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Aka-Bo language

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173: 346:, issued a statement saying, "With the death of Boa Sr. and the extinction of the Bo language, a unique part of human society is now just a memory. Boa's loss is a bleak reminder that we must not allow this to happen to the other tribes of the Andaman Islands." Linguist Narayan Choudhary also explained what the loss of Boa Sr. meant in both academic and personal terms, "Her loss is not just the loss of the Great Andamanese community, it is a loss of several disciplines of studies put together, including 1108: 1094: 328:
on 26 January 2010. Boa Sr., who was approximately 85 years old, was the oldest living member of the Great Andamanese tribes at the time. Boa Sr.'s death left just 52 surviving Great Andamanese people in the world, none of whom remembers any Bo. Their population is greatly reduced from the estimated
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Boa Sr.'s mother, who died approximately forty years before her death, was the only living speaker of Bo for a long time. Other members of the Great Andamanese speech community had difficulty understanding the songs and narratives which she knew in Bo. She also spoke the Andamanese
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However, tribal identities became largely symbolic in the wake of the relocations. By 2006 the cultural and linguistic identity of the tribe had all but disappeared, due to intermarriage and other factors. The last speaker of the Bo language, a woman named
267:. In 1969 they were moved again to a reservation on Strait Island. By 1980 only three out of the 23 surviving Great Andamanese claimed to belong to the Bo tribe. By 1994 their numbers had grown to 15 (out of 40). 394:
according to which body part it is associated with (on the basis of shape, or functional association). Thus, for instance, the *aka- at the beginning of the language names is a prefix for objects related to the
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The original size of the Bo tribe, by 1858 has been estimated at 200 individuals. However, they were discovered by the colonial authorities only later, in the work leading to the 1901 census. Like other
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The basic pronouns are almost identical throughout the Great Andamanese languages; Aka-Bea will serve as a representative example (pronouns given in their basic prefixal forms):
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tribes, and the Bo had resorted to killing all of their own who showed symptoms. Their number was up to 62 in 1911, but then decreased to 16 in 1921 and only 6 in 1931.
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and loss of territory. The census of 1901 recorded only 48 individuals. Census takers were told that an epidemic had come from the neighboring
1390: 1385: 366:. To me, Boa Sr. epitomised a totality of humanity in all its hues and with a richness that is not to be found anywhere else." 904: 842: 891: 985: 1370: 868:
A Grammar of the Andamanese Languages, being Chapter IV of Part I of the Census Report on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
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In 1949, any remaining Bo were relocated, with all other surviving Great Andamanese, to a reservation on
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5,000 Great Andamanese living in the Andaman Islands at the time of the arrival of the British in 1858.
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at the beginning of the language name is a common Great Andamanese prefix for words related to the
172: 1126: 286:, the last person who remembered any Bo, died on 26 January 2010, at the age of approximately 85. 652: 343: 264: 940: 926: 662:
to complete them, so one cannot say "head" alone, but only "my, or his, or your, etc. head".
