Alphabet Unit 3

Unit 3

ந, ன, ண, ஞ, ங, ற and their combinations with vowels.

The first five letters are nasals; with ம introduced in (1), there is a total of six nasals. Though all consonants combine with all vowels in principle, combination of some vowels with nasals is not found in native words in modern Tamil.  ங் combines with one vowel (அ) and ஞ் with two (அ, ஆ).

As regards distributional restriction of nasals, ன், ண், ங் do not begin a word with any vowel; ந், ஞ், ங் do not end a word with any vowel. Only the nasals ம், ன், ண் end a native word without any vowel added to them; ங் may be found in the final position in names. Given the restriction on the distribution of nasals in words, ம், ந் are the common word-initial nasals with vowels. ம்,ன்,ண் are the three nasals that occur double word medially in simple words. The common place of occurrence of nasals word medially is between vowels and before stops. (ம்ப, ந்த, ண்ட, ஞ்ச, ங்க, ன்ற)

As regards pronunciation, there is no difference between ந and ன except before stops. The spelling convention dictates that this nasal is represented by ந் in word initial position and by ன் in word final position. Single ந் is rare in word medial position between vowels (i.e. in positions other than before a stop). The words in which single ந் occurs are non-native words or native words inflected with a derivative suffix.  Double ந்ந் occurs in compounds. Words with ந் in these medial positions are written alternatively with ன்.

ற் is historically a stop but now there is no difference in pronunciation between it and ர except when it doubles or occurs before a stop in the word-medial position. Remember ர் does not double. Though ற் is not a stop phonetically, but a flap, it behaves like a stop  in that a stop consonant  after it is not softened, as it would after a liquid, but retains its 'hard' pronunciation.  ற் does not occur in word-final position as a pure consonant without a vowel, just like any other stop consonant. It does not occur word initially with any vowel even in non-native words and onomatopoeic words. When it occurs double (ற்ற) it is pronounced /tr/ as in ‘train’ and when it occurs after nasal (ன்ற) it is pronounced /dr/ as on ‘drain’.

The distributional properties of ற are different in Sri Lankan Tamil when the English words are transcribed with Tamil script. Initial /t/ of English is written with ற், and not with ட் (‘ticket’ is written ரிக்கற், not டிக்கட் as in Tamil Nadu). Medial voiceless /t/ is written with ற்ற், not with ட்ட் (‘meter’ is written மீற்றர், not மீட்டர்).

These distributional facts will help in spelling when the difference between two sounds is obliterated in pronunciation. There is no such distributional clue to spell correctly between ர் and ற் that occur word-medially. One needs to know the meaning of the words to know the correct spelling.

Some words have alternate spelling, which is indicated by a slash. Alternate spellings can be found with letters whose pronunciation has merged. The spelling on the left is common in a formal traditional style of writing.

ந

நகம் '(finger) nail'

நாகம் 'cobra'

நிலம் 'land'

நீலம் 'blue'

நெல் 'paddy'

நேரம் 'time'

நை 'crush'

நொடி'a second'

நோய் 'disease'

அநீதி 'injustice'

அநியாயம் 'unfairness'

சிநேகிதி 'female friend'

வெந்நீர் 'hot water'

இந்நேரம் 'is this time'    

தந்தம் 'ivory'

சந்தை 'market'

கந்தல் 'rag'

காந்தம் 'magnet'

நீந்தாதே 'don't swim'

ன

அவன் 'he'

அவனா 'is he?'

அவனிடம் 'with him'

அவனே 'he himself'

அவனை 'he (obj)'

அவனோடா 'along with him?'

நாயகன் 'lead role'

நான் 'I'

நானே 'I myself'

நோன்பை 'fast (obj)'

நான்கா? 'four?'

மான்கள் 'deer'

நன்மை 'benefit'

என்ன? 'what'

என்னை 'me'

கன்னம் 'cheek'

கன்னி 'virgin'

பன்னீர் 'fragrant water'

என்னோடா? 'along with me?'

