Tamil basics...

Nick-H · Feb 24th, 2008, 11:33

Thanks for posting corrections; my wife has been too busy to go through the list.

We have so many Chennai members, although many are ex-pats, I hoped some Tamil speaker would join in.

Munivar · Feb 24th, 2008, 11:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Thanks for posting corrections; my wife has been too busy to go through the list.

We have so many Chennai members, although many are ex-pats, I hoped some Tamil speaker would join in.

Yaamirukka Bayamaen

Why fear, for I am here. A popular saying which you can see underneath Murugan photos in calenders.

liverpool les · Mar 6th, 2008, 09:56

Thanks Munivar for the corrections, mind you it was 30 years ago so i am not supprised that i got afew wrong, may be its the liverpool accent lol

Had a hectic week will try write about my time out there very soon best wishes. Les

Munivar · Mar 23rd, 2008, 09:44

Anybody interested in learning more or is it enough already

xiaojie · Mar 23rd, 2008, 16:21

Interesting post & now My 2 cents..

Some pronouns which r easily confused...

Naan - Me
Nee - You
avan - He
aval - She ( L is strong here)

Yen or Yennodu - Mine
Un or Unnodu - Yours
avanodu- His
avalodu- hers

joseph10 · Mar 27th, 2008, 19:19

Nice thread,

Tamil is a difficult language, especially to pronounce.
Tough the grammar is easier (especially compared to dutch)
Also it is one of the eldest spoken languages today and personally i like the sound of tamil and the southern languages, to me it sounds more round and more friendly than some northern languages that are sounding sharper and even harsh sometimes

Va (v pronounced somewhere between v and b): means come, for calling a kid or younger person.

Vaanga means come in a respectfull way, for example to call elderly people

Po means go, but in a respectfull way you say ponga
so:
ponga go
poolama? shall we go?
poolam we go
vaanga poolam come we go

Thoonga means sleep
thoongalama? shall we sleep?
thoongalam we sleep

of course there are exeptions but this grammer is quite basic.
Still every word has to be studied and to pronounce you need a different tongue than for western languages.(painfull sometimes)

Also chennai tamil seems to sound very different from for example tanjore tamil or trichy tamil, my wife seems to be very good in imitating chennai tamil (shes more from south) also her urdu imitation seems to be very funny but i don't understand sh... of it

Munivar · Mar 28th, 2008, 02:55

^ southern/dravidian languages are indeed 'friendly'. Especially Malayalam.

Even the scrips indicate that. rounded figures in southern scripts and the linear dashes in devanagiri scripts.

The words are also rounded out with "um/am" in Tamil. For ex

Camphor - Karpoor in Hindi, Karpooram in Tamil
Heaven - Swarg - Sorgam
Difficulty - Kasht - Kashtam

alaivani · Apr 8th, 2008, 21:53

nice begining thread
though i am curious.. when i stayed in chennai..
poda was rarely used (go away) unless you were going and never coming back. It was considered insulting.
ennenga (whats up for elders strangers) I have not heard this used like that.. though I have heard wives call husbands ennenga and was always curious about that...
some english phrases I heard people in Chennai use-
"i'll go and come" similiar to poyta varen to say good bye. Poyta varen litterally means I'll go and come back. Saying bye is insulting.
another way to say good bye in english was "I'm taking leave"
"taking food" instead of saying I'm eating- it's taking food same with "taking rest"

Can someone make a comparison between Tamil and Malayalam?
Nandri!

Re: Joseph! Hi...As I am learning Malayalam (of course never fully mastering Tamil) Malayalam beats tamil in difficultly I could say malayalam romba kashtam. Malayalam has way more alphabets (even more than Hindi) and is more sanskrit than Tamil. Also Tamil spoken esp. In Chennai has much more English in it than Malayalam - even the Malayalam I heard spoken in big cities in Kochi and Trivandrum. For instance in Chennai people would say 'call panna' or make a phone call. I am not sure the Malayalam equivalent, but that kind of thing.

Munivar · Apr 13th, 2008, 00:22

I can understand a little bit Malayalam. I think it is the sweetest language to hear.

Some Malayalam words are from the older Tamil..probably still retained when the languages split many centuries ago.

Vellam - is still water in Malayalam...and no longer used in Tamil...we use Thanneer.

sharan_travelcrazy · Jun 21st, 2008, 01:18

well, if you are traveling to chennai i guess english would itself suffice !.. even auto drivers understand english well here ! ..and many english words are put to colloquial use in day to day speech in tamilnadu ..
only when you are traveling deep south you may need to know proper tamil

sharan_travelcrazy · Jun 21st, 2008, 01:22

malayalam is quite different from tamil but there are a few words in common as well..
And ya, you can manage with tamil in kerala.. they understand the language quite well ..but its not possible the other way !

