Car language
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| Car | |
|---|---|
| Pū, Pu | |
| Pronunciation | [puː] |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Nicobar Islands |
Native speakers | 37,000 (2005)[1] |
| Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | caq |
| Glottolog | carn1240 |
| ELP | Car Nicobarese |
 Pū is classified as Critically Endangered according to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[2] | |
Location within Andaman and Nicobar Islands Location within Bay of Bengal | |
| Coordinates: 9°11′N 92°46′E / 9.19°N 92.77°E | |
Car (Pū) is the most widely spoken Nicobarese language of the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
Although a member of the Austroasiatic language family, it is typologically much more akin to nearby Austronesian languages such as Nias and Acehnese, with which it forms a linguistic area.[3] Car is a VOS language and somewhat agglutinative.[4] There is a quite complicated verbal suffix system with some infixes, as well as distinct genitive and "interrogative" cases for nouns and pronouns.[5]
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]| Labial | Alveolar/ Retroflex |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Fricative | f v | s | h | ||
| Tap | ɾ ɽ | ||||
| Approximant | l | j |
- The alveolar flap can typically be pre-stopped. Before a voiceless consonant, its pre-articulation is voiceless as [ᵗɾ], and elsewhere it is voiced [ᵈɾ].
Vowels
[edit]| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɨ | u |
| Close-mid | e | ɤ | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ə | ɔ |
| Open | (æ) | a |
- /æ/ only occurs in English loanwords.
- Vowel sounds are also typically short when occurring before an /h/.[6]
Morphosyntax
[edit]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).
- ɲa - 'to eat' / haɲaː 'to feed'
- pɯɲ - 'to cry' / hapɯɲ-ɲɔː 'to make cry'
- kucik - 'be palatable' / kumcik 'to taste'
- kale - 'brave' / kumle 'bravery'
Car is a precategorial language. Any content word can serve for either referential, predicative, or attributive functions.[7] Lexical items are used predicatively in predicational and equative sentences without being accompanied by a copular or existential verb; neither does Car possess.[8]
taŋɛ́ʔ=ʔən
bone=3SG.VIS.NHUM
ŋih
this.SG.NHUM
'This is a bone'
The differential argument marking system in Car only works with lexical items. Pronominals and proper nominals are not marked.[9]
fɤ́ŋ-kə-ɾɛ
burn-INTR-REFL
cin
I
'I burn myself (accidentally).'
In intransitive clauses, the lexical S argument (always requires a demonstrative) is cross-referenced.
húʔ-a=jin
cry-STAT=3PL.VIS.HUM
mɛ
that.PL
ɲiʔ
child
'The children are crying.'
In transitive clause, the lexical P argument is indexed in the predicate, while the A argument is not.
ha-cát-ŋɛ́n=ʔək
CAUS-lost-away=3SG.NONVIS.PST
lípəɾɛ
book
cin
1SG
'I lost the book.'
Thus, Car is an ergative language with an unusual marked absolutive pattern, paralleling some nearby Austronesian languages such as Nias and Enggano, hinting at a possible point of contact-driven influence from Austronesian. However, other than the differential marking system, the similarities between them are unclear.[10]
Vocabulary
[edit]Paul Sidwell (2017)[11] published in ICAAL 2017 conference on Nicobarese languages.
| Word | Car | proto-Nicobarese |
|---|---|---|
| hot | taɲ | *taɲ |
| four | fɛːn | *foan |
| child | kuːn | *kuːn |
| lip | (minuh) | *manuːɲ |
| dog | ʔam | *ʔam |
| night | hatəːm | *hatəːm |
| male | koːɲ | *koːɲ |
| ear | naŋ | *naŋ |
| one | heŋ | *hiaŋ |
| belly | (ʔac) | *ʔac |
| sun | (tavuːj) | - |
| sweet | (pacaːka) | - |
| overflow | tareːci | *roac |
| nose | mɛh | *moah |
| breast | tɛh | *toah |
| to cough | ʔɛhɛ | *ʔoah |
| arm | kɛl | *koal |
| in, inside | ʔɛl | *ʔoal |
| elbow | sikɔŋ | *keaŋ |
References
[edit]- ↑ Car at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Report) (3rd ed.). UNESCO. 2010. p. 31.
- ↑ Cysouw, Michael; Quantitative explorations of the world-wide distribution of rare characteristics, or: the exceptionality of north-western European languages Archived 2009-05-14 at the Wayback Machine; pp. 11-12
- ↑ WALS: Nicobarese
- ↑ Whitehead, Rev. G.; Dictionary of the Car (Nicobarese) language; published 1925 by American Baptist Mission Press; pp. xxvi-xxxii
- ↑ Sidwell, Paul (2015). Car Nicobarese. The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages: Leiden: Brill. pp. 1231–1240.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ↑ Sidwell, Paul (2017). Car (Nicobarese) sketch.
- ↑ Sidwell (2017:6)
- ↑ Sidwell (2017:3)
- ↑ Weber, Tobias (2025). Towards a diachronic typology of Nicobarese languages: uncommon features in the Austroasiatic context and how they can be explained. 13th International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (ICAAL 13), October 29-31, 2025.
- ↑ 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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