sign in sign up
<<
Home , Languages of Singapore, Malaysian Tamil, Modern language, Old Tamil, Singapore Tamils, Swiss Tamils

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 STANDARDIZATION OF SPOKEN TAMIL, A DIGLOSSIC FOR TAMIL

Paramasivam Muthusamy1, Rajantheran Muniandy2, N.Nadaraja Pillai3, Silllalee S.Kandasamy4, Sivapalan Govindasamy5

1The author is a Professor in the Department of Foreign , Universiti Putra , Malaysia. 2Professor, Department of Indian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social , of Malay, , Malaysia. 3Lecturer Central Institute of Indian Languages (Rtd), , . 4Assistant Professor, Department of Modern Languages, Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul , Sungai Long Campus, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras 43000, Kajang, 5The author is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Indian Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], nadarajapillai@rediffmail3 . [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Tamil is one of the oldest languages and classical languages of the world. Because of its long history of 2500 or more years of continuous existence with an unbroken chain of language of the mass for communication, it has got diversified varieties, namely, a standard spoken and a written variety or a prestigious variety, with many idiosyncratic uses of the min designated fields. Hence, Tamil is considered as a language. Diglossia refers to a situation where two language varieties occur at the same time. The , on the other hand, is a very strong and vibrant community whose presence has been found in at least 188 countries all over the world. Migration to these countries was in wave after wave in different periods, of which two dominant waves of migration were during the later Chola period and the period of English and French colonization. The Tamil diaspora, though separated by great distances, live with a life-force of oneness and togetherness along with the language and cultural features. They are deeply rooted in a common unique ancient heritage, possessing a glorious and distinguished language. The language use is in differentt stages, from language loss to renowned development of . In this context, there is a need for a common standard spoken variety to be suggested for better development of the language and communication as well. This aims at bringing in a common standardized spoken form so that communicability and comprehensibility is maintained, which will help in the production of literature also throughout the diaspora. Since the spoken variety has crept into the educational system, standardization is inevitable. Therefore, this research has an important role to play to set a model for other languages.

KEYWORDS: Tamil Diaspora, spoken Tamil, diglossic language, Phonological changes . Morphological changes

I. INTRODUCTION

Tamil Language Tamil is one of the oldest languages and classical languages of the world. Because of its long history of 2500 or more years of continuous existence with an unbroken chain of heritage of culture and language of written literature and the language of mass for communication, it has got diversified varieties, namely, a written variety or a prestigious variety, a standard spoken and with many idiosyncratic uses of them in designated fields. The conspicuous originality in its literary traditions and the easy access to the various texts are all unique to the . However, the written and spoken varieties have not changed a lot at least for a period of 1500 years (Shanmugom, 2011). like Tholkapiyam; ecological like Sangam classics dealing with nature, love, valour, etc.; ethical literature like Thirukkural; outstanding epics like Silappathikaram, , etc., the literary wealth of the classical period and the devotional songs such as , Thiruvaasagam, Nalayiradivya prabadam, etc., of the middle period ending 900 A.D. have contributed a lot to the development of the language and its literature (Pakkiyamary, 2008). Tamil also has a very long writing tradition with „Tamizhi‟ as the script from sixth century B, C. onwards, which is proved by the recent excavation in Keeladi, near in (Department of

40

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Archaeology, 2019). Writing provides a way of extending memory by imprinting information in the human brain as quickly as possible. In past centuries, scientists had used writing as one of the "markers" of civilization (Tiroumale Chetty, 1999). It is true that writing systems appear to develop in agricultural and urban , but by no means is it a requirement for civilization. With a long history of literature and spoken tradition, it is but natural that varieties happen to occur in the language in due course, especially in the modern period.

Tamil Diaspora Substantial number of people from many parts of the world have migrated to other countries or continents for a variety of reasons. Among these, some of them had the desire to rule over other regions to establish an extended empire, political or religious pursuit, intension to protect the business communities, the trading possibilities, forced migration of people under colonial power seeking indentured labour, a wish for a better life with improved employment, and increased prosperity, etc. Among them, form part of this migration in an unrestricted way (Asher, 2014). The Tamil diaspora is a very strong and vibrant community whose presence has been in , Greece, and from the very early days of history, when the Tamil people developed commercial ties with various countries all over the world and these have been attested in Sangam Tamil literatures. The Tamils who had a glorious past as seafarers ventured boldly across the world (Daniel Jeyaraj, 2014) since they believed in the of the Sangam poet, Kaniyan PuungunRanaar‟s „yaadum uuree yaavarum keelir‟ „Every country is mine and all citizens are my kinsmen‟ (PuranaanuuRu, 192). Their civilizational heritage remains engrained in them despite settling in many countries of the world. Their connection with their trade with the western and eastern worlds has been documented from the pre-Christian era (Nadaraja , 2018). This early commercial trade, followed by the travel of Buddhist monks, Saivite and Vaishnavite saints to East and South-east Asia, the trade and religious domination during the Pallavas, and then the conquering of Southeast countries by the mighty „later Chola‟ kings of Tamilnadu, etc., resulted in early Tamil settlements in various countries (NadarajaPillai, 2018 & Sarma, 2014). Migrations of the above type changed into contract and indentured labour migrations, in far off western countries and islands during the early colonial periods of British and the French, which especially, materialized after the abolition of slavery in the in 1834 (Kadrivel Sornum, 2016). In due course, this changed into the migration of professionals and other working groups in search of job opportunities, as well as and asylum seekers owing to political and social pressures. This phenomenon, which continued over centuries on a small scale, has in the recent past resulted in mass migration with a common identity on a global level. The two countries where the Tamils are of the natives and continue using Tamil in the day-to-day communication are Tamil Nadu, India with 90% of the population and , where 25% of the population speak Tamil as tongue (Jeevendran Chemen, 2012). Significant Tamil populations are found over a wide range of continents: 1. Asia: Malaysia, , , , (Burma) , , etc. 2. Africa: , , Réunion, etc. 3. America: , , , etc. 4. : , , , Trinidad, etc. 5. and . 6. Europe: , , , , , , , , etc. 7. : , etc. 8. Pacific: , , and 9. The : , , , , , etc. Out of these countries, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada are some of the countries where Tamil is recognized officially in one-way or the other (Sarma, 2014).