1324: 1167: 659: 656: 391: 1121: 901: 8: 1249: 1039: 798: 56: 1274: 1242: 749:— and their entire numerical lexicon is one, two, one more, some more, and all. 151: 1228: 1204: 1198: 1191: 944: 838: 241: 212: 1267: 1235: 1113: 299: 245: 63: 1315: 1289: 908: 895: 888: 204: 164: 78: 45: 981: 1346: 457: 378:
languages, with an extensive prefix and suffix system. They have a distinctive
336: 419:"round-soft", from the prefix attached to words relating to the head or heart. 244:, the Bo were decimated during colonial and post-colonial times, by diseases, 1359: 1304: 423: 375: 332: 200: 128: 1099: 1067: 960: 737:
Judging from the available sources, the Andamanese languages have only two
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A grammar of Akajeru: fragments of a traditional North Andamanese dialect
351: 310: 306: 257: 253: 1136: 780:. The Daily Telegraph, London, 5 February 2010. Accessed on 2010-02-22. 746: 742: 379: 359: 325: 434: 387: 144: 112: 1107: 1127:
Aka-Bo Swadesh List by The Rosetta Project at the Internet Archive
321:, since 2005. Abbi studied and recorded Boa's language and songs. 408: 363: 355: 291: 283: 272: 69: 48:; east central coast of North Andaman island, North Reef island. 1330: 837:. Grammars of world and minority languages. London: UCL Press. 438: 412: 396: 228: 1122:
BBC Report on Aka-Bo and the Bo Language death, with recording
1063:"Ancient tribal language becomes extinct as last speaker dies" 941:
Andaman and Nicobar Tribes Restudied: Encounters and Concerns
399:. An adjectival example can be given by the various forms of 318: 295: 249: 208: 35: 449: 383: 802:, London, 10 February 2010. Accessed on 2010-02-22. Also 340: 211:. It was recorded as being mutually intelligible with 302:, a mix of the ten indigenous languages of Andamans. 199:
language. It was spoken on the west central coast of
1089: 1035:"Language lost as last member of Andaman tribe dies" 984:. Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese (VOGA). 382:system based largely on body parts, in which every 777:Language lost as last member of Andaman tribe dies 963:. Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese (VOGA) 1357: 1004: 1002: 870:. Superintendent's Printing Press: Port Blair. 1152: 827: 1012:. Andamanese.net. 2009-02-22. Archived from 788: 786: 999: 770: 768: 766: 764: 762: 430:, "pliable", from a prefix for long things. 1159: 1145: 171: 927:Tribal Development in the Andaman Islands 783: 215:, and the vocabularies are very similar. 1166: 1054: 882: 880: 878: 876: 828:Zamponi, Raoul; Comrie, Bernard (2021). 818:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 759: 275:, died at age 85 in late January, 2010. 930:, page 62. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi. 862: 860: 858: 856: 854: 726:'This' and 'that' are distinguished as 1358: 1140: 1132:Aka-Bo word list at the ASJP Database 988:from the original on 10 February 2010 920: 918: 873: 1060: 851: 808: 445:, "pointed", from the tongue prefix. 933: 814:Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred R. (1922). 