அநாதை / அனாதை 'orphan'

சநாதனம் / சனாதனம் 'orthodoxy'

சந்நியாசி / சன்னியாசி 'mendicant'

அந்நியன் / அன்னியன் 'stranger'

ண

கண் 'eye'

கோணம் 'angle'

கோணல் 'crooked (line)'

கோணிப்பை 'sack'

காணோம் 'not found'

கண்ணாடி 'mirror, glasses'

கண்ணி 'trap'

கண்ணீர் 'tears'

கண்ணே 'apple of the eye'

கண்ணை 'eye (obj)'

கண்ணோடா 'with the eye?'

அண்டம் 'universe'

பண்டம் 'things'

மண்டை 'head'

நண்டை 'crab (obj)'

நீண்ட 'long'

நொண்ட 'to limp'     

நோண்ட 'to poke'

நண்பன் 'friend'

வெண்மை 'whiteness'

கண்கள் 'eyes'

பண்பால் 'by culture'

பெண்பால் 'feminine gender'

வெண்தாமரை ‘white lotus'

ஞ

ஞானம் 'wisdom'

ஞானி 'man of wisdom'

ஞானோதயம் 'dawn of wisdom'

ஞாபகம் 'memory'

கலைஞன் 'artist'

அஞ்ஞானி 'ignorant man'

விஞ்ஞானி 'scientist'

பஞ்சம் 'scarcity'

கஞ்சம் 'miserliness'

தஞ்சம் 'refuge'

லஞ்சம் 'bribe'

கொஞ்சம் 'a little'     

கொஞ்சநஞ்சம் 'what little'

ங்

நாங்கள் 'we'

நீங்கள் 'you'

தங்கம் 'gold'

எங்கே? 'where?'

மரங்கள் 'trees'

மாமாங்கம் 'twelve years'

பஞ்சாங்கம் 'almanac'

இங்ஙனம்  'yours (ending a letter)’

அவன் என்ன சொன்னான்? 'What did he say?'

நாம் தினம் காலையிலே தண்ணீர் பிடிப்போம். 'We hold water (from the tape) in the morning every day'

அன்பாலே மக்களை வெல்லலாம். '(We) can win people by love'

எந்தச் சந்தையிலே இந்தப் பஞ்சை வாங்கினாய்? 'In which fair did you buy this cotton?'

நீங்கள் இந்தப் பண்டத்தை வாங்கவேண்டாம். 'You shall not buy this thing'

கம்பாலே நோண்டி நண்டை விரட்டினான். '(He) poked with a stick and drove away the crab'

காணாமல்போன தங்கச்சங்கிலி அண்டாவில் கிடந்ததா? 'Was the lost gold chain found in the brass drum?'

ற

கறி 'meat'

நிறம் 'color'

மறியல் 'sit in'

மற 'forget'

மறக்காதே 'don't forget'

மறை 'hide'

மறைக்காதே 'dont hide'

பயிற்சி 'exercise'

இயற்கை 'nature'

செயற்கை 'artificial'

பற்கள் 'teeth'

விற்கிறார் '(He) sells'

கற்பேன் '(I) will learn'

பற்பொடி   'tooth powder'

பார்க்கிறார் '(He) sees'

வெற்றி 'victory'

மாற்றம் 'change'

வற்றாத 'not drained'

வற்றிய 'drained'

பற்றில்லாத 'without attachment'

நன்றி 'thanks'

மன்றம் 'hall, association'

அன்றே 'that day itself'

அன்றைக்கே 'that day itself'

கொன்றான் '(He) killed'

கறையான் / கரையான் 'termite'        

சிற்றப்பா / சித்தப்பா '(paternal) uncle'

வற்றல் / வத்தல் 'dried vegetable'

பதற்றம் / பதட்டம் 'anxiety'      'anxiety'

Rules of pronunciation.

