Akar-Bale language explained

Bale
Nativename:Akar-Bale
States:India
Region:Andaman Islands
Ritchie’s Archipelago, Havelock Island, Neill Island.
Extinct:between 1931 and 1951
Familycolor:Andamanese
Fam1:Great Andamanese
Fam2:Southern †
Iso3:acl
Linglist:acl.html
Glotto:akar1243
Glottorefname:Akarbale
Map:Schematic Map of Andamanese Languages & Tribes.png
Ethnicity:Bale

The Bale language, Akar-Bale (also Balwa), is an extinct Southern[1] Great Andamanese language once spoken in the Andaman Islands in Ritchie's Archipelago, Havelock Island, and Neill Island.

History

The Bale disappeared as a distinct people sometime after 1931.

Grammar

The Great Andamanese languages are agglutinative languages, with an extensive prefix and suffix system.[2] They have a distinctive noun class system based largely on body parts, in which every noun and adjective may take a prefix 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 tongue.[2] An adjectival example can be given by the various forms of yop, "pliable, soft", in Aka-Bea:[2]

Similarly, beri-nga "good" yields:

The prefixes are,

Bea Balawa? Bajigyâs? Juwoi Kol
head/heartot- ôt- ote- ôto- ôto-
hand/foot ong- ong- ong- ôn- ôn-
mouth/tongue âkà- aka- o- ókô- o-
torso (shoulder to shins) ab- ab- ab- a- o-
eye/face/arm/breast i-, ig- id- ir- re- er-
back/leg/butt ar- ar- ar- ra- a-
waist ôto-

Body parts are inalienably possessed, requiring a possessive adjective prefix to complete them, so one cannot say "head" alone, but only "my, or his, or your, etc. head".

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):

I, myd-we, ourm-
thou, thyŋ-you, yourŋ-
he, his, she, her, it, itsathey, theirl-

'This' and 'that' are distinguished as k- and t-.

Judging from the available sources, the Great Andamanese languages have only two cardinal numbers - one and two - and their entire numerical lexicon is one, two, one more, some more, and all.[2]

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Manoharan, S. (1983). "Subgrouping Andamanese group of languages." International Journal of Dravidian LinguisticsXII(1): 82-95.
  2. Temple, Richard C. (1902). A Grammar of the Andamanese Languages, being Chapter IV of Part I of the Census Report on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Superintendent's Printing Press: Port Blair.