Boa Senior, 85?, last speaker of the Bo language
Evan Hulka
Ancient Indian language dies out
By Alastair Lawson
BBC News
The last speaker of an ancient language in India's Andaman Islands has
died at the age of about 85, a leading linguist has told the BBC.
The death of the woman, Boa Senior, was highly significant because one
of the world's oldest languages, Bo, had come to an end, Professor
Anvita Abbi said.
She said that India had lost an irreplaceable part of its heritage.
Languages in the Andamans are thought to originate from Africa. Some may
be up to 70,000 years old.
The islands are often called an "anthropologist's dream" and are one of
the most linguistically diverse areas of the world.
'Infectious'
Professor Abbi - who runs the Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese
(Voga) website - explained: "After the death of her parents, Boa was the
last Bo speaker for 30 to 40 years.
"She was often very lonely and had to learn an Andamanese version of
Hindi in order to communicate with people.
"But throughout her life she had a very good sense of humour and her
smile and full-throated laughter were infectious."
She said that Boa Sr's death was a loss for intellectuals wanting to
study more about the origins of ancient languages, because they had lost
"a vital piece of the jigsaw".
"It is generally believed that all Andamanese languages might be the
last representatives of those languages which go back to pre-Neolithic
times," Professor Abbi said.
"The Andamanese are believed to be among our earliest ancestors."
Boa Sr's case has also been highlighted by the Survival International
(SI) campaign group.
"The extinction of the Bo language means that a unique part of human
society is now just a memory," SI Director Stephen Corry said.
'Imported illnesses'
She said that two languages in the Andamans had now died out over the
last three months and that this was a major cause for concern.
Academics have divided Andamanese tribes into four major groups, the
Great Andamanese, the Jarawa, the Onge and the Sentinelese.
Professor Abbi says that all apart from the Sentinelese have come into
contact with "mainlanders" from India and have suffered from "imported
illnesses".
She says that the Great Andamanese are about 50 in number - mostly
children - and live in Strait Island, near the capital Port Blair.
Boa Sr was part of this community, which is made up of 10 "sub-tribes"
speaking at least four different languages.
The Jarawa have about 250 members and live in the thick forests of the
Middle Andaman. The Onge community is also believed to number only a few
hundred.
"No human contact has been established with the Sentinelese and so far
they resist all outside intervention," Professor Abbi said.
It is the fate of the Great Andamanese which most worries academics,
because they depend largely on the Indian government for food and
shelter - and abuse of alcohol is rife.
Brad Ferguson
wrote:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8498534.stm
>
> Ancient Indian language dies out
> By Alastair Lawson
> BBC News
>
> The last speaker of an ancient language in India's Andaman Islands has
> died at the age of about 85, a leading linguist has told the BBC.
>
> The death of the woman, Boa Senior, was highly significant because one
> of the world's oldest languages, Bo, had come to an end, Professor
> Anvita Abbi said.
No one knows Bo.
Brian Watson
"Brad Ferguson" <thir...@frXOXed.net> wrote in message
news:310720112228126276%thir...@frXOXed.net...
Bo Duke no longer around? Or Bo Maverick?
--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop
David Uri
wrote:
>The last speaker of an ancient language in India's Andaman Islands has
>died at the age of about 85, a leading linguist has told the BBC.
>
>The death of the woman, Boa Senior, was highly significant because one
>of the world's oldest languages, Bo, had come to an end
Who did she speak to?
Regards,
--
David Uri.
Please visit my town - http://allezblancs.miniville.fr
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Email: davidu...@bigfoot.com (remove VEST to reply)
Facebook: http://profile.to/daviduri
Brian Watson
"David Uri" <davidu...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:kj1d37dccjtu8er7j...@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:24:48 -0700, Evan Hulka <ehu...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>The last speaker of an ancient language in India's Andaman Islands has
>>died at the age of about 85, a leading linguist has told the BBC.
>>
>>The death of the woman, Boa Senior, was highly significant because one
>>of the world's oldest languages, Bo, had come to an end
>
> Who did she speak to?
Why? They wouldn't have understood her.
:-)
Gern Blanston
wrote:
> The death of the woman, Boa Senior, was highly significant because one
> of the world's oldest languages, Bo, had come to an end, Professor
> Anvita Abbi said.
She died a year and a half ago.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/04/ancient-language-extinct-speaker-dies