41

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 The rich and spirit of oneness is a solidarity endowed with dynamism and growth, consolidated struggle, and continuous suffering. This solidarity has assumed a purpose and direction by the aspiration of a people for the future in which they and their progenies may live in equality and freedom in an emerging one-world society. The era of digital revolution has strengthened the bonds of the Tamil diaspora, developed new cultural, economic, and political togetherness, and deep-rooted kinship ties. In the era of Internet, diasporic groups started to communicate about their homeland, their national identity, their ethnic, social, cultural, linguistic identity, etc., regardless of the time and distance. The Tamil Diaspora‟s passion and love for their language and culture is fast growing and recognized as an international force. Language and culture are two facets of the same identity (Arokianathan, 2012). There are, currently estimated to be, at least one-hundred million Tamil people spread across distant seas, living in more than 188 different countries and islands, including India (Fernando, 2014, pp.10-28). Tamil in the Diaspora The migration of the Tamils to various parts of the world during the19th and 20th centuries caused the journey of the language also along with them. Apart from Tamil Nadu, there are a few countries where Tamil in both the written and spoken Tamil are in vogue. Of them, we discuss here about the following countries for better understanding of the problem. Malaysia After independence, the Tamil language was recognized by the Federal Constitution of Malaysia (Asmah Haji Omar, 2015, p.95). Tamil language and literature are taught in Tamil primary schools, National schools (Krishnana Maniam, 2019, pp.61-62) on demand of the students and in the University of Malaya as a subject. In addition to these, Tamil language based civil society groups like, Malaysia Dravida Cankam, Literary Society etc., contribute to the development of Tamil language. Tamil newspapers, TV channels, etc., contribute to the retention, rebuilding and development of Tamil language and culture in Malaysia. (Mahalingam Marimuthu, 2014). The Tamils in Malaysia have been contributing to the development of Tamil language, literature and technical terms and development in the internet (Muthusamy, 2014). This has taken Tamil to greater heights throughout the globe. Apart from these contributions, they face some problems also. The diglossic character of Tamil has been a problem for the Tamils migrated to other parts of the world including Malaysia. There has been a dilemma among the Tamil speaking communities as to whether to teach the spoken or the written variety (Paramasivam Muthusamy, Kanthimathi, Potchelvi Govindasamy & Atieh Farashaiyan, 2016). They end up with teaching written variety since that is the common unifying Tamil being used throughout the Tamil diaspora. However, the repercussions are too many. Once they see a movie or read a short story, view an interview in the spoken variety, they will have all the problems of listening to them. Secondly, when the learners go home from school, the parents will also be talking in spoken variety, which will unmotivate them. This is not a problem in India and Sri Lanka, where both the varieties are used. As for as the diaspora Tamils in Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, etc., countries are concerned the situations is entirely different (Sornum, 2014). Singapore Tamil is one of the four official . is provided up to high school level. The system envisages three types of courses: one for the learners who are not much competent- an ordinary Tamil type called „vazhakkam‟ meaning common; the second one is for learners who would prefer to go for technical studies later- technical Tamil textbook called „thozhilnuTpam‟ and the third one is for fast learners called „viraivu‟ meaning „fast‟. The deep-rooted „World Tamil teachers Association‟ having Singapore as the headquarters has been doing yeoman services to the Tamil teachers around the globe. (Manian, 2014) South Africa Tamils migrated to South Africa during the colonial period as labourers in the plantations and construction works. The Tamil migration started from 1860 first as indentured labourers and most of them were from the then in India. „The hard struggle of the Indian Tamil migrants against the discrimination also forged a bond of Indianness, which at some level glossed over the internal differences. This point is powerfully evident in the documentation on the political struggle of the South African Indians‟ (Ganesh, 2010). Though the 42

