The Nicobarese languagesorNicobaric languages, form an isolated group of about half a dozen closely related Austroasiatic languages, spoken by most of the inhabitants of the Nicobar IslandsofIndia. They have a total of about 30,000 speakers (22,100 native). Most Nicobarese speakers speak the Car language. Paul Sidwell (2015:179)[1] considers the Nicobarese languages to subgroup with Aslian.
| Nicobarese | |
|---|---|
| Nicobaric | |
| Ethnicity | Nicobarese people |
| Geographic distribution | Nicobar Islands, India |
| Linguistic classification | Austroasiatic
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Nicobarese |
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | nico1262 |
 The Nicobar Islands. Car is at top. | |
Nicobarese | |
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.[2] However, Paul Sidwell (2017)[3] classifies Shompen as a Southern Nicobaric language rather than as a separate branch of Austroasiatic.
The morphological similarities between Nicobarese and Austronesian languages have been used as evidence for the Austric hypothesis (Reid 1994).[4]
From north to south, the Nicobaric languages are:
Paul Sidwell (2017) classifies the Nicobaric languages as follows.[3]