Some Tamil Lessons for Beginners (in English)

[Arasu]

anbae anbae kollaadhae kannae kannaik killaadhae.
pennae punnagaiyil idhayaththai vedikkaadhae.
aiyoa unnasaivil uyiraik kudikaadhae.

anbu - love(differentiate from kaadhal which is mainly used for love between an adult male and a female)

anbae - oh love. (when you call out for some one)

kol - கொள் - to hold, to posses
kol - கொல் - to kill,
kollathae - கொல்லாதே - don't kill.

It is an imperative sentence (command sentence)

'Note how a negative sentence is first formed and then the imperative.

kol - கொல் is the verb.

Add 'aadhu' to the verb - kol +aadhu - கொல்+ஆது = kolladhu = கொல்லாது
கொல்லாது means 'will not kill'.

kolladhu (கொல்லாது) + ae (ஏ) = kollaadhae (கொல்லாதே)

kollaadhae - don't kill.

Meaning: oh Love, don't kill me.
oh Eyes, don't poke my eyes.

'kill' in Tamil means pinch.

The other lines here also imperative sentences.

kudikkathae - don't drink
vedikkathae - don't explode.

Now, coming to the interesting part where we will answer the quiz

pennae unadhu mellidai paarththaen adadaa biramman kanjanadi.

oh girl your thin waist saw (I) wow Brahma (is a) miser.

Meaning: Oh girl, I saw your thin waist. Wow Brahma is such a miser.

Kanjan - miser
adi (or just di)- is the ending to address a female in an informal way.
ada ( or just da) - is similarly used to address a male friend in an informal way.

Finally, here is the sentence where Aishwarya covers up for the first time.

satrae nimirndhaen thalai sutrip poanaen aahaa avanae vallaladi

a little raised (I) head revolved went. Aaha! He is so generous!

Meaning: I raised my head a little and felt dazed. Brahma is so generous.

He is in a kneeling position when he makes this statement.

(vallal - philanthropist, a generous person.)


Now, let us skip the lines in between and jump to the other exciting lines in the lyrics and also answer the remaining part of the quiz.

koduththu vaiththa poovae poovae aval koondhal manam solvaayaa
koduththu vaiththa nadhiyae nadhiyae aval kuliththa sugam solvaayaa
koduththu vaiththa kolusae kolusae kaalalavaich cholvaayaa
koduththu vaiththa maniyae maarazhagaich cholvaayaa

kodu means give
vai means keep, put

Here kodutthu is an adverbial participle modigying the adjective 'vaiththa' which means 'keeping/putting'. This adjective modifies the nouns 'poo/poovu', the flower.

However, 'koduththu vaiththa' together is an idiomatic expression and means 'lucky'.

There is a 1963 MGR movie 'Koduthu Vaithaval' which means 'A lucky lady'.
the 'val' indicating a female. 'n' would indicate male.

How did 'koduththu vaiththa' come to mean lucky.
I think it is because some one gave something valuable to put it away for safe keeping. Now they are reclaiming it. Hence, they appear to be lucky since they are claiming something valuable apparently without much effort.

The first line of the above lyrics is asking the lucky flower to describe the scent of the lady's hair (koonthal).

The second line is asking the lucky river to describe the pleasure of having her taking bath in the river.

The third, is asking the lucky anklet (golusu) to provide the measure of her legs.

And finally, the fourth line is asking her lucky necklace to describe the beauty of her breasts.


I was expecting a few excited volunteers to provide the above explanation. Disappointed.

[Arasu]

Copied from above post

Kanjan - miser
adi (or just di)- is the ending to address a female in an informal way.
ada ( or just da) - is similarly used to address a male friend in an informal way.


Please don't use 'da' and 'di' to address your male and female friends respectively unless they are like your bosom friends. Otherwise, these words would be construed as being extremely rude.

[kg4129]

Originally Posted by Arasu

anbae anbae kollaadhae kannae kannaik killaadhae.
pennae punnagaiyil idhayaththai vedikkaadhae.
aiyoa unnasaivil uyiraik kudikaadhae.