374:The Great Andamanese languages are 68:26 January 2010, with the death of 13: 915: 487:"good at languages" (tongue-good.) 14: 1402: 1085: 943:, page 149. Mittal Publications. 16:Extinct Great Andamanese language 1106: 1092: 456:, "rotten", from the prefix for 403:, "pliable, soft", in Aka-Bea: 203:and on North Reef Island of the 1391:2010 disestablishments in India 1027: 974: 1386:Languages extinct in the 2010s 953: 821: 324:Boa Sr. died at a hospital in 1: 1314:Unclassified (presumed to be 1061:Watt, Jonathan (2010-02-04). 752: 278: 1010:"People of Great Andamanese" 493:"virtuous" (head/heart-good) 7: 866:Temple, Richard C. (1902). 707:he, his, she, her, it, its 481:"sharp-sighted" (eye-good). 315:Jawaharlal Nehru University 231:, which includes language. 10: 1407: 1371:Great Andamanese languages 582:torso (shoulder to shins) 369: 234: 1376:Extinct languages of Asia 1340: 1313: 1288: 1259: 1220: 1183: 1174: 912:. Accessed on 2012-07-12. 170: 158: 142: 126: 110: 105: 75: 62: 52: 41: 31: 26: 21: 939:Rann Singh Mann (2005), 1366:Agglutinative languages 218: 886:George Weber (~2009), 344:Survival International 982:"Obituary for Boa Sr" 924:A. N. Sharma (2003), 894:May 31, 2012, at the 816:The Andaman Islanders 653:inalienably possessed 475:"clever" (hand-good). 1168:Andamanese languages 657:possessive adjective 602:eye/face/arm/breast 305:Boa Sr. worked with 1040:The Daily Telegraph 1016:on February 8, 2010 799:The Daily Telegraph 1381:Languages of India 1292:(South Andamanese) 907:2012-08-05 at the 804:on web.archive.org 794:"Lives Remembered" 497:The prefixes are: 460:or upright things. 335:, director of the 242:Andamanese peoples 1353: 1352: 1347:extinct languages 1284: 1283: 844:978-1-80008-093-5 724: 723: 649: 648: 309:, a professor of 179: 178: 1398: 1181: 1180: 1176:Great Andamanese 1161: 1154: 1147: 1138: 1137: 1116: 1114:Languages portal 1111: 1110: 1102: 1097: 1096: 1095: 1079: 1078: 1076: 1075: 1058: 1052: 1051: 1049: 1048: 1031: 1025: 1024: 1022: 1021: 1006: 997: 996: 994: 993: 978: 972: 971: 969: 968: 957: 951: 937: 931: 922: 913: 884: 871: 864: 849: 848: 836: 825: 819: 812: 806: 790: 781: 772: 739:cardinal numbers 668: 667: 500: 499: 300:Great Andamanese 197:Great Andamanese 175: 154: 138: 122: 115: 87:Great Andamanese 81: 19: 18: 1406: 1405: 1401: 1400: 1399: 1397: 1396: 1395: 1356: 1355: 1354: 1349: 1336: 1309: 1291: 1280: 1255: 1216: 1170: 1165: 1112: 1105: 1098: 1093: 1091: 1088: 1083: 1082: 1073: 1071: 1059: 1055: 1046: 1044: 1033: 1032: 1028: 1019: 1017: 1008: 1007: 1000: 991: 989: 980: 979: 975: 966: 964: 959: 958: 954: 938: 934: 923: 916: 909:Wayback Machine 899:. Chapter 7 in 896:Wayback Machine 885: 874: 865: 852: 845: 834: 826: 822: 813: 809: 791: 784: 773: 760: 755: 651:Body parts are 468:"good" yields: 372: 281: 237: 221: 205:Andaman Islands 191:(also known as 150: 134: 131: 118: 111: 101: 82: 79:Language family 77: 46:Andaman Islands 17: 12: 11: 5: 1404: 1394: 1393: 1388: 1383: 1378: 1373: 1368: 1351: 1350: 1341: 1338: 1337: 1335: 1334: 1327: 1321: 1319: 1311: 1310: 1308: 1307: 1302: 1296: 1294: 1286: 1285: 1282: 1281: 1279: 1278: 1271: 1263: 1261: 1257: 1256: 1254: 1253: 1246: 