The point of articulation for ங, ஞ, ண, ந, ம is same as for their corresponding stop consonants க, ச, ட, த, ப. The difference between stops and nasals is in the manner of articulation; the air is released through the nose in nasals. Recall the observations at the beginning of this section about merged pronunciations of different letters. ந and ன are pronounced alike; so are ற and ர. ற்ற் and ன்ற are pronounced as /tr/ and /dr/ respectively.

Rules of speaking pronunciation

Recall the rule about the pronunciation of final ம், which is not pronounced but leaves a nasal tinge on the preceding vowel அ, which is slightly rounded. ம் is not pronounced in inflected verbs where the vowel may not be அ. (வந்தோம் ‘we came’). There is a similar rule of pronunciation for the word final ன். For their loss, the word must be longer than a mono syllable and these nasals must be preceded by அ or ஆ. The loss gives a nasal tinge to the preceding அ, which is pronounced with the tongue in a slightly higher and front position (அவன் ‘he’), தலைவன் ‘leader’, பித்தான் ‘button’, but not in பன் ‘bun’). There are some exceptions; ன் is not pronounced in monosyllabic words that are pronouns and do not have the vowel அ. If the vowel is short, it is pronounced slightly longer (என் ‘my’, தன் ‘self’s’, நான் ‘I’, ஏன் ‘why’, but not தேன் ‘honey’). ன் is not pronounced in inflected words where the vowel is no அ orஆ (வந்தேன் ‘I came’). ண் in the word final position is pronounced in polysyllabic words also. (கவண் ‘sling’)

As with ல், ள், the word final ன், ண் are pronounced with /u/ at the end. When the word is a monosyllabic with a short vowel these nasals are doubled.

The  following are not rules of speaking pronunciation because the words with ற்ற்  and ன்ற்  are spelled differently in informal Tamil as the words  are pronounced in speaking. They are correspondences between conventional spelling and colloquial spelling reflecting their pronunciation in speech.

ற்ற் corresponds with the pronunciation  த்த் in speech in all words: நாற்றம் = நாத்தம் ‘bad smell’. ன்ற்  corresponds with the pronunciation ன்ன் or ண்ண் in speech in all words: ஒன்றாம்: ஒண்ணாம் ‘first’, தின்றான் = தின்னான் ‘he ate’. There are however some exceptions. Words ‘borrowed’ in speech from formal Tamil have the same pronunciation in reading and speaking: வெற்றி ‘victory’, நன்றி ‘thanks’.

த்த் in inflected words, where the verb ends inஇ orஐ, corresponds with the pronunciation ச்ச் in speech: அழித்தான் = அழிச்சான் ‘he destroyed something’, மறைத்தான் = மறைச்சான் ‘he hid something’. ந்த் in the same context corresponds with ஞ்ச் in speech: அழிந்தான் = அழிஞ்சான் ‘he destroyed himself’, மறைந்தான் =  மறைஞ்சான் ‘he hid himself’. These are correspondences between conventional spelling and colloquial spelling.

The words தண்ணீர் and வெந்நீர் are pronounced தண்ணி and வென்னி respectively in speech with the loss of final ர் and shortening the vowel.

Notes

When ந் occurs in the middle (other than before a stop), it is commonly in the beginning of a compound (வெந்நீர்) or suffix or in loan words (அநீதி). Its common occurrence in the middle of a simple word (not a compound) is before a homorganic stop.  This is true of the nasals ஞ் and ங். ம் occurs commonly between vowels in the middle of a word, but its preferred consonant to follow is its homorganic stop is ப். Words like வம்சம், இம்சை, எம்டன், where this is not the case, are loan words or names.

Recall the observation made above that ற் retains the property of a stop. Because of this property, stops are single and voiceless after ற் (பற்கள்) unlike after ர், where the stops must be double to be voiceless (பார்க்க).

