Download - Tamil Script Book | sarvabhashin

7/22/2019 Tamil Script Book | sarvabhashin

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t m

Tamil

sarvabhshin


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Script


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The Tamil letters and words described in this book are each

accompanied by a pronunciation key in the International PhoneticAlphabet (IPA). Please refer to these IPA keys for the exact

pronunciation of a Tamil letter or word.

The IPA is a scientific notation used for accurately transcribing the

sounds of most human languages. More about the IPA can be

found at http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/ and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa.

The similarities describedin this book between the pronunciations

of Tamil letters and corresponding English letters are only

guidelines and should be considered as such.
http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipahttp://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/


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http://tiny.cc/sarvabhashin

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k

This letter has a sound similar to the underlined letter(s) below

skip

duck


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This letter also has a sound similar to the underlined letter(s) below

go

game


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This is the letter weve just seen

k


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p


speak

top


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b


bat

boat


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These are the letters weve seen so far

k

p b


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catch

beach


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badge

jump


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s


sit

see


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These are the letters weve seen so far

k

p b

s

The sounds of these letters are all called consonants


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This sound is pronounced similar to

but

month

until

This is called a vowel sound


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Look at these letters

k

p b

s


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In short

k

-

=

k

p b p b

s s

Since the letters on the right

are made up of a consonant anda vowel sound,

lets call them comboletters


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Heres another sign with a vowel sound

i

This sign has a sound similar to the underlined letter(s) below

happy

This sign is written aftera letter


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These are some combo letters

with the sign for i

ki i

pi bi

i i si

Note that the sign above the letter is removed for writing this sign


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In short

k

-

+

=

ki i

p b pi bi

s i i si


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u


putpull


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This sign also has a sound similar to

birdpurse


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These are some combo letters with the sign weve just seen

The sign for the vowel u/changes shapedepending on the letter to which it is attached

ku

k

u

pup

bu

b

u

u

su

s



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And again, in short

k

-

+

=

ku

k

u

p bpu

p

bu

b

s

u

u

su

s

Get the idea?!


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These letters look similar

k k ki i kuk

u

s s i i si u

u

sus


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Look at these sequences

made from the letters and signs weve just seen

k pb

ki pib

ku pub


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Some more sequences


kb p

kib pi

kub pu


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Notice the pattern?

When the first letter in a word,

and its derivatives are usually pronouncedk

k kb

ki kib

ku kub


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But when notthe first letter in a word,

and its derivatives are usually pronounced

k p

ki pi

ku pu


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p

pb p

pib pi

pub pu


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b

pb kb

pib kib

pub kub


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Now look at these sequences


k pb

ki pib

ku pub


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Some more sequences


kb p

kip pi

kub pu


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Have a look again

at these sequences in particular

ku pub

kub pu


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Notice the pattern?

When the first vowel in a word,

and its derivatives are usually pronouncedu

ku kub

pub kub

ku pub

kub pu


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But when notthe first vowel in a word,


k pb kb p

ki pib kip pi

ku pub kub pu


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So

Beginning of a word Elsewhere in a word

k ki i ku

Beginning of a word Elsewhere in a word

p b pi bi

pu bThere are some exceptions to this pattern

which well come across as we go on


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and its combo letters can be pronouncedeither with or with s

This depends on the dialect of Tamil

So you can get away with either

Happy?

In this book, well stick with the s pronunciation

for the most part


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Now look at these sequences of letters

kk kki kk

pp ppi pp

i

So

When a combo letter appears on its own, its pronunciation may vary

depending on its position in a word

like we saw on the previous few pages

But when it is doubled, its pronunciation is fixed

as shown above

Yay!


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These are some actual Tamil words

Can you read them?


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Here are their pronunciations and meanings

s sbi sub

plus curse auspicious

ps kus ku

cow flatulence splinter

pkk pii pi

lateral, on the side jasmine madness

ppi sippi kuppi

chaff oyster bottle, flask

kkk ukk ppp

vomit, spew dried ginger division, classification


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j


yo-yo

young


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r


the Italian wordRoma

This is a rolled /r/, as in Spanish or Italian


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l


lad

luck


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van

victory


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These are the basic letters weve just seen

j r

l


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This is how the vowel is written on these letters

j r

l



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This is how the vowel i is written on these letters

ji ri

li i



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This is how the vowel u / is written on these letters

juj

rur

lu

l

u



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These are all the various basic and combo letters weve seen thus far

j j ji juj

r r ri

ru

r

l l li

lu

l

i

u


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l l li lul

iu


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These combo letters with the vowel u / have a similar shape

ku

k

u

ru

r

As do these

pu

p

bu

b

su

s

u

ju

j

u

This letter forms a combo letter with u /

with a shape different from the rest

lu

l


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Can you read these Tamil words?


