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by Alastair
Lawson, BBC News,
4/02/2010
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The last speaker of an
ancient language in India's Andaman Islands has died at the age of about 85,
a leading linguist has told the BBC.
Professor
Anvita Abbi said that the death of Boa Sr was highly significant because one
of the world's oldest languages - Bo - had come to an end.
She
said that India had lost an irreplaceable part of its heritage.
Languages
in the Andamans are thought to originate from Africa. Some may be 70,000
years old.
The
islands are often called an "anthropologist's dream" and are one of
the most linguistically diverse areas of the world.
'Infectious'
Professor
Abbi - who runs the Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese (Voga) website -
explained: "After the death of her parents, Boa was the last Bo speaker
for 30 to 40 years.
"She
was often very lonely and had to learn an Adamanese version of Hindi in order
to communicate with people.
"But
throughout her life she had a very good sense of humour and her smile and
full-throated laughter were infectious."
She
said that Boa Sr's death was a loss for intellectuals wanting to study more
about the origins of ancient languages, because they had lost "a vital
piece of the jigsaw".
"It
is generally believed that all Andamanese languages might be the last representatives
of those languages which go back to pre-Neolithic times," Professor Abbi
said.
"The
Andamanese are believed to be among our earliest ancestors."
Boa
Sr's case has also been highlighted by the Survival International (SI)
campaign group.
"The
extinction of the Bo language means that a unique part of human society is
now just a memory," SI Director Stephen Corry said.
'Imported illnesses'
She
said that two languages in the Andamans had now died out over the last three
months and that this was a major cause for concern.
Academics
have divided Andamanese tribes into four major groups, the Great Andamanese,
the Jarawa, the Onge and the Sentinelese.
Professor
Abbi says that all apart from the Sentinelese have come into contact with
"mainlanders" from India and have suffered from "imported
illnesses".
She
says that the Great Andamanese are about 50 in number - mostly children - and
live in Strait Island, near the capital Port Blair.
Boa
Sr was part of this community, which is made up of 10 "sub-tribes"
speaking at least four different languages.
The
Jarawa have about 250 members and live in the thick forests of the Middle
Andaman. The Onge community is also believed to number only a few hundred.
"No
human contact has been established with the Sentinelese and so far they resist
all outside intervention," Professor Abbi said.
It
is the fate of the Great Andamanese which most worries academics, because
they depend largely on the Indian government for food and shelter - and abuse
of alcohol is rife.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8498534.stm
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