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Language is probably the most effective means of communication. Originally, indigenous tribes were the only inhabitants of Andaman & Nicobar, but since the mid nineteenth century, Britishers settled here. Later, many other foreigners and also various communities of Indians settled in Andaman & Nicobar. They had left their cultural imprints on these islands. Also, many people from different countries settled in these islands. They have brought their cultures and languages in Andaman and Nicobar, which helped the habited islands of this archipelago to develop a diversified profile.
Presently, the habited Andaman and Nicobar islands consists of people belonging to various communities. They include Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims. The most common languages of Andaman & Nicobar are Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Nicobari, Punjabi and Telugu.
About 15 percent of people in Andaman & Nicobar have as Hindi as their mother tongue. Other 85 percent people communicate in other languages. English is the official language of Andaman & Nicobar. There are about 24 languages in use in Andaman & Nicobar. Some of the languages spoken in the islands are:
Tamil
Tulu
Telugu
Nicobari
Bengali
Hindi
Konkani
Nepali
Oriya
English
Punjabi
Marwari
Gujarati
Urdu
Sindi
Many people on these islands are migrated and settled down from different parts of India and Burma, which accounts for the diversified linguistic profile of the islands. Tamil and Bengali are among the commonly spoken languages of Andaman & Nicobar. Hindi and English are also widely spoken languages.
Besides these mainstream languages, many tribal languages are also spoken by the indigenous tribes of these islands. They include Great Andamanese, Ongan and Sentinelese.
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