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ur1 irl1 rjil

wall finger, toe train

il1 ikkl1 kspp1

go away, go off hiccup bitterness

prpp pp sipp1

lentils classroom red

sirpp2 kulkk plkkl1

laughter shake, jolt pronunciation

1 is pronounced like a in ago2 is pronounced like i inpin


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n


no

new


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r


the Italian word Roma

This is a rolled /r/, as in Spanish or Italian

That is, its pronunciation is the same as


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n r


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This is how the vowels , i and u are written on these basic letters

n r

ni ri

nu

n

ru

r



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n n ni nu ,n

r r ri ru , r


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r ri rur

tr tri tr

The double letter sounds like

tr in tree


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lul nun rur


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l l li lul

i

u

n n ni

nu

n


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Can you read these Tamil words?


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sni kri sinsinn

inn

Saturn curry

Shiva, name of

a Hindu godsmall

ptri sutr kjir

about circular motion rope

knr pinr krpp

calf,

young one of a cowafterwards, behind blackness


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n


tenth

month

To pronounce this letter, the tip of your tongue

touches your front teeth


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m


May

mother


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n m


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This is how the vowels for , i and u / are written on these basic letters

n m

ni mi

numu

m



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n n n i n un

m m mi

mu

m


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r r ri rur

n n n i

n u

n


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ku

k

u

ru

r

mu

m

As do these

lu

l

nu

n

ru

r

n u

n


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Look at these sequences of letters

mb mbi mbumb

So,

when comes immediately before and its combo lettersthe combo letters ofare pronounced with a b


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Some Tamil words with the letters weve just seen


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Heres how they sound and what they mean

mn n m murs

son fingernail drum

mns n nri kmbi

mind thank you wire, string

n rm srmm n mkk

town, city skin to us

n rmb n irmb krmb

nerve fully, in plenty sugarcane

pinnum skkrm mummrm

moreover wheel intensity

n nnjm surkkm

courtesy, politeness heaven

smmns mrmn

angel son-in-law


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t


the Spanish word toro

To pronounce this letter, the tip of your tonguetouches the back of your front teeth


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d


the Spanish word diez

To pronounce this letter, the tip of your tonguetouches the back of your front teeth


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tray

trouble

To pronounce this letter, the tip of your tonguecurls right back and touches the roof of your mouth


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drum

drink

To pronounce this letter, the tip of your tonguecurls right back and touches the roof of your mouth


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the American pronunciation ofbetter

the American pronunciation ofladder

the Spanish wordpero


curls right back and flaps against the roof of your mouth


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t d


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This is how the vowels for , i and u / are written on these basic letters

t d

t i d i i i i

t u

d u

t

d u

u

u

Note that the sign above the letter is removed for writing these vowels


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t d t d t i d i t ud u

t d

i i iu

u

u


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k k ki i kuk

u

s s i i si

u

u

su

s

t d t d t i d it u

d u

t

d


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As do these

r r ri rur

n n n i

n u

n

t d t d t i d it u

t

d u

d


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kuk

u

rur

mum

u

u

u

As do these

lu

l

nu

n

ru

r

n u

n

t u

t

d u

d


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Look at these sequences


t d t d

t id i t i id

t ud u t u ud


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Notice the pattern?


and its derivatives are usually pronouncedt

t d t

t id t i

t ud t u


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d

t d d

t id id

t ud ud


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d

i id

u ud


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t

t i i

t u u


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t t t t i t t

i

The pronunciation of these double letters is fixed

as shown above


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n d n d i n d un d

So,

when comes immediately before and its combo lettersthe combo letters of are pronounced with a d


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Here are some Tamil words with the new letters weve just seen


