Learning Tamil, My experiences: continued

[skanthan]

I tried but could not get online lyrics

Dear akka,

By the Grace of Lord Ganesha, I found the bhajan I previously requested. If you want, I can give you the lyrics of that bhajan.

[skanthan]

Yesterday, I was at the main library here in Edmonton. While I was there, I was reading a reprint of a Tamil dictionary from the 1920s and saw something which I found very interesting. I saw that in place of the the Tamil letter ஈ, a letter which resembled இ with an extra loop like what we see on டூ being used for the long ee. Does anyone know when that letter was dropped in favour of the present letter (ஈ) for the ee sound or if one of those used as an optional letter for the ee sound up until that point in time. This really interests me. Why did they not use இ with the loop added and drop ஈ instead?

That woould of given some symmetry especially in books where the short vowel signs and long vowel signs are shown seperately.

Example:*

அ இ உ எ ஒ (ங்)
ஆ இ ஊ ஏ ஓ ஃ

* The old letter for ee as I mentioned earliee unfortunately is not represented in Unicode, due, to which, I typed regular இ to give hubbers an idea of what that letter looked like. It would of been so interesting to see that letter in use.

[skanthan]

Please can tell me what are the differences between pure Tamil and colloquial Tamil? Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil?

I always thought that these were all fairly similar. Only differences being their grammar rules and some variation vocabulary and pronunciatiion.

As far as I understand that the standard Tamil spoken in India is based on the dialect spoken in Chennai and the standard Tamil spoken in Sri Lanka is based on the dialect spoken in Jaffna.

[Shakthiprabha]

when we ask a question "who needs it?" Answer is "me" (not I ) why u need it? "for-me" (my sake) (not I)

actually "me" is incorrect here.

Q: Who needs it?

A: I (as in I do or I need it.)

"me" is often used out of habit, but grammatically, its wrong.

I stand corrected nov. thanks.



Skan,

In that case we can try n analyse it this way. Whenever "I" as an object is engaged in some action then it is "நான்" or it describes some actions or adverbs performed by the object then it is "NAAN"

நான் செய்கிறேன்
நான் வணங்குகிறேன்
நான் படிக்கிறேன்

when the subject in question is not engaged in action.

"I need it"

(for whom? for me)

எனக்கு வேண்டும்.


again it depends on case to case and varies as per the context. It cannot be a broadly applied rule, but nevertheless, MORE OR LESS we can follow the same.

also otherwise like english

every language is a funny (unique) language in its own way.

[Shakthiprabha]

Please can tell me what are the differences between pure Tamil and colloquial Tamil? Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil?

I always thought that these were all fairly similar. Only differences being their grammar rules and some variation vocabulary and pronunciatiion.

As far as I understand that the standard Tamil spoken in India is based on the dialect spoken in Chennai and the standard Tamil spoken in Sri Lanka is based on the dialect spoken in Jaffna.

Dialects differ based on geographical locations skan.

TAmizh which ppl belonging to particular region speak would vary (midly or largely) with tamizh spoken in other areas.

Standard tamizh strictly speaking should be from MADHURAI. Since chennai is adaptive to cosmopolitan life, chennai tamizh is widely accepted. Even now, tamizh in its raw pure taste can be enjoyed in interiro tamizhnadu than in chennai.

Sen thamizh or thooya thamizh or pure tamizh is the way tamizh "USED TO BE" .

Due to receptive and adaptive nature, any spoken language changes over a period of time, esp when neighbouring states talking different language altogether and when possibility or frequency of collision is more.

Current spoken tamizh is NOT pure tamizh, Where as written tamizh has, to a relatively greater extent retained very little or some flavour of tamizh spoken ages back.

Tamizh which you would hear today would be a mixture of tamizh, english, hindi, sanskrit and any other language which it had an opporutnity to collide into.

( This is a brief answer, anybody else probably can elaborate on this. )

In Simple language:

Thooya tamizh or pure tamizh - What tamizh actually was
colloquial tamizh = Accepted /used tamizh in current age.

[skanthan]

Thank you for the answers akka.

It would be neat to hear Madurai Tamil being spoken.

Please can someone give me some examples of sentences in pure Tamil with their colloquial Tamil equivelents so then I am more clear on the differences between the two?

[app_engine]

Example of pure (literary) Thamizh v/s colloquial :

Litt : நான் அந்த வேலையை செய்கிறேன்

one form of coll : நா அந்த வேலய செய்றே(ன் without much stress)

[skanthan]

Very interesting. நன்றி!

[skanthan]

Also here are these examples which someone in Maha Ganapathi Temple had given me.

Pure Tamil:

நீ சாப்பிட்டயா?
நான் சாப்பிட்டேன்

Colloquial Tamil

சாப்பிட்டாச்சா?
நான் சாப்பிட்டச்ச விட்டேன்.

[aanaa]

Colloquial Tamil

சாப்பிட்டாச்சா?
நான் சாப்பிட்டச்ச விட்டேன்.

In writing there is no different in Chennai/Jaffna/ Batti? Sinagai /Malay

Its only the accent

Grammar is same.