Vallinam Mellinam Idaiyinam In Tamil
Jannet Nevels
Tamil language has a very long heritage, thanks to that... Tamil became one of the most cultivated and structured languages! Traditional grammarians have classified and named the letters of this language quite meaningfully as well as beautifully! The letters are known as 'elutu' (எழத்த). Tamil has 12 vowels and 18 consonants which are classified as 'Mutal Elutukkal'[1]' (Primary letters) owing to the fact that these can operate without the need of any other letter (or letter combination). The vowels are termed as 'uyir elutukkal' ('uyir' meaning 'life' or 'soul') and the consonants are called 'mei elutukkal' ('mei' meaning 'body') - this terminology has very deep linguistic and philosophical implication!
Apart from these thirty Primary letters, Tamil has its very own set of secondary (dependent) letters which are known as 'sārbu elutukkal'. These are further classified into 10 groups, based on their dependence and nature, and make up to a total of 247 letters (don't panic, it is not as difficult to learn those!)
As mentioned above Tamil has 12 vowels - uyir elutukkal (உயர் எழத்தகள்). These twelve are further divided into two groups of 5 and 7 letters each, named as 'kuril' (short vowel) and 'nedil' (long vowel) respectively. The terminology 'short' and 'long' refers to the length of time for which these letters are pronounced. Traditional grammarians used a time scale called as māttirai[2] (meaning 'unit' or 'scale') to measure the time length of pronunciation - short vowels are of one unit length and long are of two units length.
Tamil language has 18 consonants - mey eluttukkal. Traditional grammarians have classified these 18 in to three groups of 6 letters each. This classification is done based on the method of articulation and hence the nature of these letters. Vallinam (hard group,) Mellinam (soft group) and idaiyinam (medium group). All consonants are pronounced for a half unit (māttirai) time length when isolated (consonants combined with vowels will be pronounced with the time length of the vowel).
It is worthwhile to note that in the above list every hard consonant (vallinam) is placed next to a soft consonant (mellinam), that is க்-ங், ச்-ஞ், ட்-ண், த்-ந், ப்-ம் and ற்-ன். These pairs are called as 'inam' ('family', for they are articulated in the same manner, the only difference being the soft ones nasalized!) You will mostly find them in pairs (especially when as pure consonants) in words.
The above tabulation is a simplified version of the Tamil consonants. It should be noted, however, that many of the Tamil consonants have important allophones which you should learn in order to completely speak the language correctly. We shall start with the above set first and then later on expand in to these fine nuances. For now, however, I shall leave you a few notes on the allophones of these consonants, which I hope will not threaten you!
It is also important to note the subtle difference between the pronunciations of 'ங்', 'ஞ்', 'ண்', 'ந்' and 'ன்', as well as between 'ல்', 'ள்' and 'ழ்'. (This page may be of help)
I should add, that while it is important to be aware of all these nuances, it is not strictly important for you, as a beginner, to concentrate on all these and burden yourself. I have mentioned these only to let you be conscious of the fact that there is quite a bit of learning-unlearning embedded in every language learning process and you should not place yourself much rigidly on what you learned in the very beginning... After all, many native speakers of Tamil themselves are not bothering about these subtle points and all that it does to it is to add a little color and variety to their dialect!
Tamil is one of the longest surviving, classical languages in the world. It has over 80 million speakers around the globe and has rich literature and ethnic culture. It is the official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is also an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore and has significant numbers of speakers in Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji, and South Africa. The Tamil culture and Tamil language are inseparably glued to each other. To understand the Tamil culture and heritage one must learn Tamil language. Tamil as a spoken language heads back to 2,500 years. By attending online Tamil classes to learn Tamil from Powerkid Tamil Academy, you open up a whole world of possibilities. Learn written Tamil and spoken Tamil in English through our online Tamil classes with direct interaction and engagement from native Tamil speakers.
Do you live abroad and wish to take Tamil to the next generation by helping your kids learn Tamil? Here, we from Powerkid Tamil Academy provide one-on-one Tamil classes to help children and adult learn Tamil alphabet, spoken and written Tami in levels from basic to advanced levels. We impart the basics of the Tamil language, while also training the learner to read and write short sentences and also to build a basic conversation. We teach children to read poems, comprehensions, Tamil texts like Kural, Aathichudi, Kondrai Vendhan, Moodurai, Nazhvazhi poems, etc. Learn Tamil easily and effortlessly, from anywhere, anytime from Powerkid.
The Tamil script has a total of 12 vowels. When they appear at the beginning of the syllable, the vowels are written as independent letters. The form depends on their pairing with consonants and whether they are short or long vowels. Long vowels are held two times longer than short vowels. To represent vowels, diacritic marks are added to the end of the consonants in most cases, otherwise to some other locations. Learn written and spoken Tamil in English at Powerkid.
There are a total of 18 basic consonants in Tamil, that are divided into vallinam, mellinam, and idaiyinam which are hard, soft, and medium consonants respectively. Learn Tamil consonants from Powerkid, and learn spoken and written Tamil in English from native speakers.
There are a few consonants borrowed from Sanskrit which are used in contemporary spoken Tamil not much in classical penned Tamil. Learn Tamil consonants and exceptions by signing up to our online Tamil classes from Powerkid Tamil Academy. The letters are enlisted below.
Efficient grasping of Tamil vowels and consonants can be done by hearing them more often. This can be achieved by downloading audio recordings from YouTube or asking a native Tamil speaker to read them aloud for you.
The L-S-R-W defines the four essentials for Tamil language learning. The essential skills required for language learning include Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Mastering all the four skills allow learners to comprehend and produce spoken language for proper and effective interpersonal communication. This is a proven method to impart language education to students and adults. This is a special training methodology equipped in our Powerkid academy.
Expand your Tamil learning horizon by signing up for your Powerkid Tamil online classes at www.powerkidtamil.com to learn written and spoken Tamil through English. We provide fully customized, one-on-one, highly interactive sessions held at various levels with unlimited study resources and tools. Learn Tamil from native Tamil-speaking, well-qualified teachers. Grab the opportunity now! Call us at +1 (512) 575-3590 or +91 74033 33135 and book your demo session.
Powerkid Tamil Academy is on a mission to make learning Tamil easy. With affiliation in progress to the Thanjavur Tamil University, we equip learners with better spoken, written and mastery over one of the worlds oldest language - TAMIL.
c80f0f1006