I was expecting a few excited volunteers to provide the above explanation. Disappointed.

I didnot respond as we (tamilian) knew the meaning of the line... So I also excited to see the answer from others...

Anyway ... Intresting quiz... keep going....

[Arasu]

A tender teenage girl is searching for her unknown lover all over the village, looking for him, longing for him and asking for him. She converses with flowers, birds, breeze etc… asking them about her unknown lover’s whereabouts and requesting them to help her to get him on her way. The girl is none other than Sridevi who was only thirteen years then!



sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

thenralaith thoodhu vittu oru saedhikkuk kaaththirundhaen
kangalai moodavittu inbak kanavinil naan midhandhaen
kannip paruvaththin vannak kanavidhuvae
ennai izhukkudhu andha ninaivadhuvae
vannap poovae thenral kaatrae ennaith thaedi sugam varumoa

sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

neelak karunguyilae thennanjoalaik kuruvigalae
koalamidum mayilae nalla gaanap paravaigalae
maalai varum andha naalai uraiththidungal
saalai vazhi engum poovai iraiththidungal
vannap poovae thenral kaatrae ennaith thaedi sugam varumoa

sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

[Anniyan]

Can you try to understand her feelings?

Her feeling is known as "Viraga thabam" in tamil. An other song with similar feeling is "Eadho mogam Eadho dhagam" from Kozhikoovuthu.

[Anniyan]

Arasu, aduthu (next) "sinthiya venmani sipiyil muthachu" pattai (song) vilakavum (explain).

[satishanu]

^hehehe That's adults only song but nice song.

[Arasu]

Not entire song but just the first line quoted by Anniyan. He is an expert and he tried to explain even 'Indhiran thottaththu mundhiriye' earlier.

In fact, the song is good and could have been better without this silly line with its double entendre.

Anyway, conceding to the popular demand:

sindhiya - spilled
venmani - ven + mani (ven is derived from vellai - white)
- white gem
sippikkul - sippi+k+ul = inside of the oyster
(sippi - oyster
ul - inside of
k - is the linking morpheme (called 'saariyai' in tamil grammar))

muthaachu - muthu +aachu = became pearl
(muthu - pearl
aachu - is the colloquial equivalent of 'aanadhu' which means 'became'.)

aagu - become
aaga - to become (infintive)
aagum - will become (future tense)
aanadhu - became with suffix for singular third person neutral gender.

Meaning: The spilled white gem became a pearl inside the oyster.

It requires little imagination to figure out what is the white gem that was spilled, the oyster it was spilled into, and the pearl it turned into.

If anybody is lacking in the imagination department, just type the song in utube and look at the first scene.

Man, I wanted to teach Tamil and you guys are making me a tutor in some other subject.

[Arasu]

sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae

sendhoor+a+poo(vu)+a = sendhurapoovae
sendhoor - red
poo(vu) - flower
ae - to address the flower such as in 'Oh, sendhoorappoovae'

it means a red coloured flower. I gather the lyricist invented this flower name. It actually doesn't exist.

jillendra (or sillendra) - cool
katrae - wind

Meaning: she is calling the sendhoorappoovu and the cool wind


en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa
my king where?, my king where? you a little say?

Meaning: Where is my king? Where is my king? Can you please answer?

mannan or mannar means king.
For a word (noun or pronoun) that denotes masculine gender ( ending in 'n'), you can substitute the ending 'n' with an 'r' to make it sound a bit respectable.

The 'n' sounding may not be highly respectable. 'r' sounds make it more palatable.

e.g.