Some words with ந் have alternate spelling with ன், whose pronunciation is identical.  A few words have alternative spelling with ற் and ர்.  In a couple of words, there is alternative spelling with ற்ற on one hand and த்த or ட்ட on the other. The spelling on the left of the slash is preferred in formal traditional style of writing.

Sandhi

When ம் is to occur before க் in inflected words, it changes to the homorganic nasal ங் (மரம்+கள்=மரங்கள்). ம் at the end of a word assimilates to the stop at the beginning of the next words when the two words make a compound. மரம் + பெட்டி = மரப்பெட்டி. ம் at the end of the first word in a compound is dropped. மரம் + நாய் = மர நாய் ‘wooden dog’, மரம் + ஈட்டி = மர ஈட்டி ‘wooden spear’

When the first word in a compound ends in a vowel and the second words begins with a stop, the stop doubles. தீ + பெட்டி = தீப்பெட்டி ‘match box’, வெள்ளை + சட்டை = வெள்ளைச்சட்டை ‘white shirt’, மர(ம்) + பெட்டி = மரப்பெட்டி ‘wooden box’.

Exercise

1. Letters in the following kin words are scrambled, missing or extra. Put them in right spelling to make sensible words.

ப்அபா -----------  அக்க --------   அன்ணண்--------------   கங்தை--------- பாட்ட்டி-------

2. The letters in the following words are scrambled. Put them in order to make meaningful words.

படட்ம் 'kite'

பரம்பம் 'top'

யர்ஐ 'priest'

பீய்ப்பா 'barrel'

பிர்ளையாள் 'God Ganesh'

வெட்டைச்சள்ளைக்கார்ர 'the man with the white shirt'

தக்காழப்பளிம் 'tomato'

வெள்லை 'white'

மாள்கன் 'deer'

ஞாதனோயம் 'dawn of wisdom'

3. Fill in the gaps in the words below the right nasal. The meaning of the words will help. The distributional pattern of nasals will help.

------ன்  'I'                                                             நீ-----கள் 'you (pl)

எ------ 'my'                                                           ------ங்கள் 'we (excl)

-------யா? 'you?'                                                         மா-----கள் 'deer'

அவ------? 'he?'                                                             நா------கா? 'four?'

பன் -----ர் 'fragrant water'                                            க------கள் 'eyes'

கண்-------டி 'mirror'                                                    மர-----கள் 'trees'

ந-------பன் 'friend'                                                      ந-----றி 'thanks'

------பகம் 'memory'                                                   த-----தம் 'ivory'

ஞா----- 'man of wisdom'                                          த-----சம் 'refuge'                      

இங்-----னம் 'yours'                                                   த-----கம் 'gold'

-------ரம் 'time'                                                             ம------டை 'head'

   அ---யாயம் 'injustice'                                                     கண்----ர் 'tears'

   விஞ்-----னம் 'science'                                                  பஞ்சா----கம் ‘almanac’

4. Fill in the gaps in the words below the right /r/ (ர or ற). The meaning of the words will help. The distributional pattern of ர and ற will also help.

மோ------- 'buttermilk'                                                மாற்------ம் 'change'

------ம்பம் 'saw (the tool)'                                         சே----க்க 'to join'

வ------தே 'Don't come'                                            செய----கை 'artificial'

ம-----ம்  'tree'                                                           ப----கள் 'teeth'

ம------க்காதே 'Don't forget'                                 கா---கள் 'cars'

க----- 'meat'                                                              நன்----- 'thanks

க-----'charcoal'                                                         பா----க்கி----ர் 'he sees'

5. Identify and separate the words in the following compounds. The first words in the compounds have undergone a change. Give these words in their basic form.  Give the meaning of the words you identified. If you came across only one of the two words in a compound, you can infer the meaning of the other word from the meaning of the compound. Read the description of changes when two words combine to make a compound word.

