use of the word 'nayam'
Prakash Jayaraman
'nice') in Tamil? I have heard it being used in only two contexts,
1. nayam ilavam panjinaal aana meththai maRRum thalaiyaNai
2. nayavanjagam
Prakash
GOPAL Ganapathiraju Sree Ramana
Gayathri Krishnamurthy
> Could someone write more on the use of the word 'nayam' (which means
> 'nice') in Tamil? I have heard it being used in only two contexts,
Two usages come to mind:
1. nayama sonnA kEtpAn (i.e, if you tell him nicely, he will listen)
2. kavinayam (I guess that's beauty in poetry or poetic beauty)
Cheers,
Gayathri.
GNANA K. BHARATHY
> In article <4cml2v$d...@nunki.usc.edu>, jaya...@nunki.usc.edu (Prakash Jayaraman) writes:
> Could someone write more on the use of the word 'nayam' (which means
> 'nice') in Tamil? I have heard it being used in only two contexts,
We grant you that boon. You shall learn as little about 'nayam' as I
know at the end of this post. To my limited understanding, it
seems 'nayam' may have a root meaning of grace, beauty (not
exactly but at least an aesthetic connotation) and hence the
words such as 'nayanam' (refers to graceful postures in 'natyam';
hence it has come to refer to Bharatanatyam also or am I wrong
there?) and so on. It has also been euphemised to take a
qualitative, neagative meaning in 'naya vanjagham' etc. The words
'nayam' and 'nayanam' are there in the Sanskrit vocabulary also,
although i do not know if it was absorbed from Tamil.
More likely (considering how it sounds), Tamil may have
borrowed the word from Sanskrit -- that is left to
the scholars to come up with an adequate explanation.
It can also be used in the sense politeness as used in telugu,
where one would say "nayana mAthladu"
- it means "speak politely", when freely translated. Pardon me if
I had gone wrong in the construction of the above telugu phrase.
In tamil too, "nayamakap pEsal/pesuthal" is a common phrase,
althogh later has a derogatory meaning implying
craftyness/cunningness.
In summary, 'nayanam' may mean, politeness, grace, beauty or
aesthetically appealing and may even take negative connotations
-- see below. Goodness!! It looks like practically anything can be
qualified with the word 'nayam'. There is word "nayana thara"--
does it mean graceful duck ?. The word/phrase sounds very familiar,
but I do not know where/ in which context I heard it.
A truly non-controversial, beautiful word-- politically correct
too:-) I believe that 'nayam' can also be used in the
sense of 'subtle', although I have yet come across such a usage.
A Note of caution: One is not supposed to know all meanings --
that (knowing all meanings of words esp. nayam) is not really good
for ones health -- just kidding Prakash -- it was a good question
and I enjoyed answering.
>
> 1. nayam ilavam panjinaal aana meththai maRRum thalaiyaNai
Could mean 'soft' in an aesthetic sense!!! Or beautiful ilavam panju
etc..
> 2. nayavanjagam
- an euphemism to hide or qualify the negative sense
There is an island in the Jaffna lagoon called 'naina theevu'.
I suspect this 'naina' is a linguistic mutation of the name
'nayana'-- somebody knowlegible can elaborate.
Finally, I will take a shot at this too. Where did the word
'naina' (used in some colloquial tamil) come from ?
Both myself and my sister liked it when we came across it in some
movie -- the consequent was: my dad had to get used to this
socially new vocabulary directed at him; is still used occasionally.
Does this word have any derogatory meaning ( I do not know any) ?
-- will appreciate an answer.
That's it!!! I have exhausted my 'charakku' and it is time for some
real scholar to offer an academic treatise (sp?) on the subject:-)
tata..birla etc :-)
regards
gnana
> Prakash
Gayathri Krishnamurthy
[..]
>
> Finally, I will take a shot at this too. Where did the word
> 'naina' (used in some colloquial tamil) come from ?
> Both myself and my sister liked it when we came across it in some
> movie -- the consequent was: my dad had to get used to this
> socially new vocabulary directed at him; is still used occasionally.
I would guess that this is from the Telugu word "nAnna" (also "nAyana")
for father. This might have got corrupted to "naina" (I think some
people in TN of Telugu origin use this form).
> Does this word have any derogatory meaning ( I do not know any) ?
> -- will appreciate an answer.
Not that I know of. But "innA nainA" is supposedly part of the Madras
slum Tamil lingo. Here, "naina" doesn't have to mean father - men
use this to address male friends/aquaintances/peers.
Cheers,
Gayathri.