क आ औक क ड ऽकछ न आतल क र तत ऽत क म ऽन Kuro t on mika mom miritlaa bilik laukoemat peakar aatlo topchhike aat laiche lechhlin aa kotik aa aukaukodaakchhine aatlo Karat tatak emin kurot onmikɑ mom mirit lɑː bilik lɔkɔemɑt peɑkɑr ɑt lo topcʰike ɑt lɑice lecʰlin ɑ kot ik ɑ ɔkɔkodɑːkcʰine ɑt lo kɑrɑt t ɑːt ɑkemiːn 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 edit Jeru at Ethnologue 23rd ed 2020 nbsp a b c Mixed Great Andamanese at Ethnologue 23rd ed 2020 nbsp A N Sharma 2003 Tribal Development in the Andaman Islands page 75 Sarup amp Sons New Delhi Aka Jeru at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required Mixed Great Andamanese at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required Anvita Abbi 2006 Endangered Languages of the Andaman Islands LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 64 Munchen Anvita Abbi 2009 The Unique Structure of the Present Great Andamanese An Overview of the Grammar VOGA Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese Andamani Varnamala PDF Centre for Linguistics Jawaharlal Nehru University 2008 GA Lexicon VOGA Anvita Abbi 2018 A sixth language family of India Great Andamanese its historical status and salient present day features UCT Press Anvita Abbi 2011 Body divisions in Great Andamanese Possessive classification the semantics of inherency and grammaticalization UJBPCBibliography editRaoul Zamponi 2022 A Grammar of Akajeru Fragments of a Traditional North Andamanese Dialect External links editVanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese VOGA Aka Jeru language Omniglot Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aka Jeru language amp oldid 1204820228, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