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And heres how you pronounce them, and what they mean

pm skt i k

movie, picture, photo strength, power tie, bind

pt t t inn mud

ten eat (a snack) back

mnid n mum lm

human, man onlylakh, hundred

thousand (100,000)

mrn d prd mr1

medicine prime ministerkuijrs smbn d m

republic connection, relation

sud n d rm1 mrbrijum

freedom again

1 is pronounced like i inpin, but very lightly


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Some more vowel sounds and signs

e


pen

bend

This sign is written before a letter


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o


The Italian word Roma

but shorter in length

Note that this sign has two parts

One is written before, and the other afterthe letter


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These are the vowel signs weve just seen

e

o


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This is how these signs are written

on the letters weve seen so far

ke e ko o

pe be po bo

e e se o o so

Only the beginning


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je jo

re ro

le lo

e o

More to come


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ne no

re ro

n e n o

me mo

Wait for it


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And were done

t e d e t o d o

e e e o o o


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le lo

e o

ne no


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And these are their pronunciations and meanings

n el n ej

paddy clarified butter, ghee

eri etri

rage, mania victory

perij kurt t elmb

big cartilage

poj komb

lie, falsehood horn, antlers

romb kos

very, highly mosquito

porkki pejrol

rogue, vagabond noun


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hold

boulder


curls right back and touches the roof of your mouth


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the American pronunciation ofAmerica




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This is how the various vowel signs are written on

i u

e o



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i u

e o



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l l li lu l

le lo

i u

e o

n n ni nu n

ne no

i u

e o


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As do these

m m mimu

m

me mo

iu

e o


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kuk u rur mum

u

u

u

u

u


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And heres how you pronounce them, and what they mean

mu pm mu

thorn fruit bud

t usi poru

holy basil, tulsi

Ocimum tenuiflorummeaning

ikk kikk

lamp east

kul mud um

god wholly, completely

t m moi

Tamil language


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sing

ringing

It is notpronounced like the underlined letter(s) below

finger


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onion

the French word montagne

the Spanish word Espaa


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bend

wander




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i u

e o



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i u

e o



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i u

e o



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n n n in u

n

n e n o

n n in u

n

n e n o


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These letters are experts at camouflage

n n ninu

n

ne no

iu

e o

Note that nhas two circles

and has three circles


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u / combo letter classes

Class 2

pu

p

bu

b

u

u

su

s

ju

j

u

u


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and Class 3

lul

nun

rur

n u

n

t u

t

d u

d

u

u


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i u

e o

So,

when comes immediately before and its combo lettersthe combo letters of are pronounced with a


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Here are some Tamil words with


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And here are their meanings and pronunciations. How did you fare?

sm t m kur

conch gold monkey

n t i t i

shake, tremble Monday younger sister

srn kuumm

Sankara,

Siva, a Hindu Godvermilion powder

mui pol

radish Pongal, a Tamil festival


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n ni nun

ne no

So,

when comes immediately before and its combo lettersthe combo letters ofare pronounced with a

Note that the pronunciation ofalso changes from to n

when it comes before


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Here are some Tamil words with


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Here are the meanings and pronunciations of these words

kni pn n en

gruel, conjee cotton heart

lnm mn kir

bribe yellow poet

konm nerni

a little, small quantity

puncturevine,

Tribulus terrestris

knol

harsh words

Note that the pronunciation ofchanges from to n

when it comes before


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i u

e o

So,

when comes immediately before and its combo lettersthe combo letters ofare pronounced with a


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And here are some Tamil words with


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Not too difficult?

k pu pe

eye sore, ulcer woman

t i i kini

water cart, vehicle computer

ni kri

dictionary metal ladle

nbn mbm

friend festival pavilion


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jump

badge


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ship

sugar


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i u,

e o



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i u,

e o



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Note that these letters

form a whole new u / combo letter class

Class 4

u, u,


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Here are some Tamil words with these new letters


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And here are their meanings and pronunciations

i im

shorts, underpants poison

ejm km

victory difficulty, trouble

nnl n imm

window minute, moment

nri rm

January year

ermni ijm

Germany subject, topic


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Our new letter has a special formwhen it combines with k

k k

+

=

And this is how the vowel signs are written on this special form

k ki ku, k

ke ko


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Were you able to read these words?

pki

bird

lkmi

Lakshmi,

Hindu goddess of

wealth

d kim

south

n kt t rmstar

kt t rijnwarrior


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Great.

Now, an obvious question.

What if a word starts with a vowel?

How do we write it then?