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 -Tamil linguistic and cultural differences erupted then and there early as in India, the intermarriage circles between these two groups had united them. However, the loss of cultural features and the loss of fluency in their mother tongue, which has happened in the current generation of youth, had, to some extent, erased the Hindi- Tamil divide and united them as South African Indians. However, the loss of cultural features among the Tamils were regained by the construction of Temples and as on now their cultural identity as Tamils is remained in the temples where the Tamils insist that they should identify themselves with the dress patterns of the Tamilnadu Tamils for both the men and women and boys and girls. In fact, the loss of language has been compensated by the religious activities (, 2014). In the early part of the 20th century, as second and third generation migrants, free from indentured labourers, started going in for higher education. There was enough emphasis for learning Tamil. This was, informally, done earlier in the „Tinnai Palli‟ or veranda schools. They have now formal recognized Tamil schools and they study Tamil and celebrate its literature. had its influence on both the language and culture. Interreligious marriage became common and they follow patrilineal norms with regard to the of the offspring. Insofar is concerned, the Christian terms like „prayer‟ and „service‟ have replaced the words „worship‟ and „ceremony‟ respectively (Jayanthi, 2014). Tamil Associations, to mention a few, South African Tamil Federation, Tamil Advancement Society, Saiva Siddhantha Kazhakam of South Africa, etc., struggle very much to retain the Tamil identity and Tamil language. However, since the 1970s the importance of mother tongue education among them has reduced sharply. The loss of the languages not only of the Tamils but of the Indians in had happened because of the upwardly movement of the Indians in the social structure of South Africa and the use of English and the fluency in it has given the Indians an edge over the Africans. In the 1991 census almost 95% of the Indian have declared English as their mother tongue, since their ethnic language is no more the home language (GOI, 2004). Nevertheless, the religious and cultural activities continue to be salient even if the language of home became English and the use of Tamil is restricted to temples (Jayanthi, 2014). Mauritius Mauritius stands as a unique place where various languages, cultures and coexist harmoniously with the support of the Government and the respective countries of origin. In the rainbow nation of Mauritius, The Tamils who have emigrated mainly from Tamil Nadu, driven by a variety of reasons, have always been keen to preserve their cultural heritage and maintain their ethnic identity in a spirit of unity in adversity. They have kept alive their ancestral language, culture and religion. (Sornum, 2014). Governor Dumas introduced the first contractual workers consisting of masons and other artisans about 100 in number to Mauritius and Reunion from in 1729. At the time of Governor Labourdonnais‟s arrival on 4th June 1735, Tamils constituted 33% of the non-Europeans in the island. Many Tamils came of their own free will including traders and goldsmiths occupied Port Louis and engaged in various business activities as early as 1770s. Starting from 1876, bank notes in Mauritius have had Tamil text and is maintained to date. Important contracts were signed in Tamil notably in 1784 and 1786.Tamil was the second Indian language after Hindi to be used in newspapers. (Pyneesamy Padayachy, 2014). In 1947, a new constitution came into force in Mauritius whereby franchise was extended based on simple literacy test. Tamil became one of the languages officially recognized for assessing literacy. In 2001 The Tamil Cultural Centre Trust was established and in 2008 the Tamil Speaking Union Bill was passed for the development of culture and language respectively (Tiroumale Chetty, 2014). The late 1950s and early 1960s was a crucial period in the history of Tamil Socio-cultural development because it triggered a series of processes for ethno-cultural identity assertion and revitalisation. Political parties like the „Tamil United Party (TUP)‟ and the „Union Tamoule de Maurice (UTM)‟ worked together for the development of Tamil Education. Another support for Tamil language preservation and promotion came from its institutionalization (Uma Allaghery, 2018, pp.41). Governments decision to introduce the teaching of Tamil and other Asian languages as well, came at a time when there was a pressing need to check the decline of Indian languages in Mauritius (Sornum, 2014). As far as Tamil Education is concerned, the opportunity to learn the language up to B.A. level is provided in the Island Nation. The main problem of learning Tamil is that it is not the home language of the Tamils. At home, they speak Creole the link language of the country and hence theoretically, learning Tamil should have been a teaching.

43

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 The second problem the learners face is, as said earlier, the diglossic nature of the language. In the classroom the interactivity goes on in the written variety of Tamil to facilitate the learners and the use of spoken variety has been neglected and hence the day-to-day communication hampers. When they view Tamil films and TV programmes produced in Tamilnadu the comprehension reduces considerably because of the use of spoken variety in them. Here is no doubt that they enjoy the movie and get plenty of cultural features (Sornum, 2014). Sri Lanka Tamil is one of the two national languages of Sri Lanka and enjoys all the facilities given for the development of the language in education, and administration in the north and east parts of the Island nation. It will not be justified, if we call the Tamils in Sri Lanka as migrants. During the colonial period, the British took the migrant Tamils for the tea plantations where they have settled as „Indian Tamils‟. In the north and east part of the country, the majority of speakers are Tamils and they belong to those areas. Many opportunities are given to the children to learn Tamil up to B.A. level. There is Tamil medium also for studying other subjects as well. Since they speak Tamil at home, there is not much learning Tamil. In the recent past, there are postgraduate studies in Tamil medium also in University. The Tamil of Ezham has a special spoken variety, which is not mutually intelligible, largely, to the other Tamil speakers. The pre-primary education is given by a NGO called „Aaruthal‟ in the Tamil speaking areas. The Government schools have classes from standard one to high school and then in the (Sundaram, 2015 & Sanmugadas, 2014). Diglossia

