The Nicobarese languages or Nicobaric languages, form an isolated group of about half a dozen closely related Austroasiatic languages, spoken by most of the inhabitants of the Nicobar Islands administered by the Indian Republic. They have a total of about 30,000 speakers (22,100 native). Most Nicobarese speakers speak the Car language. Paul Sidwell (2015:179)Sidwell, Paul. 2015. "Austroasiatic classification." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill. considers the Nicobarese languages to subgroup with Aslian.
The Nicobarese languages appear to be related to the Shompen language of the indigenous inhabitants of the interior of Great Nicobar Island (Blench & Sidwell 2011), which is usually considered a separate branch of Austroasiatic.Blench, Roger, and Paul Sidwell. 2011. "Is Shom Pen a Distinct Branch?" In Sophana Srichampa and Paul Sidwell, eds. Austroasiatic Studies: Papers from ICAAL 4. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. However, Paul Sidwell (2017) classifies Shompen as a Southern Nicobaric language rather than as a separate branch of Austroasiatic.
Typology The morphological similarities between Nicobarese and Austronesian languages have been used as evidence for the Austric hypothesis (Reid 1994).Reid, Lawrence A. 1994. Morphological evidence for Austric. Oceanic Linguistics 33(2):323-344. Weber (2025) also noted typological similarities between Nicobarese and Austronesian that are absent in other Austroasiatic branches, and suggested that Nicobarese may have an Austronesian substrate.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.
In general, the Nicobarese languages display verb-initial word orders, and have elaborate paradigmatic agreement systems. They also have suffixing, which is uncommon in the Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area.
Nancowry, Chaura, Teressa show nominative-accusative alignment in marking and agreement. Car Nicobarese however displays a highly eccentric ergative alignment and split ergativity (based on word order). In contrast with nearly entirely of the ergative languages of the world where marking agreement with the ergative (A) arguments is the norm, in Car Nicobarese the subjects (S) of intransitive predicates and the patients (P) of transitive predicates often receive overt markings and agreement instead. This marked absolutive pattern is illustrated by following examples:
1. Intransitive S
2. Transitive P of V-P-A (agreement but no case marking)
3. Transitive P of V-A-P (case marked but no agreement)
Languages From north to south, the Nicobaric languages are: Car: Car (Pū) Chaura–Teressa: Chaura (Tutet/Sanënyö), Teressa (Taih-Long/Lurö) Central: Nancowry (Nang-kauri/Mūöt), Camorta, Katchal (Tehnu) Southern: Southern Nicobarese (Sambelong), Shompen (Shom Peng)
Classification Sidwell (2017) Paul Sidwell (2017) classifies the Nicobaric languages as follows.Sidwell, Paul. 2017. "Proto-Nicobarese Phonology, Morphology, Syntax: work in progress". International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics 7, Kiel, Sept 29-Oct 1, 2017.
Nicobaric Car Chaura–Teressa Teressa, Chaura Central-Southern Central: Nancowry, Camorta, Katchall Southern: Southern Nicobarese, Shompen
Sidwell (2022)
Sidwell (2022), based on a computational phylogenetic lexical analysis, proposes a new classification which treats Car and Shompen as single language branches of North and South Nicobarese while placing other lects into Central Nicobarese.
Nicobarese Northern Car (Pū) Central Chawra–Teressa Chawra (Sanënyö, Tətɛt) Teressa–Bompoka (Luröö, Təihlɔŋ, Poatat) South–Central Nancowry–Little Nicobar Nancowry (Mūöt), Camorta (Kinlaka), Katchall (Tehnyu), Trinkat (Laful) Little Nicobarese (Lamôngsĕ, Kondul, Pulo Milo) Great Nicobarese (Tökahāṅilāhngö) Southern Shompen (Kalay, Keyet)
See also Shompen language List of Proto-Nicobarese reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
Further reading Adams, K. L. (1989). Systems of numeral classification in the Mon–Khmer, Nicobarese and Aslian subfamilies of Austroasiatic. Canberra, A.C.T., Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. Radhakrishnan, R. (1981). The Nancowry Word: Phonology, Affixal Morphology and Roots of a Nicobarese Language. Current Inquiry Into Language and Linguistics 37. Linguistic Research Inc., P.O. Box 5677, Station 'L', Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6C 4G1. Sidwell, Paul. 2018. Proto-Nicobarese phonology. In Papers from the Seventh International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics, 101-131. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society Special Publication No. 3. University of Hawai’i Press.
External links Nicobarese Languages Project (Paul Sidwell)