Theres a slightly different way of doing this


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If a word starts with a vowel,

we use the followingindependent letters, instead of vowel signs

i

u


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And here are some words that use these independent vowel letters

d n

that he, that man she, that woman

nb n mbn

love, affection elder brother barber

id in i

this he, this man she, this woman

ir irt t m ird jm

two blood heart

un ujir ud i

your life helpumb ulm ur

body world consciousness


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Here are some more independent vowel letters

e

o


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Note that the independent vowel letters weve just seen

are pronounced slightlydifferently from their signs

e


ye in yet


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o


wo in wonkyt


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These letters look verysimilar

i u,

e o

e


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And are some words that use these independent vowel letters

en en e

my who, which man who, which woman

ermb eppi et t

ant how writing

ebd e eirn d

eighty how much from where

or oli oi

a, an sound light

onr onbd om

one nine camel

okkm oi oippm

discipline parasite photograph


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Speaking of vowels, here are some more


drama

father



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i


bee

keep



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u


tool

loop

This sign is written belowa letter


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e


the French word fiance

but slightly longer in length

This sign is written above a letter


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o


the Italian word Roma

but slightly longer in length



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This is how the signs for , i,e and o are written

on the basic letter k/

k ki i

ke e ko o


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Here are most ofthe vowels weve seen so far,

attached to the letter k/

k k

ki i ki i

ke e ke e

ko o ko o


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and form a combo letterwith a slightly different shape

i

i

i


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u, just like u/, has an identity crisis

Class 1

ku

uru mu

u

u

u u u

This one is the black sheep among this lot

ku

u


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Class 2

pu uu

su

ju

u u


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Class 3

lu nu ru

n ut u

d u

u u


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and Class 4

u su

Phew!


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These signs look similar

e

e


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As do these

o

o


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Heres a nice long list of words to get your hands dirty

kd ear

kppicoffee

kie

below kinm

horizon

kun

curve,

bend

kum

meeting

keiquestion

kermKerala, a state in

India

kobm

anger kojil

temple

si

witness spp

food

sippipp

comb

sikkrm

speed

su

heat surijn

sun

sel

rooster sern d

together with

sorcooked

rice

somb

fennel seeds


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min

bail

oi

pair, couple

jir

Sunday bm

remembrance,

recollection

em

not

needed

i

tea

uijm

atrocity

keen

I heard

elder

brother

kir

tears

t our

ninety pom

we did

t n

oneself

in d

here you go

t i

fire lt t in

Latin

language

t ed idate torm

traditional

festoon

n nI

n iyou all


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n ul

thread

n erm

time

pmb

snake pim

platform

sippur

Singapore somberi

lazybones

mnilm

state,

province

min

fish

muni

mouth,

face mosmfraud

in d ij

India jppm

Jaffna,

Sri Lanka

eiji

release

jud r

Jewish

r

king srirm

body

rubj

rupee reijo

radio

ljkk

suitability

li

leave,holiday


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klluri

college

pinnle

afterwards

b1

bungalow eijm

tin (metal)

beur1

Bangalore,

India

ue

inside,

within

i

festival

med

softly

i

house t nur

Tanjore, a

town in

Tamil Nadu

enrlum

even then sitrur

village,

hamlet

t eni

honeybee n nurfour

hundred

1 at the beginning of these words is pronounced b, not p

Phew!


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At the beginning of a word, these vowels are written like this

i u

e o


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Again, note that the last two

of the independent vowel letters weve just seen

are pronounced slightlydifferently from their signs

e


Yale


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o


wont


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Here are all the independent vowels weve seen so far,

along with their corresponding vowel signs

i i

u, u

We already know that does not have any vowel sign of its own

More to come


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e e e e

o o o o

Remember,

the independent vowel letters above

have pronunciations slightly different

from those of the vowel signs


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As do these

r

i


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And these

u

u


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And these

e

e


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And these

o

o

The only difference between these two

is the little curl at the bottom ofo


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Some Tamil words beginning with the new vowel letters

weve just seen


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You should have got all of these right!