„Diglossia, according to Ferguson (1959). is a situation, in which two varieties of the same language are used in a linguistic situation but with distinct functions.‟ Diglossia refers to a situation where two language varieties of a language occur at the same time for different uses. (Nadaraja Pillai, 1984) The term diglossia has not only become widely accepted by sociolinguists and sociologists of language, but it has been, further extended and refined. Initially it was used in connection with a society that used two varieties or languages for intra-societal communication. (Fishman, 1965) The spoken Tamil variety, called „Koduntamil‟ has a number of regional and social . Even otherwise, there is a standard spoken Tamil evolved, which is being used in the textbooks prepared for teaching Tamil as second language (Rajaram, 1979, Nadaraja Pillai, 1988, Deivasundaram & Gopal, 1985) At the same time, the written variety, called „Centamil‟ coexists along with the standard spoken variety in the Tamil speech community. Therefore, with the two main varieties Tamil is considered as a diglossic language. The written variety of Tamil is used in formal situations, in education, platform speeches, newspapers, etc., and the spoken variety is used for day-to-day communication, in modern non-historical Tamil films, novels, etc. However, the roles of these two varieties are not watertight compartments. There is a mixing also stated from the recent past. With this background, it is very clear that to be called a competent Tamil speaker, one must have native like skills in both the varieties. Absence of any one variety would mean that the person has insufficient competence. The Tamil diaspora, though separated by great distances, lives with a life-force of oneness and togetherness along with the language and cultural features. They are deeply rooted in a common unique ancient heritage, possessing a glorious culture and distinguished language. The language use is in different stages, from language loss to renowned development of literature. (Thiroumale Chetty, 2014) Among the diasporic countries, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka have accounted for the changes in spoken dialects, both regional and social. According to Chapter IV of the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka, the Sinhala and are both official and national languages of the country. The Sri Lankan Tamil dialects or known once as „Ceylon Tamil dialects‟ form a group of Tamil dialects in the modern Sri Lanka. These dialects retains many of the features. This is distinct from the modern Tamil dialects spoken in Tamil Nadu and thus became a relic area. The Sri Lankan Tamil has four regional dialects, namely, Jaffna, , up country with Indian origin Tamils and Tamil dialects. The spoken variations in Sri Lanka although different from those of Tamil Nadu they share some common features between the southern dialects of Tamil Nadu and the northern Sri Lankan Tamil dialect. Sri Lankan Tamil dialects retain many words and grammatical forms that are not in everyday use in India. One of the main features of The Sri Lankan Tamil dialects is that they are less influenced by and other western languages, which ruled Sri Lanka before its independence unlike Tamil Nadu(Muthusamay, Wickramasinghe & Shanmuganathan, 2014). In general Sri Lankan Tamil dialects are considered to be more conservative than the rest of the Tamil diaspora Tamil dialects. Although, it is quite distinct from the spoken Tamil dialects of Tamil Nadu, it shares the same standard written Tamil as in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. 44

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 In Tamil Nadu there are, in fact, many social dialects along with five regional dialects. In Tamil Nadu, there are five regional dialects (Gnanasundaram, 1980). They are: 1. Northern Dialect: the districts of , , etc. 2. Central Dialect: the districts of Tiruchi, , etc. 3. Western dialect: the districts of , Salem, etc. 4. Southern Dialect: the districts of Madurai, Thirunelveli, etc. 5. Nanjilnadu Dialect: the District of Kanyakumari, etc. In Malaysia there is a spoken variety devoid of social and regional features. This would mean that the spoken variety in Malaysia and Singapore are going towards a standard spoken Tamil. The other countries where have migrated may still preserve their spoken variety. However, a special study is needed for this purpose. On the other countries like Mauritius, South Africa, etc. need support for the development of Spoken Tamil for full communication. The regional dialects on the other hand are to be studied across Tamil diaspora, which is yet to materialize. Apart from these four countries, there are many other countries, where Tamil is spoken, where a dialect study is to be taken up.

Standard spoken Tamil variety In this context of having a range of spoken Tamil, there is a need for a common standard spoken variety to be proposed for better development of the language and communication as well. The article aims at bringing in a common standardized spoken form so that communicability and comprehensibility is maintained, which will help in the production of literature also throughout the diaspora. Since the spoken variety has crept into the educational system, standardization is inevitable. Therefore, this research has an important role to play to set a model for other languages as well. The spoken variety can be derived from the written variety and many attempts were made and suggested rules for the same (Karunakaran, 1974, Nadaraja Pillai, 1986). The main question as to why there is such a movement in the Tamil speaking community to have a written and a spoken variety though distinct can be arrived at by applying certain rules. The changes may be attributed to 1. The long history of the existence of the language without any break. There were very little variations in the spoken forms till the end of 11th Century AD. After which even in the literatures named „Sitrilakkiyangal‟ spoken variety has slowly started appearing and during the period starting 16th Century spoken Tamil changes were attested also as in „Ananda Rangap Pillai‟s diaries‟(Nadaraja Pillai, 1991). 2. The psychological factors such as economy of speech and economy of effort. Economy of speech keeps the utterance short and sweet. Word/ economy is the practice of using fewer words / shortened to say more. Economy of effort is the tendency of the speakers to act efficiently and minimize the energy for the production of the utterance. Economy of effort, a popular notion in contemporary speech research, predicts that dynamic extremes such as the maximum speed of articulatory movement are avoided as much as possible. These lead to the linguistic features given under number (3)

