Due to the lack of contact between the Sentinelese people and the rest of the world, essentially nothing is known of their language or its vitality.

[4] The Sentinelese people do not allow outsiders onto the island and are generally hostile towards visitors.

[3] On the documented occasions when Onge-speaking individuals were taken to North Sentinel Island in order to attempt communication, they were unable to recognise any of the languages spoken by the inhabitants.

[8] It has been recorded that the Jarawa and Sentinelese languages are mutually unintelligible.

[9] Sentinelese is classified as endangered due to the small number of speakers, matching the unknown population of the island, which has been estimated at anywhere from 100 to 250;[1][2] a rough estimate by the Indian government is 100.