Sri Lankan Tamil dialects
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sri Lankan Tamil dialects are dialects of Tamil, a Dravidian language. Tamil is mostly used in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore.
Contents |
[edit] History
Tamil dialects are mainly differentiated from each other by the fact that they have undergone different phonological changes and sound shifts in evolving from Old Tamil. The Sri Lankan Tamil (SLT) dialect became popular after the arrival of radio stations in Sri Lanka. The SLT dialect is used in stories, poems in Sri Lankan Tamil magazines and other forms such like TV and radio dramas.
[edit] Sri Lankan Towns populated by Tamil speakers
[edit] Northern Province
[edit] Eastern Province
[edit] Southern Srilanka
[edit] Regional variations
Sri Lankan Tamil dialects is a group of dialects that are distinct from Tamil dialects used in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of India. SLT Tamil dialect is least influenced by the sanskrit and western languages although there are western and sanskrit words in day to day usage. The SLT Tamil dialect can be divided into two sub groups. One is Jaffna Tamil dialect and other is Batticaloa Tamil dialect.
[edit] Jaffna Tamil dialect
The dialect used in Jaffna is the oldest and most archaic. It is close to the written form of Tamil with some regional variations. Some argue that the Jaffna Tamil dialect has taken this form because of the influence by sinhala and malayalam dialects.
The main difference between SLT and TnT dialects are the Jaffna Tamil contains number of words ending in 'M' which is less in Indian Tamil. The Jaffna Tamil words which end in 'R' will end in 'RU' in Indian Tamil. The pronunciation 'A' (apple) is most common in Jaffna Tamil. A Srilankan Tamil will pronounce the English word "apple' correctly while an Indian Tamil will pronounce it as 'aapil'.
Some examples:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | INDIAN TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| maram | maro | tree |
| vaanam | vaano | sky |
| sanam | sano | people |
| mann | mannu | sand |
| kann | kannu | eye |
| kadal | kadalu | sea |
| pal | pallu | teeth |
| vaal | vaalu | tail |
| vaththiyar | vaththiyaru | teacher |
| vai | vayi | mouth |
| pai | payi | mattress |
| nai | nayi | dog |
| kizhakku | kelakku | east |
| vizhakku | velakku | lamp |
| aom | ama | yes |
| ulagam | olago | world |
But there are some Jaffna Tamil words slightly shifted from classical Tamil.
some examples:
| CLASSICAL TAMIL | JAFFNA TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| kal | kallu | stone |
| pal | pallu | teeth |
| nel | nellu | paddy |
| sol | sollu | word |
Another significance in Jaffna tamil is that when writing sanskritized tamil words, pure tamil characters are used.
some examples:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | INDIAN TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| mesai | mejai | table |
| posanam | pojanam | meal |
| sanam | janam | people |
| salam | jalam | water |
Some Jaffna tamil words asking somebody to do something:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| varum/varuman | please come |
| padiyum/padiyuman | please study |
| irum/iruman | please sit |
| sappidum/sappiduman | please eat |
These words will take another form when demanding or ordering a person.
some examles:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| va/vavan | come |
| ezhuthu/ezhuthan | write |
| iru/iran | sit |
| padi/padiyan | study |
While ordering a male:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| padada | sing |
| seiyada | do |
| parada | look |
| padiyanra | study |
While ordering a female:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| padadi | sing |
| seiyadi | do |
| paradi | look |
| padiyanri | study |
There are differences between Indian tamil and Jaffna tamil while pronouncing english words.
examples:
| JAFFNA TAMIL | INDIAN TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| kopi | kapi | coffee |
| doctar | dactar | doctor |
| sir | sar | sir |
| box | bax | box |
There are many tamilized english words in India which are not used in Sri Lanka.
some examples:
| INDIAN TAMIL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| cheru | chair |
| sangu | song |
| kaleju | college |
A diologue between a brother and a sister in Jaffna tamil slang (It contains english and borrowed words):
கமலா: தம்பி இஞ்ஜ ஒடி வா!
கண்ணன்: என்ன அக்கா?
கமலா: அம்மாக்கு சுகம் இல்ல. டாக்குத்தருட்ட காட்ட வேணும். மங்களம் மாமி்ட்ட கொஞ்ஜ காசு வாங்கிக்கொண்டு வா!
கண்ணன்: சரியக்கா அப்பிடியே ஒரு ஓட்டோவும் பிடிச்சுக்கொண்டு வாரன்.
கமலா: ஓம் தம்பி உடன வா!
English convertion:
Kamala: Thambi inja odi vaa!
Kannan: Enna Akka?
Kamala: Ammakku suham illa. Dakkuththarutta kaatta venum. Mangalam mamitta konja kasu vangikkondu vaa!
Kannan: Sariyakka appidiye oru autovum pidichchikondu varan.
Kamala: Aum thambi udana vaa!
The english traslation:
Kamala: Brother come here!
Kannan: Why sister what's the matter?
Kamala: Mother is not well. Please go and meet Mangalam aunty and bring some money.
Kannan: All right sister. I'll come with a three wheeler too.
Kamala: All right brother come soon!
[edit] Batticaloa tamil dialect
The dialect of Batticaloa and the surrounding area is relatively closer to some Indian Tamil dialects. However it has close links with Jaffna tamil dialect posing Sri Lankan identity. Eastern muslims also use the same dialect.
[edit] Negombo Tamil dialect
The dialect used in the Negambo area has undergone major morphological changes due to contact with the Sinhalese language.
[edit] Dialect of Hill Country Tamils
The dialect of Indian Origin tamils of the hill country in southern parts of the island is almost same as the TnT Tamil dialect.
[edit] See also
- Sri Lankan Tamils
- Sri Lankan Tamil slang and swear words
- Loan words in Sri Lankan Tamil
- Negombo Tamil dialect
[edit] References
- A study of pronouns in Batticaloa Tamil, Anthropological Linguistics (Bloomington, IN) 15, no.4 (Apr 1973) 172-182 by Prof. Suseendirarajah, S
- Jaffna Tamil by S. Suseendirarajah. [ISBN 955-9194-03-8] Dewey : 494/.8117 20 LCCN : PL4759.5.J35 S87 1993 Volume Details: (v. 1) v. <1 > : maps ; 23 cm.