Examples. vandu-koNDirukkir-een > vandu-kiTTirukkiR-een „I am coming.‟ PaaDu-kkiR-een > paaDu-R-een „I sing.‟ 3. The linguistic features like (1) simplification, (2) palatalization, (3) nasalization, (4) assimilation, etc., are normally found to be used in the phonological and morphological levels. Example 1. veeNDum > veeNum „want‟ 2. paDi-tt-een > paDi-cc-een „I read.‟ 3. va-nd-oom > va-nd-oo(m) „We came.‟ 4. uN+t+een > uN-T-een „I ate.‟

45

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 II. CONVERSION RULES FROM WRITTEN TAMIL TO SPOKEN TAMIL The standardization of the spoken Tamil was attempted by many scholars in their teaching materials (Karunakaran, 2005; Deivasundaram & Gopal, 1985; Gnanasundaram, 1976; Kumaraswamy Raja & Doraisamy, 1973; Nadaraja Pillai, 1976 ; Rajaram, 1979; Schiffman, 1983; Shanmugom pillai, 1967 & Zvelabil, 1959).

The conversion rules, attempted and proposed here are aiming towards a standard spoken Tamil and standard of writing spoken Tamil. This may be possible among the Tamil communities of India, Malaya, Singapore, and Mauritius. Nevertheless, it may not be possibly accepted by the Sri Lankan Tamils since there are variations in these rules when compared to that of their variety. Still this article expects that there must be a uniform spoken variety. The illiterate community may take time to come up with this envisioned changing linguistic behaviour. However, the attempt would lead definitely to a fruitful intermixing of the spoken and written varieties. Though the illiterates speak dialects of their own, they comprehend completely the conversation in any dialect as used in the movies (Perumal, Muthusamy, Salleh, Krishnamoorthy, 2015).

This section on conversion rules is divided into two parts as follows: 1. Phonological changes 2. Morphological changes

Section 1. Phonological Changes Most of the conversion rules are on the pronunciation aspect since the rules of written Tamil are rigid and needs grammatical approval. The spoken Tamil variations are perhaps due to economy of speech, which makes the pronunciation easy and effortless. This leads to shortening of longer morphological . The study also gives exceptions or variations to the rules, if available. Explanatory notes are also given for better understanding of the rules or concepts(Sinayah, Muthusamy, Narayanan, Rahim, 2016). Rule-1. Initial /i-/ of a word / of the initial becomes /e-/ // > /eDam/ /ilai/ > /elai/ > /ele/ Exceptions a) The /i-/ of pronouns will not change. ivan „he‟ ivaL „she‟ ivar „he- hon. idu „it / this‟ ivarkaL „they – proximate‟ b) If there is a meaning change because of this phonological change, the /i-/ will not change. ingu „here‟ iDi „thunder‟ Rule- 2. Initial /u-/ of a word becomes /o-/ /-uDal/ > /odal/ > /oDalu/ [Apply rule no. 3] /uraL > /oral/ > /oralu/ [Apply rule no. 3] Rule-3. If the last sound of a word is /-l/, or /-r/, or /-L/, it will get an enunciative /-u/ avar > avaru „he-hon.‟ uDal > oDalu „body‟ aaL > aaLu „person‟ vaal > vaalu „tail‟ 46

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 kaal > kaalu „leg‟ naaL > naaLu „dy‟ Variation If the word is a monosyllabic one with a short vowel, the final doubles. kal >kallu „stone‟ kaL >kaLLu „toddy‟ sol >sollu „word‟

Rule-4. Non-initial /-ai/ of a word becomes /-e/ kaDai > kaDe „shop‟ talai > tale „head‟ maalai >maale „garland‟ paalai > pale „desert‟ kaDaiyai >kaDeye „ shop-obj,‟ maalaiayai > maaleye „ garland-obj.‟ Rule-5. Word final /-L/ in words with more will be dropped. avaL > ava „she‟ makaL > maka „daughter‟ niingaL > niinga „you‟ Section 2. Personal Pronouns

Rule-6. Personal Pronouns change as follows: naam>naama „we incl.‟ naankaL > naanka „we excl.‟ niinkaL > niinka „you pl.‟ niir> niiru „you sg.‟ avaL > ava „she‟ avar > avaru „he hon.‟ avarkaL > avanka „they hum.‟

Section 2. Morphological changes 2.1. Case markers Rule- 7. Objective case / marker (Acc.) /-ai > -e/ avanai > avane „ he-obj. / him‟ PaaDattai > paaDatte „ lesson- obj.‟ avaLai > avaLe „ she-obj. / her‟ 47