1239: 1232: 1224: 1222: 1218: 1217: 1215: 1214: 1207: 1202: 1195: 1187: 1185: 1178: 1172: 1171: 1164: 1163: 1156: 1149: 1141: 1135: 1134: 1129: 1124: 1118: 1117: 1103: 1087: 1086:External links 1084: 1081: 1080: 1053: 1026: 998: 973: 961:"GA Community" 952: 932: 914: 902:The Andamanese 872: 850: 843: 820: 807: 782: 757: 756: 754: 751: 722: 721: 716: 713: 708: 704: 703: 698: 695: 690: 686: 685: 680: 677: 672: 655:, requiring a 647: 646: 643: 639: 638: 635: 632: 629: 626: 623: 622:back/leg/butt 619: 618: 615: 612: 609: 606: 603: 599: 598: 595: 592: 589: 586: 583: 579: 578: 575: 572: 569: 566: 563: 559: 558: 555: 552: 549: 546: 543: 539: 538: 535: 532: 529: 526: 523: 519: 518: 515: 512: 509: 506: 503: 495: 494: 488: 482: 476: 462: 461: 446: 431: 420: 371: 368: 280: 277: 236: 233: 220: 217: 177: 176: 168: 167: 162: 156: 155: 148: 140: 139: 132: 127: 124: 123: 116: 108: 107: 106:Language codes 103: 102: 100: 99: 98: 97: 85: 83: 76: 73: 72: 66: 60: 59: 54: 50: 49: 43: 39: 38: 33: 32:Native to 29: 28: 24: 23: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1403: 1392: 1389: 1387: 1384: 1382: 1379: 1377: 1374: 1372: 1369: 1367: 1364: 1363: 1361: 1348: 1344: 1339: 1333: 1332: 1328: 1326: 1323: 1322: 1320: 1317: 1312: 1306: 1303: 1301: 1298: 1297: 1295: 1293: 1287: 1277: 1276: 1272: 1270: 1269: 1265: 1264: 1262: 1258: 1252: 1251: 1247: 1245: 1244: 1240: 1238: 1237: 1233: 1231: 1230: 1226: 1225: 1223: 1219: 1213: 1212: 1208: 1206: 1203: 1201: 1200: 1196: 1194: 1193: 1189: 1188: 1186: 1182: 1179: 1177: 1173: 1169: 1162: 1157: 1155: 1150: 1148: 1143: 1142: 1139: 1133: 1130: 1128: 1125: 1123: 1120: 1119: 1115: 1109: 1104: 1101: 1090: 1070: 1069: 1064: 1057: 1042: 1041: 1036: 1030: 1015: 1011: 1005: 1003: 987: 983: 977: 962: 956: 950: 949:81-8324-010-0 946: 942: 936: 929: 928: 921: 919: 911: 910: 906: 903: 898: 897: 893: 890: 883: 881: 879: 877: 869: 863: 861: 859: 857: 855: 846: 840: 833: 832: 824: 817: 811: 805: 801: 800: 795: 789: 787: 779: 778: 771: 769: 767: 765: 763: 758: 750: 748: 744: 740: 735: 733: 729: 720: 717: 714: 712: 709: 706: 705: 702: 699: 696: 694: 691: 688: 687: 684: 681: 678: 676: 673: 670: 669: 666: 663: 661: 658: 654: 644: 641: 640: 636: 633: 630: 627: 624: 621: 620: 616: 613: 610: 607: 604: 601: 600: 596: 593: 590: 587: 584: 581: 580: 576: 573: 570: 567: 564: 562:mouth/tongue 561: 560: 556: 553: 550: 547: 544: 541: 540: 536: 533: 530: 527: 524: 521: 520: 516: 513: 510: 507: 504: 502: 501: 498: 492: 489: 486: 483: 480: 477: 474: 471: 470: 469: 467: 459: 455: 451: 447: 444: 440: 436: 432: 429: 425: 421: 418: 414: 410: 406: 405: 404: 402: 398: 393: 389: 385: 381: 377: 376:agglutinative 367: 365: 361: 357: 353: 349: 345: 342: 338: 334: 333:Stephen Corry 330: 327: 322: 320: 316: 312: 308: 303: 301: 298:, as well as 297: 293: 287: 285: 276: 274: 268: 266: 261: 259: 255: 251: 247: 243: 232: 230: 226: 216: 214: 210: 206: 202: 201:North Andaman 198: 194: 190: 189: 184: 174: 169: 166: 163: 161: 157: 153: 149: 147: 146: 141: 137: 133: 130: 129:Linguist List 125: 121: 117: 114: 109: 104: 96: 93: 92: 90: 89: 88: 84: 80: 74: 71: 67: 65: 61: 58: 55: 51: 47: 44: 40: 37: 34: 30: 25: 20: 1342: 1329: 1273: 1266: 1248: 1241: 1234: 1227: 1210: 1209: 1197: 1190: 1100:India portal 1072:. Retrieved 1068:The Guardian 1066: 1056: 1045:. Retrieved 1043:. 