Avan - he (lacking in respect)
Avar - he (with respect)
arasan - king (lacks respect)
arasar - king (with respect)

Some times, this can be applied even to proper nouns such as names of people.

e.g. Raman, Ramar
Hanuman, Hanumar

sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

thenralaith thoodhu vittu oru saedhikkuk kaaththirundhaen
breeze messenger send one news for waiting.

thendral- wind from the southern direction (therku - South)
vaadai - wind from northern direction (vadakku - North)

thoodhu - from Sanskrit Dhoot - messenger/message
vittu - the tense of this word is equivalent to the past participle in English
- indicates the completion of the action
- from the verb 'vidu' meaning release, send or let go.
kaathiru - wait
kaathirundaen - waited (past tense for first person)

meaning: Having sent the breeze with a message, I was waiting for the reply.

kangalai moodavittu inbak kanavinil naan midhandhaen

kangal - eyes. The suffix 'ai' is the case ending to make it objective case.
moodu - close
mooda - is the infinitive form of 'moodu' ie to mean 'to close'.
vittu - as explained before, 'let go'.
moodavittu - let (the eyes) close

inba- adjective form of 'inbam' - pleasure

As explained in an earlier post, Tamil doesn't have too many original adjectives. Most of them are derived from nouns. This may be true of many Indian languages as well. They seem to focus more on the nouns.

kanavu - dream
midha - to float
midhandaen - (I) floated ; the suffix indicates first person and past tense.


kannip paruvaththin vannak kanavidhuvae

kanni - maiden
paruvam - period/season
vanna - colourful
kanavidhuvae = kanavu + idhu+ae
kanavu - dream
idhu - this
ae - suffix to provide emphasis

ennai izhukkudhu andha ninaivadhuvae
me pulls that memory that

izhukkudhu - izhu + k+ kudhu (colloquial form of kinr+adhu)

izhu - pull
If you remember, we had stated that 'kinr' is the present tense indicator. that is in the standard and literary language. But in the colloquial expression 'kinr' is shortened to just 'ki' or 'ku'.

izhukkindran ( he pulls) becomes izhukiran in colloquial Tamil
izhukkinradhu (it pulls) becomes izhukkudhu.

Please make a note of this deviation in colloquial language which is what you would mostly come across.

vannap poovae thenral kaatrae ennaith thaedi sugam varumoa?
colourful flower gentle breeze me looking/searching pleasure come?


sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

neelak karunguyilae thennanjoalaik kuruvigalae
blue black cuckoo coconut garden birds

neela - adjective of neelam (blue); k is the linking morpheme
karunguyilae = karu +n+ kuyil +ae
karu - adjective of karumai or karuppu (black)
kuyil - cuckoo
ae - to address a person/animal/object

Please note when karu and kuyil join 'n' (really ங்) is used to join these two words.
If you remember (from Marathaman's consonant table) ங் is a mellinam consonant. After the mellinam consonants, 'k' becomes 'g', 't' becomes 'd', 'c' becomes 'j'. So karu+kuyil became karunguyil.

koalamidum mayilae nalla gaanap paravaigalae

kolam - dance (in this context)
mayil - parrot
nalla - good
gana - singing (adjective of song really)

paravai - bird
paravaigal - birds
para - fly

maalai varum andha naalai uraiththidungal

maalai - garland (maala) (also means evening)
varum - future tense of 'va' - come
andha - that
naalai - objective case of 'naal' - day
urai - tell
uraithidungal - suffix added to 'uraithidu' to indicate second person plural.

saalai vazhi engum poovai iraiththidungal
road way everywhere flower scatter

vannap poovae thenral kaatrae ennaith thaedi sugam varumoa

sendhoorappoovae sendhoorappoovae jillenra kaatrae
en mannan engae en mannan engae nee konjam sollaayoa

[Arasu]

Correction above:

Mayil is not parrot. It is peacock. I don't know why this happens to me. I made the same mistake when I tried my hand at translating Malayalam lyrics a while back.

Though, I had the picture of peacock in my mind, while writing I wrote it as parrot.

[Arasu]

Originally Posted by Anniyan

Arasu, aduthu (next) "sinthiya venmani sipiyil muthachu" pattai (song) vilakavum (explain).

Anniyan,

In 'sindhiya' the 't' should be pronounced as 'd' due to the rule I have explained in my previous post.