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Rule- 8. marker /aal > aala/ kattiyaal > kattiyaala „with knife‟ peenaavaal > peenaavaala „with pen‟ Note: There is a morphophonemic change. When a word ending with /-i/ or /-ai/ and a vowel beginning word/ is added, the sound /-y-/ comes as a glide. When a word ending with /-aa/ and a vowel beginning word/suffix is added, the sound /-v-/ comes as a glide. Rule- 9. marker /-il > ile/, if the ends with /-i or –ai/ (Loc.) aRaiyil > aRaiyile „in the room‟ taraiyil > taraiyile „on the floor‟ kalluuriyil > kalluuriyile „ in the ‟ cainaavil > cainaavulee „in china‟ indiyaavil > indiyaavulee „in India‟ peenaavil > peenaavil „in pen‟ /-il > /-lee / in other places. maisuuril > maisuurlee „in Mysore‟ peijingil > peijinglee „in Beinjing‟ vakuppil > vakuppulee „in the class room‟ viiTTil > viiTTulee „in the house‟ naTTil > naaTTulee „in the country‟ pinaangil > pinaangkulee Rule- 10. Locative case for animate /-iDam > kiTTee/ avaniDam > avankiTTe „to/ with him‟ avaLiDam > ava kiTTe „to/ with her‟ aasiriyariDam > aasiriyaru kiTTe „to/ with the teacher‟ kangaaniyiDam > kangaani kiTTe „ to /with the supervisor‟ Rule- 11. Possessive case marker (Poss.)/-uDaiya > / –ooDa/ avanuDaiya > avanooDa „ his‟ makaLuDaiya > makaLooDa „ daughter‟s‟ ennuDaiya > ennooDa „ my‟ muurttiyuDaiya > muurttiyooDa „ Murthy‟s‟ Note: There are some teaching materials, which use the spoken possessive case marker as /-uDaiya/ > /-ooDe/. This pronunciation variation is available in Malaysia also.

48

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Section 2.2. Tense, 2.2.1. Past tense Rule- 12. The past tense marker /-tt- / becomes /-cc-/, if the verb ends with either /-i/ or /-ai/ paDi-tt-een > paDi-cc-een „read-I.‟ naDi-tt- > naD-cc-aan „ acted-he.‟ maDi-tt-aaL > maDi-ccaa „folded-she.‟ karaittaan > karaiccaan> kareccaan „dissolved-he‟ Note: Note that the examples are in finite - verb / conjugated forms. The structure is /verb root + tense marker + Person-Number-Gender marker (PNG)/.Hence the meaning in English is written as „read-I‟, „folded-she‟, etc.

Rule- 13. The past tense marker /-nt-/ becomes /-nj-/, if the verb root ends with either /-i/ or /-ai/ varaintaan > varaincaan > varencaan „drew - he‟ maRaintathu > maRaincatu „disappeared-it‟ paDinjatu > paDinjatu „settled own –it‟ maDintatu > maDinjatu „folded-it‟

>

Rule- 14. The past tense marker /-in- / becomes /-n-/ ezutinaan > ezutunaan „wrote-he‟ peesinaan > peesunaan „spoke –he‟ anuppinaan > anuppunaan Rule- 15. The past tense marker / -nt-/ becomes /-nj-/, if the verb ends with either /-i/ or /-ai/ viRRaan > vittaan „ sold-he‟ 2.2.2. Present Tense To understand some of the verb features like tense markers, it is necessary to know the concept of strong and week verbs (Nadaraja Pillai, 1986). Strong verbs are those which take /-kk-/ as a marker for adding the infinitive marker /-a/ Example paar +-kk-+-a > paarkka „to see‟ koDu+-kk-+ -a > koDukka „to give‟ Week verbs are those which do not take /-kk-/ as verb marker with infinitive marker /-a/ peesu+-a > peesa „to speak‟ ezutu+-a > ezuta „to write‟

49

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Rule- 16. The present tense marker /-kkiR- > -kuR-/ Sometimes there is no change in the marker. It remains same for strong verb. paarkkiReen > paarkkuReen / paarkkiReen „see-I‟ paDikkiRaan > paDikkuRaan / padikkiRaan „reads-he‟ koDukkiRaaL > kodukkuRaa > koDukkiRaa „gives-she‟ Rule- 17. The present tense marker /-kiR- > -R-/ with weak verbs ezutukiReen > ezuthuReen „read-I‟ peesukiRaan > peesuRaan „reads -he‟ ooDukiRoom > ooDuRoom „run-we‟ Rule-18. When a singular Non-human is used as the subject of a sentence, the present tense marker /-kiR-/ >/ ø /. It means that the marker is dropped. Varu-kiR-atu > varu-tu „comes-it‟ Kizampu-kiR-atu > kiLampu-tu „starts-it‟ ooDu-kiR-atu > ooDu-tu 2.2.3. Future Tense There is no change in the future tense markers /-pp-/ and /–v- /or /-um/ with both strong and weak verbs. paDi-pp-een > paDi-pp-een „will read-I‟ ezutuveen > ezutuveen „will write-I‟ ooDum > ooDum “will run-it‟ Section 3.3. PNG markers [Person, Number, Gender markers] The PNG markers change except for three persons, namely, first person singular and plural and third person masculine singular. Rule-19. The PNG marker for second person singular pronoun /-aay/ > /-ee/ nii vantaay > nii vantee „ You came.‟ Rule-20. The PNG marker for second person plural pronoun /-iirkaL/ > /-iinka/ niinkaL > niinka vantiinka „You–pl. came.‟ Rule-21. The PNG marker for third person female singular pronoun /-aaL/ > /-aa/ avaL vantaaL > ava vantaa. „She came.‟ Rule-22. The PNG marker for third person singular pronoun /-aar/ > /-aaru/ avar vantaar > avaru vantaaru. „He-hon. came.‟ Rule-23. The PNG marker for third person human plural pronoun /-aarkaL/ > /-aanka/ avarkaL vantaarkaL > avanka vantaanka. „They-hum. came.‟ Rule-24. The PNG marker for third person neuter singular pronoun /-atu / > /-uccu/ atu vantatu > atu vantuccu „It came.‟

