Nicobarese languages
The Nicobarese languages, or Nicobaric languages, form an isolated group of about half a dozen closely related Austroasiatic languages, spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of the Nicobar Islands of India. They have a total of about 30,000 speakers. The majority of Nicobarese speakers speak the Car language. Paul Sidwell 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, which is usually considered a separate branch of Austroasiatic. However, Paul Sidwell 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.Languages
From north to south, the Nicobaric languages are:
Paul Sidwell classifies the Nicobaric languages as follows.