Ex. மாமரம் ‘mango tree’     மா ‘mango’, மரம் ‘tree’

    நீலநிறம் ‘blue color’    நீலம் ‘blue’, நிறம் ‘color’

கடல்கரை 'sea shore'

பால்நிறம்  'milky color'

சினிமாக்கதை 'film story’

வட்டநிலா 'round moon'

மயக்கமாத்திரை 'pill for losing consciousness'

தலைவலி மாத்திரை 'headache pill'

6. Make ten meaningful words using the letters below. You can use the same letter more than once.

க், ச், ட், ப், ற் as pure consonants and in combination with any vowel learned so far; ங், ஞ், ண், ந், ம், ன், ம, மா, ந, நா, ன, னி, னை, ண, ணா

7. Circle the nasals, pure and in combination with the vowels அ, ஆ, இ, ஏ in the text given.

8. Practice writing in the copy book the letters introduced in this lesson.

9. Memorize ten words of your choice from this Unit that will be handy for use in daily life and tell them in the next class, first, the Tamil words and their meaning and then the meaning and their equivalent Tamil words.

Handout

1.   Pronouns

நான் ‘I’

நாங்கள் ‘we (excluding addressee)’

நாம் ‘we (including addressee)’

நீ ‘you (singular)’

நீங்கள் ‘you (plural and polite)’

அவன் ‘he (remote)’                                இவன் ‘he (proximate)’

அவள் ‘she (proximate)’                          இவள் ‘she (proximate)’

அவர் ‘he/she (polite)                              இவர் 'he/she (polite) (proximate)’

அவர்கள் ‘they (non-polite and polite)’  இவர்கள் ‘they (proximate’

Notes:

1.   Sri Lankan (i.e. Jaffna) Tamil uses the exclusive form of first person plural for inclusive pronoun also. It has a third deictic pronoun etc for a distance between proximate and remote.

2.   Third person pronouns make gender distinction, which first and second person pronouns don’t.

3.   The remote pronouns are not only deictic forms, but also anaphoric forms.

4.   There is a difference with regard to politeness in spoken Tamil. அவர் ‘he (polite)’; அவர்கள் ‘they (non-polite and polite) and she (polite)’

Rules for speaking pronunciation

1.   Final nasal is dropped, but the preceding vowel is nasalized, in word final position

2.   Final /ள்/ is dropped in word final position.

3.   In third person plural, -ர்கள் is pronounced as –ங்க on the analogy of first and second person plural forms.

2. Kin Terms

அப்பா 'father'                                                                                                                        அம்மா 'mother'

அண்ணன் / அண்ணா 'elder brother'                                                                            அண்ணி / மதினி 'elder brother's wife, sisten-in-law

அக்கா 'elder sister'                                                                                                            அத்தான் / மச்சான் 'elder sister's husband. brother-in-law'

தம்பி 'younger brother'

தங்கச்சி / தங்கை 'younger sister'

பாப்பா 'baby'

பிள்ளை 'child'

மகன் 'son'

மகள் 'daughter'

பெரியப்பா 'father's elder brother, uncle'                                                           பெரியம்மா 'father's elder brother's wife, aunt'

சித்தப்பா 'father's younger brother. uncle'                                                         சித்தி / சின்னம்மா 'father's younger brother's wife, aunt'

மாமா  'mother's brother, uncle'                                                                           மாமி / அத்தை 'mother's brother's wife, aunt'

தாத்தா 'grand father'                                                                                             பாட்டி 'grand mother'

ஐயாப்பா 'father's father, paternal grand father'                                               ஐயாம்மா 'father's mother, paternal grand mother'

மாமய்யா 'mother's father, maternal grand father'                                         மாமம்மா 'mother's mother, matenal grand mother'

 பேரன் 'grand son'

பேத்தி 'grand daughter'

(The names for kins may vary in different castes)

3.  Distribution of nasals in a word

The mark ‘rare’ indicates that the word may be a compound, a loan, a name, onomatopoeic or native words going out of currency.