50

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Rule-25. The PNG marker does not change. However, the singular form is used with ellaam „all‟ avai vantana > atu ellaam vantuccu. „They-neut.pl. all came.‟ Section 3.4. Plural formation Rule- 26. The plural marker 1. /-kaL/ > /-nka/. 2. /-rkaL/ > /-nka/ puttanankaL > puttakanka „books‟ marankaL > maranka „trees‟ avarkaL > avanka „they‟ maaNavarkaL > maaNavanka „students‟ Section 3.5. Some grammatical forms Rule-27. The conditional marker /-aal /> /-aa/ vantaal > vantaa „if come…‟ paarttaal > paarttaa „if see…‟ Rule 28. The negative verbal participle form changes as /-aamal / > /-aama/ paDikkaamal > padikkaama „with out reading‟

Rule-29. The completive verb form /aayiRRu > aaccu/ PaDittu aayiRRu > padittaaccu „ Reading is over.‟ Rule-30. The continuous marker (auxiliary verb) /-koNdiru > -kiTTiru/ paDittukoNdirukkiReen > paDiccukkiTTirukkiReen „I am reading.‟ Rule-31. The completive auxiliary verb /vidu > -Du / ezutividukiReen > ezutiDuReen „ I complete writing.‟ ezutiviTTeen > ezutiTTeen „I completed writing.‟ Rule-31. The reflexive auxiliary verb /koL > /-ku-/ or /–kiDu/ ezutikkoNDeen > ezutikkiTTeen „I wrote myself.‟ ezutikoLveen > ezutikkuveen „I will write myself.‟ ezutikkoLReen > ezutikkuReen „I write myself.‟

III. CONCLUSION

The paper discussed about the need for a standard spoken Tamil for the Tamil diasporic countries for the better understanding of the language use in the Tamil Main land, namely, Tamil Nadu. It is a widespread truth and practice that some of the Tamil TV channels reach about 88 countries. In other words, the Tamil speaking population is exposed to films/dramas/ serials using spoken Tamil with the features of region al and social dialects along with the standard spoken form. There is a tendency of viewing Tamil movies also. This practice also suggests the undisputable need for a standard spoken Tamil. Nevertheless, the questions raised and solutions offered in this paper become valid. The thirty-two phonological and morphological conversion rules for the derivation of spoken variety from the written variety of Tamil will help in the situations discussed about the Tamil diasporic countries. This move will arrest further divergence of spoken Tamil in future. This will solve many problems, like uniform spelling system for writing spoken Tamil, which is very much diversified. Further, it requires more research about the spoken variety of Tamil in other countries as well. The Malaysian 51

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 experience on the standardization of spoken Tamil may be taken for further consolidation, since the Tamil speaking community has already stepped into a common spoken variety.

