Nancowry language
Nancowry is a Nicobarese language spoken on the Nancowry Island in the central Nicobar Islands. It is not mutually intelligible with the other Central Nicobarese languages, and is distantly related to Vietnamese and Khmer.
Phonology
Consonants
- The labial glide written variously v and w is written ʋ.
Vocabulary
Paul Sidwell published in ICAAL 2017 conference on Nicobarese languages.| Word | Nancowry | proto-Nicobarese |
| hot | táɲ | *taɲ |
| four | koan | *foan |
| child | kúan | *kuːn |
| lip | manúɲ | *manuːɲ |
| dog | ʔám | *ʔam |
| night | hatə́m | *hatəːm |
| male | kóɲ | *koːɲ |
| ear | náŋ | *naŋ |
| one | hĩaŋ | *hiaŋ |
| belly | wíaŋ | *ʔac |
| sun | hɛ́ŋ | - |
| sweet | síaŋ | - |
| deep | cijáw | - |
| thigh | pulóʔ | - |
| python | tulán | - |
| road | kají | - |
| yawn | hiŋáp | - |
| centipede | kaʔiáp | - |
| dream | ʔinfuá | - |
| tongue | kaliták | - |
| overflow | yuait-nga | *roac |
| nose | moah | *moah |
| breast | toah | *toah |
| to cough | oōàh | *ʔoah |
| arm | koâl | *koal |
| in, inside | oal, òl | *ʔoal |
| four | fōan | *foan |
| elbow | det-ongkēang | *keaŋ |
Morphology
Presence of a coda-copy-infixation system. Stock of lexical roots is reduced by active word taboo and hence rely on derivation extensively.- kóɲ - 'male, husband'
- ʔumkóɲ -'to turn into a man'
- mumkóɲ - 'eunuch'
- ʔinkóɲtet - 'widower'
- kóɲu - 'to marry, to have a man'
- kamóɲu - 'married women'
- ŋok - 'to eat' / haŋok 'to feed'
- cim - 'to cry' / hacim 'to make someone cry'
- lapəʔ - 'pretty' / lumpəʔ 'to make someone pretty'
- karuʔ - 'large' / kumdruʔ 'to enlarge'
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural |
| 1st | cə̃ˑ ~ cɯ̃ˑə | xãˑʔ ci ʔaˑj | xeˑʔ ci ʔəˑj |
| 2nd | mɛ̃ˑ | ʔinãˑ | ʔifeˑ |
| 3rd | ʔə̃ˑn | ʔunãˑ | ʔufeˑ |
| Dem- Prox | nɛˑʔ | - | ʔiˑn |
| Dem- Dist | ʔãˑn | ŋãˑŋ | kəˑʔ |