Feb 24th, 2008, 11:33	#31
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 24,220	Thanks for posting corrections; my wife has been too busy to go through the list. We have so many Chennai members, although many are ex-pats, I hoped some Tamil speaker would join in. __________________ . IndiaMike Mod Team (The Grumpy One)

Apr 8th, 2008, 21:53	#38
alaivani Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New York, USA Posts: 24	nice begining thread though i am curious.. when i stayed in chennai.. poda was rarely used (go away) unless you were going and never coming back. It was considered insulting. ennenga (whats up for elders strangers) I have not heard this used like that.. though I have heard wives call husbands ennenga and was always curious about that... some english phrases I heard people in Chennai use- "i'll go and come" similiar to poyta varen to say good bye. Poyta varen litterally means I'll go and come back. Saying bye is insulting. another way to say good bye in english was "I'm taking leave" "taking food" instead of saying I'm eating- it's taking food same with "taking rest" Can someone make a comparison between Tamil and Malayalam? Nandri! Re: Joseph! Hi...As I am learning Malayalam (of course never fully mastering Tamil) Malayalam beats tamil in difficultly I could say malayalam romba kashtam. Malayalam has way more alphabets (even more than Hindi) and is more sanskrit than Tamil. Also Tamil spoken esp. In Chennai has much more English in it than Malayalam - even the Malayalam I heard spoken in big cities in Kochi and Trivandrum. For instance in Chennai people would say 'call panna' or make a phone call. I am not sure the Malayalam equivalent, but that kind of thing. __________________ More about me, my intersts, passions, etc. at www.alaivani.com Last edited by brownboy66 : Apr 9th, 2008 at 00:21. Reason: merged sequential posts

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Mar 6th, 2008, 09:56	#33
liverpool les Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: liverpool england Posts: 53	Thanks Munivar for the corrections, mind you it was 30 years ago so i am not supprised that i got afew wrong, may be its the liverpool accent lol Had a hectic week will try write about my time out there very soon best wishes. Les

Mar 23rd, 2008, 09:44	#34
Munivar Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 149	Anybody interested in learning more or is it enough already

Mar 23rd, 2008, 16:21	#35
xiaojie Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: China Posts: 83	Interesting post & now My 2 cents.. Some pronouns which r easily confused... Naan - Me Nee - You avan - He aval - She ( L is strong here) Yen or Yennodu - Mine Un or Unnodu - Yours avanodu- His avalodu- hers

Mar 27th, 2008, 19:19	#36
joseph10 Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: tamil nadu Posts: 45	Nice thread, Tamil is a difficult language, especially to pronounce. Tough the grammar is easier (especially compared to dutch) Also it is one of the eldest spoken languages today and personally i like the sound of tamil and the southern languages, to me it sounds more round and more friendly than some northern languages that are sounding sharper and even harsh sometimes Va (v pronounced somewhere between v and b): means come, for calling a kid or younger person. Vaanga means come in a respectfull way, for example to call elderly people Po means go, but in a respectfull way you say ponga so: ponga go poolama? shall we go? poolam we go vaanga poolam come we go Thoonga means sleep thoongalama? shall we sleep? thoongalam we sleep of course there are exeptions but this grammer is quite basic. Still every word has to be studied and to pronounce you need a different tongue than for western languages.(painfull sometimes) Also chennai tamil seems to sound very different from for example tanjore tamil or trichy tamil, my wife seems to be very good in imitating chennai tamil (shes more from south) also her urdu imitation seems to be very funny but i don't understand sh... of it

Mar 28th, 2008, 02:55	#37
Munivar Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 149	^ southern/dravidian languages are indeed 'friendly'. Especially Malayalam. Even the scrips indicate that. rounded figures in southern scripts and the linear dashes in devanagiri scripts. The words are also rounded out with "um/am" in Tamil. For ex Camphor - Karpoor in Hindi, Karpooram in Tamil Heaven - Swarg - Sorgam Difficulty - Kasht - Kashtam

Apr 13th, 2008, 00:22	#39
Munivar Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 149	I can understand a little bit Malayalam. I think it is the sweetest language to hear. Some Malayalam words are from the older Tamil..probably still retained when the languages split many centuries ago. Vellam - is still water in Malayalam...and no longer used in Tamil...we use Thanneer.

Jun 21st, 2008, 01:18	#40
sharan_travelcrazy Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 9	well, if you are traveling to chennai i guess english would itself suffice !.. even auto drivers understand english well here ! ..and many english words are put to colloquial use in day to day speech in tamilnadu .. only when you are traveling deep south you may need to know proper tamil

Jun 21st, 2008, 01:22	#41
sharan_travelcrazy Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 9	malayalam is quite different from tamil but there are a few words in common as well.. And ya, you can manage with tamil in kerala.. they understand the language quite well ..but its not possible the other way !

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