IV. REFERENCES

[1] Arokianathan, S. (2012). Spoken Tamil. : A-Team Info media Publishers Pvt. Ltd. [2] Asher, R.E. (2014). “Tamil Diaspora”, in G. John Samuel and R., M.., Paulraj (eds.), Tamil [3] Diaspora. (pp. 1-2) Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. [4] Asmah Haji Omar. (2015). Languages in the Malaysian Education System: Monolingual strands in multilingual settings. : Routledge. [5] Bonta Stevens.(2003). Contact-Induced Morpho-syntactic Realignment in Negombo. [6] Daniel, Jeyaraj. (2014). “Tamil Diaspora: basic concepts, Examples, Developments, Challenges and opportunities”, In G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.), Tamil Diaspora. (pp. 4-8). Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. [7] Fishermen‟s Tamil. South Asian Language Analysis Roundtable XXIII. (October 12) The [8] University of Texas at Austin. [9] Deivasundaram & Gopal. (1985). Tamil. Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. [10] Department of Archaeology. (2019). Keeladi. Cennai: . [11] Ferguson, Charles, A. (1959). Diglossia. (15, 325-340). [12] Fishman, Joshua, A. (1965). Bilingualism, intelligence and language learning. Journal, (49: 227-237). [13] Fernando, Albert. (2014). “ThiraikaDalooDi”, In G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.), Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.10 - 28) [14] Ganesh, Kamala. (2010). “Beyond Historical Origins: Negotiating Tamilians in South Africa”. Journal of Sociological Sciences. (1-2.3, pp.25-27). [15] Gnanasundaram, V. (1980). “A Programme for Teaching the formal and Informal varieties of Tamil”, in M. et al. (eds.), A Festschrift for Prof. M.S. Pillai. Madurai: [16] M.S. Pillai Felicitation Committee (pp.275-282). [17] Jayanthi, R. (2014). “Tamil Diaspora in South Africa and Their Connection with Homeland [18] Through Cultural Linkages”, in G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.) Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp. 87-97) [19] Jeevendran Chemen. (2012). Spoken Tamil: the Easy Way. Book-1. Mauritius: The Tamil [20] Speaking Union. [21] Kadrivel Sornum. (2016). Tamil Culture in Mauritius. Chennai; Institute of Asian [22] Studies. [23] Karunakaran, K. (2005). Standard Spoken Tamil. Michigan: Northside Publications. [24] Krishnana Maniam. (2019). “Creating a Cultural Community Through Literary Eliments of Teaching and Learning”, in Rajantheran et.al (Eds), Jurnal of Tamil Peraivu. (Vol. 8:2, pp.61-65). [25] Kuiper, L., B., J. (1964). Note on Old Tamil and Jaffna Tamil. Indo-Iranian Journal. Springer [26] Netherlands. (March 6 (1): pp.52–64). [27] Kumaraswamy, N & Dorasamy (1973). Conversational Tamil. : Annamalai [28] University. [29] Letchumanan, K., Muthusamy, P., Govindasamy, P., Farashaiyan, A. (2016). Online Interactive Activities to Learn Epic by Primary Tamil Students. [30] Mahalingam Marimuthu. (2014). “A Profile of Tamils in Malaysia”, in G. John Samuel and [31] R.M.Paulraj (eds.) Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.81-84) [32] Manian, Subramaniyan. (2014). “Singapur Tamizharkal”, in G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.), Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.85-86). [33] Muthusamy, P. (2014). Codeswitching in communication: A Socio-linguistic Study of [34] Malaysian students. [35] Muthusamy, P., Wickramasinghe, C., N., Shanmuganathan, T. (2014). Topological socio- [36] Cultural Evolution a Predictor of Ethnic Conflicts in Multi-ethnic Societies. [37] Nadaraja Pillai, N. (1984). “Vazhakku Verupaadukal, Vazhakku Ilakkiyangal, Vazhakku Ilakkiya Ezhuththukkuuddalkal”, in S.Agesthialingom, et al. (Ed.) Mozhiyiyal. (8.1& 2. pp. 33-80). [38] Nadaraja Pillai, N. (1991). Mozhiyiyal Ceythikal. in K.P. Aravanan (Ed.) Research papers on [39] Anandaranga Pillai Diary. Ondicherry: Tamil publication Divison, (pp.44-61). [40] Nadaraja Pillai, N. (2018). “Contributions of the Tamils to the Writing Systems of [41] Some South-East Asian Countries”, Language in India. (Vol. 18:1).

52

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 [42] Pakkiyamary. (2008).Vakaimai Nookkil Tamil Ilakkiya Varalaaru. Chennai: New century [43] book house [P] Ltd. [44] Perumal, T., Muthusamy, P., Salleh, C.I., Krishnamoorthy, K. (2015). Discourse features in Thelyrics of the Tamil song 'Annaiyin Karuvil' [45] Pyheesamy Padayachy, (2014). “Tamils in Mauritius before 1834”, in G.John Samuel and [46] R.M.Paulraj (eds.) Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.103-105) [47] Rajaram,S. (1979). An Intensive Course in Tamil. Mysuru: Central Institute of Indian Languages. [48] Sanmugadas, A. (2014). “Teaching Tamil to Diasporic Children”, in G.John Samuel and [49] R.M.Paulraj (eds.) Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.59-62) [50] Sarma, S., S. (2014). “Asiyaavil Tamilzharkalin Aalumai”, in G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.) Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.35-40). [51] Schiffman, H. (1983). Spoken Tamil. Seatle: University of Washington. [52] Shanmugom, C. Classical , in. K.A Guna sekaran and C. jean Lawrence (Eds) Ulaga Semmozhikal. Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. [53] Sinayah, M., Muthusamy, P., Narayanan, K., Rahim, N., B., A. 2(016). Expressing Emotions in words: Facebook text-based comments in Tamil. [54] Sornum, Khesaven. (2014). “Building Process and Maintenance of Tamil Identity in Mauritius”, in G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.), Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies. (pp.107- 114). [55] Sundaram, Divakalala. (2015). Aruthal. Jaffnma: ARuthal Publications. [56] Thiroumalechetty, P. (2014). “Tamil language and culture in Mauritius- a Historical [57] Perspective”, in G.John Samuel and R.M.Paulraj (eds.) Tamil Diaspora. Chennai: [58] Institute of Asian Studies. (pp. 115-119). [59] Uma Allaghery, (2018). Problem and Solution in the Implimentation of Communication Skils in the Primary Schools of Mauritius”, in Rajantheran et.al (Eds), Jurnal of Tamil Peraivu. (Vol. 7:2 pp.40-47). [60] Zvelabil, K. (1959). “Dialects of Tamil I & II” Archiv Orientalni. 27. Prague. [61] Zvelabil, K. (1960). “Dealects of Tamil III.” Archiv Orientalni. 28. Prague. [62] Day . (2018). What are the World’s Oldest Languages? History- languages

53