The 'ந்' is a mellinam consonant. The following 't' should be pronounced as 'd'.

[Arasu]

While we are at it, let me also conjecture the reason why Tamil didn't have separate 'g' or 'd'.

Because, the same 'k' or 't' become 'g' or 'd' in the same word during the process of agglutination as in the example I gave above for kaunguyil.

Tamil thinks 'g' is only a variation of 'k'. This is true as far as Tamil words are concerned.
The issue arises only when you start writing words from other languages. Like when you write the words bus, etc.

[Arasu]

Let just forget the titillating Tamil cinema lyrics and move onto one of the oldest extant poems in Tamil from Purananooru of Sangam
works.

Puram - outside ( Tamil poems are divided into Agam (inside) and Puram (outside) depending on the subject they deal with.)
nooru - hundred; nanooru - four hundred



யாதும் ஊரே, யாவரும் கேளிர்,
yaadhum oore, yaavarum kelir

yaadhum - yaadhu + um
yaadhu - which ( older form of 'edhu' means which)
yaadhum - whichever

oore - oor + e
oor - town/village
yavarum - yavar + um
yavar - older form of evar means who
yavarum - all people

தீதும் நன்றும் பிறர்தர வாரா,
theedum nanrum pirarthara vaara,
theedu - ill
nanru - good
pirar - others
thara - infintive form of 'thaa' means to give.
vaara is opposite of vaa (used in old literary texts)

நோதலும் தணிதலும் அவற்றோ ரன்ன
nodhalum thanidhalum avatro ranna

noadhal - novu - pain
thanidhal - noun form of 'thani' meaning 'to lessen') relief


சாதலும் புதுவது அன்றே, வாழ்தல்
saadhalum pudhuvadhu anre, vaazhdhal

saadhal - saavu - death
pudhu - new
anre - not
vaazhdhal - life
vaazhu (verb) - live

இனிதுஎன மகிழ்ந்தன்றும் இலமே, முனிவின்
inidhu ena magizhndhanrum ilame, munivin

inidhu - good, sweet
magizh - be happy
ilam - not

இன்னாது என்றலும் இலமே, பின்னொடு
innaadhu enralum ilame, pinnodu

innaadhu - harm

வானம் தண் துளி தலைஇ ஆனாது
vaanam thann thuli thalai i aanaadhu

vaanam - sky
than - cold
thuli - drops

கல் பொருது இரங்கும் மல்லல் பேர்யாற்று
kal porudhu irangum mallal paeryatru

kal - rocks/stones
porudhu - between
irangum - coming down
mallal - mighty
paer - big/huge
yaatru - aatru - of the river (aaru - river)

நீர்வழிப் படுஉம் புணைபோல் ஆருயிர்
neervazhip paduoom punaipol aaruyir

neer - water
vazhi - way
paduoom - padu + oom ; here 'oom' is meanigless and is used for euphony as well as to follow the meters of the poem

முறைவழிப் படுஉம் என்பது திறவோர்
muravivazhip paduoom enbadhu thiravoar

murai - law, rule
thiravoar - wise people

காட்சியின் தெளிந்தனம் ஆதலின் மாட்சியின்
kaatchiyin thelindhanam aadhalin maatchiyin

kaatchi - vision, sight
thelindhanam - we know (old time usage)
aadhalin - hence
maatchi - might, power

பெரியோரை வியத்தலும் இலமே,
periyoarai viyaththalum ilame,

periyoar - great people
viyathal - wonderment
ilam - not


சிறியோரை இகழ்தல் அதனினும் இலமே.
siriyoarai igazhdhal adhaninum ilame.

siriyor - small (ordnary) people
igazh - despise
adhaninum - even greater or worse than

(கணியன் பூங்குன்றன், புற நானூறு, 192).


