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Nancowry language

Nancowry
Nang-kauri[1]
Mūöt
Pronunciation[mɯːət]
Native toNicobar Islands, India
RegionNancowry Island (Mūöt)
Native speakers
930 (2001 census)[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
Glottolognanc1247
Muot is classified as Critically Endangered according to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[3]

Nancowry (Nancoury, Nankwari, Mūöt) is a Nicobarese language spoken on the Nancowry Island in the central Nicobar Islands. It is not mutually intelligible with the other Central Nicobarese languages, and is distantly related to Vietnamese and Khmer.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar/
Retroflex 		Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t̪ c k ʔ
Nasal m n̪ ɲ ŋ
Fricative f ʋ s h
Tap ɾ
Approximant l j
  • The labial glide written variously v and w is written ʋ.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ɯ u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ə ɔ
Open æ a

Vocabulary

Paul Sidwell (2017)[4] published in ICAAL 2017 conference on Nicobarese languages.

Word Nancowry proto-Nicobarese
hot táɲ *taɲ
four koan *foan
child kúan *kuːn
lip manúɲ *manuːɲ
dog ʔám *ʔam
night hatə́m *hatəːm
male kóɲ *koːɲ
ear náŋ *naŋ
one hĩaŋ *hiaŋ
belly wíaŋ *ʔac
sun hɛ́ŋ -
sweet síaŋ -
deep cijáw -
thigh pulóʔ -
python tulán -
road kají -
yawn hiŋáp -
centipede kaʔiáp -
dream ʔinfuá -
tongue kaliták -
overflow yuait-nga *roac
nose moah *moah
breast toah *toah
to cough oōàh *ʔoah
arm koâl *koal
in, inside oal, òl *ʔoal
four fōan *foan
elbow det-ongkēang *keaŋ

Morphology

Presence of a coda-copy-infixation system. Stock of lexical roots is reduced by active word taboo and hence rely on derivation extensively.

  • kóɲ - 'male, husband'
  • ʔumkóɲ -'to turn into a man'
  • mumkóɲ - 'eunuch'
  • ʔinkóɲtet - 'widower'
  • kóɲu - 'to marry, to have a man'
  • kamóɲu - 'married women'

Shared morphological alternations: the old AA causative has two allomorphs, prefix ha- with monosyllabic stems, infix -um- in disyllabic stems (note: *p > h onset in unstressed σ).

  • ŋok - 'to eat' / haŋok 'to feed'
  • cim - 'to cry' / hacim 'to make someone cry'
  • lapəʔ - 'pretty' / lumpəʔ 'to make someone pretty'
  • karuʔ - 'large' / kumdruʔ 'to enlarge'
Pronouns
Person Singular Dual Plural
1st cə̃ˑ ~ cɯ̃ˑə xãˑʔ (incl.)
ci ʔaˑj (excl.)		 xeˑʔ (incl.)
ci ʔəˑj (excl.)
2nd mɛ̃ˑ ʔinãˑ ʔifeˑ
3rd ʔə̃ˑn ʔunãˑ ʔufeˑ
Dem- Prox nɛˑʔ - ʔiˑn
Dem- Dist ʔãˑn ŋãˑŋ kəˑʔ

References

  1. ^ Edward Horace Man, 1889, A dictionary of the central Nicobarese language
  2. ^ Nicobarese, Central at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  3. ^ Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Report) (3rd ed.). UNESCO. 2010. p. 31.
  4. ^ Sidwell, Paul. 2017. "Proto-Nicobarese Phonology, Morphology, Syntax: work in progress". International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics 7, Kiel, Sept 29-Oct 1, 2017.


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