NICOBARESE LANGUAGES

Austroasiatic languages spoken on the Nicobar Islands and once considered to form a distinct family within the Austroasiatic stock. More recent data on these hitherto poorly known languages suggest that they form a distinct branch of the Mon-Khmer family, itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. The Nicobarese languages are usually classified into four groups: North Nicobar, including the Car, Chowra, Teressa, and Bompaka languages; Central Nicobar, including the Camorta, Nancowry, Trinkat, and Katchall languages; South Nicobar, including the Coastal Great Nicobar and the Little Nicobar languages; and Inland Great Nicobar, including the Shompe language.