• The People’s Linguistic Survey of India provides an overview of the extant and dying languages of India, as perceived by their speakers. It is the culmination of a nation-wide survey of languages, documented by linguists, writers, social activists and, most importantly, members of different speech communities. The work chronicles the evolution of these languages until 2011, and incorporates their socio-political and cultural dimensions. Critically, it encapsulates the world view of the speakers of the languages.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands provide a unique canvas for studying its languages, both because of its indigenous peopling, and its immigrant demography. In this volume of the People's Linguistic Survey of India, the 21 languages of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are discussed in detail, their linguistic features are examined, and the number of speakers listed. Folktales, folk songs, origin myths and vocabulary lists are also provided. The languages included in this volume are classified in two sections:


• Section I: INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES—
• The Languages of the Andaman Islands,   Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese,
• The Languages of the Nicobar Islands, Nicobarese, Shompen
  
  Section II: IMMIGRANT LANGUAGES—
• Bangla, Bhattu or Bhantu, Burmese, Kannada, Karen, Tribal Languages from Chota Nagpur, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Other Languages.

The Editors

G. N. Devy is the chief editor of the PLSI series. He taught at the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, till 1996 before leaving to set up the Bhasha Research Centre in Baroda and the Adivasi Akademi at Tejgadh. There, he worked towards conserving and promoting the languages and culture of indigenous and nomadic communities. Apart from being awarded the Padma Shri, he has received many awards for his work in literature and language conservation.

Dr M Sreenathan is Professor and Dean, Faculty of Linguistics, Thunchathu Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Kerala. He has previously taught at the Central University of Kerala and Dravidian University, Andhra Pradesh, and was associated with the Anthropological Survey of India. His research experience in anthropological linguistics includes work on the paleolithic remnants of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and on tribal and caste groups in mainland India. He is the co-editor of the volume The Languages of Kerala and Lakshadweep of the People's Linguistic Survey of India.

Translator

Dr N Lakshmi Priya is the Hindi translator of the volume. She is Assistant Professor and Dean at Rajkiya Mahavidyalaya, Mayabandar. She has published many books, and has won several awards such as the Surya Antarbharti Bhasha Samman 2019 and the Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Shatabdi Samman 2019.

भारतीय भाषा लोक सर्वेक्षण       The People’s Linguistic Survey of India

राष्ट्रीय सम्पादक मंडल       The National Editorial Collective

ग्रंथमाला       List of Volumes

भूमिका       Foreword

मुख्य सम्पादकीय       A Nation Proud of Its Language Diversity: Chief Editor’s Introduction

सम्पादकीय       Introduction to the Volume

अनुवादकीय       Translator's note

आभार       Acknowledgements

पाठकों से निवेदन       An Appeal to Readers

भारतीय भाषायी वितरण       Indian Language Distribution

अंडमान और निकोबार द्वीपसमूह मे अनुसूचित भाषाएँ बोलनेवालों की संख्या

सहयोगी लेखकों की सूची       Contributors to the Volume

अ‍कारादि क्रम में भाषाओं के नाम       List of Languages Covered in this Volume

1. औपनिवेशीकरण तथा बुनियादी विविधता       Colonisation and Primordial Diversity

भाग 1 : देशज भाषाएँ       Part I- Indigenous Languages

2. अंडमान द्वीपसमूह की भाषाएँ       The Languages of The Andaman Islands

3. ओंगि       Onge

4. ग्रेट अंडमानी       Great Andamanese

5. जारवा       Jarawa

6. निकोबार द्वीपसमूह की भाषाएँ       The Languages of the Nicobar Islands

7. निकोबारी       Nicobarese

8. शोंपेन       Shompen

9. सेंटिनली       Sentinelese

भाग 2 : आप्रवासी भाषाएँ       Part II-Immigrant Languages

10. उर्दू       Urdu

11. ओडिया       Odia

12. कन्नड       Kannada

13. करेन       Karen

14. छोटा नागपुर की आदिवासी भाषाएँ       Tribal Languages from Chota Nagpur

15. तमिल       Tamil

16. तेलुगु       Telugu

17. बांग्ला       Bangla

18. बर्मी       Burmese

19. भत्तु या भांतु       Bhattu or Bhantu

20. मलयालम       Malayalam

21. अन्य भाषाएँ       Other languages