2010-02-05 1038: 1029: 1018:. Retrieved 1014:the original 990:. Retrieved 976: 965:. Retrieved 955: 935: 925: 900: 887: 867: 830: 823: 815: 810: 797: 775: 736: 731: 727: 725: 718: 715:they, their 710: 700: 692: 682: 674: 664: 650: 496: 490: 484: 478: 472: 465: 463: 453: 442: 427: 416: 400: 373: 348:anthropology 331: 323: 304: 288: 282: 269: 265:Bluff island 262: 238: 224: 222: 192: 187: 186: 182: 180: 143: 94: 1325:Sentinelese 522:head/heart 485:aka-bēri-ŋa 464:Similarly, 390:may take a 352:linguistics 311:linguistics 307:Anvita Abbi 183:Bo language 1360:Categories 1250:A-Pucikwar 1074:2010-02-22 1047:2010-02-22 1020:2010-05-14 992:2010-02-05 967:2011-01-21 753:References 697:you, your 689:thou, thy 542:hand/foot 491:ot-bēri-ŋa 479:ig-bēri-ŋa 473:un-bēri-ŋa 380:noun class 360:psychology 326:Port Blair 279:Extinction 273:Boa Senior 1345:indicate 1275:Akar-Bale 1243:Oko-Juwoi 511:Bajigyâs? 448:A fallen 388:adjective 195:), was a 145:Glottolog 113:ISO 639-3 57:Bo people 53:Ethnicity 1260:Southern 1229:Aka-Kede 1205:Aka-Jeru 1199:Aka-Kora 1192:Aka-Cari 1184:Northern 986:Archived 905:Archived 892:Archived 741:— 679:we, our 466:beri-nga 213:Aka-Jeru 152:akab1248 136:akm.html 91:Northern 1343:Italics 1268:Aka-Bea 1236:Aka-Kol 1221:Central 889:Numbers 792:(2011) 774:(2010) 605:i-, ig- 508:Balawa? 443:aka-yop 428:ôto-yop 409:cushion 370:Grammar 364:biology 356:history 339:-based 337:British 292:dialect 284:Boa Sr. 246:alcohol 235:History 70:Boa Sr. 64:Extinct 1331:Jangil 1300:Jarawa 1211:Aka-Bo 947:  841:  671:I, my 660:prefix 642:waist 454:ar-yop 439:pencil 417:ot-yop 413:sponge 397:tongue 392:prefix 362:, and 229:tongue 188:Aka-Bo 165:Aka-Bo 42:Region 27:Aka-Bo 1316:Ongan 1290:Ongan 835:(PDF) 645:ôto- 537:ôto- 514:Juwoi 458:limbs 435:stick 319:Delhi 296:Hindi 250:opium 209:India 36:India 1305:Önge 945:ISBN 839:ISBN 745:and 730:and 617:er- 574:ókô- 568:aka- 565:âkà- 557:ôn- 551:ong- 548:ong- 545:ong- 534:ôto- 531:ote- 517:Kol 450:tree 424:cane 386:and 384:noun 258:Kora 256:and 254:Kari 225:Aka- 223:The 219:Name 181:The 747:two 743:one 637:a- 634:ra- 631:ar- 628:ar- 625:ar- 614:re- 611:ir- 608:id- 597:o- 591:ab- 588:ab- 585:ab- 577:o- 554:ôn- 528:ôt- 525:ot- 505:Bea 452:is 441:is 437:or 426:is 415:is 411:or 401:yop 341:NGO 317:in 313:at 294:of 207:in 160:ELP 120:akm 1362:: 1065:. 1037:. 1001:^ 917:^ 875:^ 853:^ 796:. 785:^ 761:^ 734:. 732:t- 728:k- 719:l- 701:ŋ- 693:ŋ- 683:m- 675:d- 594:a- 571:o- 433:A 422:A 407:A 358:, 354:, 350:, 248:, 193:Ba 185:, 95:Bo 22:Bo 1318:) 1160:e 1153:t 1146:v 1077:. 1050:. 1023:. 995:. 970:. 847:. 711:a

Index

India
Andaman Islands
Bo people
Extinct
Boa Sr.
Language family
Great Andamanese
ISO 639-3
akm
Linguist List
akm.html
Glottolog
akab1248
ELP
Aka-Bo

Great Andamanese
North Andaman
Andaman Islands
India
Aka-Jeru
tongue
Andamanese peoples
alcohol
opium
Kari
Kora
Bluff island
Boa Senior
Boa Sr.

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