Sentinelese language
Encyclopedia
Sentinelese is the unknown language of the Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island
in the Andaman Islands
, India
. It is presumably a distinct Andamanese language
, but how closely it may be related to other languages of those families is unknown. Based on what little is known about similarities in culture and technology and their geographical proximity, it is supposed that their history and language are related to the Ongan languages
rather than Great Andamanese
. On the two documented occasions when Onge
individuals were taken to North Sentinel Island
in order to attempt communication, they were unable to recognise any of the language spoken by the inhabitants in the brief and hostile exchanges that resulted.
Since interactions with the Sentinelese have been extremely rare, brief, and generally avoided by the Sentinelese themselves, there has been no material published on their language; hence, there can be no classification.
Since nobody outside the community can speak Sentinelese, and all trespasser
s on the island have been killed, the authorities cannot communicate with the islanders.
Sentinelese is considered endangered
due to the small number of speakers, which is unknown but has been estimated at anywhere from 100 to 250.
North Sentinel Island
North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It lies to the west of the southern part of South Andaman Island, and has an area of 72 km². Most of the island is forested...
in the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is presumably a distinct Andamanese language
Andamanese languages
The Andamanese languages form a proposed language family spoken by the Andamanese peoples, a group of Negritos who live in the Andaman Islands, a union territory of India. Its validity is disputed...
, but how closely it may be related to other languages of those families is unknown. Based on what little is known about similarities in culture and technology and their geographical proximity, it is supposed that their history and language are related to the Ongan languages
Ongan languages
Ongan, or South Andamanese, is a small family of two languages, Önge and Jarawa, spoken in the southern Andaman Islands:*Ongan**Önge or Onge; 96 speakers in 1997, mostly monolingual...
rather than Great Andamanese
Great Andamanese
Great Andamanese is a collective term used to refer to related indigenous peoples who lived throughout most of the Great Andaman archipelago, the main and closely situated group of islands in the Andaman Islands. Numbering between 200 and 700, each of the Great Andamanese peoples maintained a...
. On the two documented occasions when Onge
Önge language
The Onge or Öñge language is a language spoken by the Onge people in Little Andaman Island. It is one of two known Ongan languages.Önge used to be spoken throughout Little Andaman as well as in smaller islands to the north - and possibly in the southern tip of South Andaman island...
individuals were taken to North Sentinel Island
North Sentinel Island
North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It lies to the west of the southern part of South Andaman Island, and has an area of 72 km². Most of the island is forested...
in order to attempt communication, they were unable to recognise any of the language spoken by the inhabitants in the brief and hostile exchanges that resulted.
Since interactions with the Sentinelese have been extremely rare, brief, and generally avoided by the Sentinelese themselves, there has been no material published on their language; hence, there can be no classification.
Since nobody outside the community can speak Sentinelese, and all trespasser
Trespasser
In the law of tort, property, and criminal law a trespasser is a person who commits the act of trespassing on a property, that is, without the permission of the owner. Being present on land as a trespasser thereto creates liability in the trespasser, so long as the trespass is intentional...
s on the island have been killed, the authorities cannot communicate with the islanders.
Sentinelese is considered endangered
Endangered language
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
due to the small number of speakers, which is unknown but has been estimated at anywhere from 100 to 250.