Translation

All places are my abodes dear,
And every one is my kith and kin;
Good and bad are caused by none,
Sickness and convalescence are just but natural;
Nothing is new in death,
Rejoice life as sweet we do not, Nor despise it as sour;
Since,
Convinced are we through the serene vision of the seers,
That,
Along with lightening pour down cold drops;
The Mighty river rolls down the stone
Into pebbles with constant noise, lo!
The Boat sails in the river.
Likewise precious life has it's course
In the course of Nature.
Hence, We do not wonder at the great
Nor look down upon the small.

kaniyan Poongunran Purananooru, 192

[satishanu]

Good going Arasu.

I just wanted to let the immigrant learners in US (with temporary visa) know that US Army is offering Citizenship within 6 months for Tamil/Hindi speakers which would normally take more than 5 years. The reason stated is “There will be some very talented folks in this group.”

Here is the article from The Hindu:

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/16/s...1653961300.htm

Those who are interested in US army type of work and is a immigrant, it is indeed a great boon.

[Arasu]

Thanks, Satish.

Here is some more explanation of the poem:

Simple paraphrasing of the poem brings out the profound wisdom contained in it. The poem states that we are all convinced through the serene vision of the seers and saints, that in the process of evolution the big bang occurred and the fire globe started to cool off, ultimately giving rise to the geography of seasons and climate. The rain started pouring down and the rocks were turned into pieces and pebbles giving way to the courses of rivers. The power of the water current of the river constantly changes responding to the geographical state set in by the evolution at a particular point of time. The freedom and bondage available to the sailor at one point of time is dynamically determined by internal and external forces—internal contingent on physical and subjective resources of the sailor and external based on the velocity of the wind, the power of the water currents, etc. Such a balancing of forces within and without occurs constantly due to the ongoing process of evolution and such frictions are never inimical to anyone in particular at any point of time.

The poem further adds that since the truth of the above is adopted in our basic perspective as a basic stance of our thinking, willing and feeling, we could derive the following inferences. And, these inferences reinforce our perspective, installing in us the probabilistic orientation.

We believe that all places are our dear abodes and are as good as our native place. We regard every one as our kith and kin.

We are convinced that no one can do good or inflict harm to us since every event is but a derivation from a random phenomenon conceived in the process of evolution.

We do believe that natural processes mediate the sources of sickness and the capacity for convalescence from the sickness. These processes are just but natural phenomena and are not inimical to any one in particular.

We do not consider death as anything strange or new. There is nothing new in death which is again a natural event.

Since we are given to the above convictions, we do not rejoice life as sweet nor despise life as sour due to stress and strain.

We do not wonder at any one for achieving greatness nor would we look down upon the small who are weak and meek. Since each one rises to his station due to natural processes over which no one has any simple and direct control or mastery.

[Arasu]

குறிஞ்சி - தலைவன் கூற்று
Kurinji - Thalaivan kootru

Kurinji is mountain region
thalaivan - hero (thalai - head)
kootru - statement

Statement of the mountain region hero

Kurinji is also one of the five thinais (categories of poems in Tamil). Please see the note below for more details.


யாயும் ஞாயும் யாரா கியரோ
yayum gnyayum yaraa giayaro?

yayum - yay + um
- yay is actually a contracted form of 'yen thai' my mother.
- um stands for 'and'

gnyayum - is contracted form of 'nin thai' - your mother.

yaaraa giyaro? - yaar + aagiyar + o

yaar - who
aagiyar - become
o - is for rhetorical question.

Meaning: What is the relationship between my mother and yours?

எந்தையும் நுந்தையும் எம்முறைக் கேளிர்
yendhaiyum nundhaiyum emmuraik kelir?

endhaiyum = endhai+um
endhai = en + thandhai
en - my
thandhai - father
um - and

nundhaiyum = nundhai +um
nundhai = nun + thandhai (has been shortened in the poem)
nun = un = your
thandhai - father
um - and

emmuraik = em+murai+k
em = endha = which
murai = means, way
k is the linking phoneme, also called sandhi.

kelir - relative

Meaning: In what way is my father related to yours?

யானும் நீயும் எவ்வழி யறிதும்
yaanum neeyum evvazhi yaridhum?

yaan = naan = I (yaan is the old form of naan)
nee = you
um - and
evvazhi = e(ndha) + vazhi + which way
ari = know (arivu - knowledge)
aridhum - archaic usage

meaning: How do you and I know each other?


செம்புலப் பெயனீர் போல
sembulap peyaneer poala

sembulap = sem + pulam+ p
'sem' is shortened form of 'semmai' meaning redness.
pulam = earth
p = linking phoneme or sandhi

peyaneer = peyyum neer
peyyum - pouring
neer - water (or rain here)
poala - like

Meaning: Like the pouring rain and red earth


அன்புடை நெஞ்சம் தாங்கலந் தனவே.
anbudai nenjam thaangalan dhanave.

anbudai = anbu + udai(ya)
anbu - love or affection
udaiya - having or possessing
nenjam - heart (in the figurative sense)
thaangalandhanave = tham + kalandhana+ae
thaam - they
kalandhana - joined, mixed with each other
ae - euphonic ending for poems.


Meaning: Hearts possessed with love mixed with each other.

-செம்புலப் பெயனீரார்.
- Sembulap peyaneeraar.

As the author's name was not available, a phrase in this poem has been given as his name.

Red earth and pouring rain

What could my mother be
to yours? What kin is my father
to yours anyway? And how
Did you and I meet ever?
But in love
our hearts have mingled
as red earth and pouring rain
[Translated by AK Ramanujan (Kuruntokai - 40)

A poem from the Eight Anthologies collection.

[Arasu]

Classification
Sangam Poems falls into two categories: the 'inner field' (Agam – அகம்), and the 'outer field'(Puram – புறம்) as described even in the first available Tamil grammar, the Tolkappiyam. Agam word is also referred to very ancient Jain literature composed by indigenous dravids.

The 'inner field' topics refer to personal or human aspects, such as love and sexual relationships, and are dealt with in a metaphorical and abstract manner. The 'outer field' topics discuss all other aspects of human experience such as heroism, valour, ethics, benevolence, philanthropy, social life, and customs.

The division into agam and puram is not rigid, but depends upon the interpretation used in a specific context.

[edit] Environmental classifications
Main article: Sangam landscape
Sangam literature illustrates the thematic classification scheme first described in the Tolkappiyam. The classification ties the emotions involved in agam poetry to a specific landscape. These landscapes are called thinai (திணை). These are: kurinji (குறிஞ்சி), mountainous regions; mullai (முல்லை), forests; marutham (மருதம்), agricultural land; neithal (நெய்தல்) coastal regions; paalai (பாலை) deserts. In addition to the landscape based thinais, kaikkiLai and perunthinai are used for unsolicited love and unsuited love respectively.

Similar thinais pertain to puram poems as well, though these categories are based on activity rather than landscape: vetchi, 'karanthai, vanchi, kanchi, umignai, nochchi, thumbai, 'vaagai, paataan, and pothuviyal.

[Arasu]

The above poem from Kurnthogai (from Sangam literature) is understood to be written in London Metro trains in its translated version (of AK Ramanujan's) posted above.

The title of Vikram Chandra's first novel also comes from this poem.

[president1]

i tried to learn tamil but it's too hard.if you don't live there it's hard to learn

[Arasu]

Note: Post No# 77 is from Wikipedia.

With respect to the comment in post # 79, if it is made due to the difficult and archaic language in poems explained in posts #73& 76, one must bear in mind these are two thousand years old poems and the language and styles are archaic.

The difficulty wrt to Tamil is, as I had tried to explain in the first few posts, is usage of slightly different language in writing and speaking.

If you follow one, you can easily pick it up. Mixing them up while learning makes it a bit hard. Tamil is not more difficult than English.

If you speak one of the South Indian languages it will be much easier as the languages are agglunative and that is the major difference between South Indian and North Indian languages. Otherwise, you have to observe keenly the morphology of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs which might take a couple of months of study.