nlbut

rmbmbeginning

irnIran irpp

attraction,

pull

ur

city,

town

urj

Indian pickle

enwhy e

climb,

ascend

orun ol

hotel,

restaurant

`


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And even more vowels

j


kite

height

This sign is written before a letter


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w


how

brown

This sign is written before and aftera letter


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This is how the signs for j and w are written

using the letter k/as the basic letter

kj j

kw j


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These are all the vowel signs with the letter k/

k k

ki i ki i

ku

k

u

ku u

ke e ke e

ko o ko o

kj j kw w


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Notice the similarity in these letter combinations

ke e

kj j

That is, notice the similarity in

e j


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And in these

ko o

kw w

That is, the similarity in

o w


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Unfortunately, there is no difference between

these letter combinations

ke e

kw w

That is, there is no difference betweene w

If its any consolation,

w occurs quite rarely in Tamil

So that reduces the chance of confusion somewhat


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Watch out for these in particular

lj

j

nj

j

The last two are especially notorious!


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Here are some words that have these signs

kjhand

mj

rain

sj

quarrel

sennj

ennjChennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu

iljSri Lanka

jppm

banana

wlbat (animal)

swkkijmhealth, well-being

swn d rijm

beauty, loveliness

mwnrd m

vow of silence


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At the beginning of a word, these vowels are written like this

j

w


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These letters look verysimilar

i i

u

u e e

o o

j w

j

Notice the difference

in the curls at the bottom


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These letters, too, look verysimilar

o

o

w

Note that the portion ofwlooks exactly like o

that is, withouta curl at the bottom


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194

These letter combinations look identical -

o

w

Remember, wdoesnt occur too often in Tamil

So keep your chin up


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195


five

oh!

five hundred

fifty

Europe

United States

respectful title for elderly woman

medicine


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i u

e o

The vowels above are called short vowels, as their length while speaking

is comparatively less

i u

e o

The vowels above are called long vowels, as their length while speaking

is comparatively more

j w

The sounds above are called diphthongs


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197

Homophones are different letters that have the same sound.

Tamil too has homophonic letters


sugar

ship

That is, its pronunciation is the same as


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s


sit

see

That is, its pronunciation is the same as one of the pronunciations of


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This letter doesnt have any homophones


hat

help


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200


s


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201


i i

u u

e e

o o

j w

Note that the sign above the letter is removed for writing these

vowels


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202

This is how the various vowel signs are written on s

s s

si si

su su

se se

so so

sj sw

Note that the sign above the letter is removed for writing these

vowels


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i i

u u

e e

o o

j w



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204


l l l li li

lu , l lu le le

lo lo

lj lw

s s s si si

su , s su se se

so so

sj sw


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u / combo letter class for these letters

Class 4

u, su, s u,

u su u


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206

Here are some words with these new letters

rmshelter, refuge

st ri

scholar

sr

sir

kkkuslatrine, WC

polis

police

pust m

book

spt t ri

hospital

in d i

Hindi language

ll

halal (Islamic food standard)

snem

friendship

imsj

non-violence


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The letter is normally replaced by in everyday Tamil

So, you would more likely see (and hear)

srm

shelter, refuge

sst ri

scholar

In fact, is almost never used in Tamil


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Our new letter has a special formwhen it combines with ri

ri ri

+

=


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209

Here are some Tamil words with this combination letter

rimt iMrs.

ride i

Sridevi

a name for Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess

rirmSrirangam, a place in Tamil Nadu


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This character is sometimes used

to modify the sound of the letter

immediately afterit


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f


f in fat


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This is how the vowel signs weve seen are written on f

f f

fi fi

fu fu

fe fe

fo fo

fj fw

Note that the sign

above the letter is removed for writing these vowels


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The only difference between these pairs of letters

is the sign

p

f


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Here are some Tamil words

containing the letters weve just seen

kfi

coffee

fonphone

fsism1fascism

frns

France

1Some speakers pronounce this word as in English - fz()m


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Lets end with numerals and punctuation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

However, Western numerals are used nowadays.

The original Tamil numerals shown above are rarely used.

Punctuation marks are similar to those used in English.


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Here is a well-known piece of writing, in its Tamil version

.

.

.

.

mnid prijinr slrum sud n d rme pirkkinrnr .

r md ippilum urimjilum smmnr. r

n jjt t jjum mnsijjjum ijrppp petrr . r

orrnorr sod r urp pil nn d ol

eum .

This is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights


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This is the Tamil alphabet, with the names of the letters

i i u u

e e j o o w

k

t n

p m

j inn r l

perij r n

s


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And these are the vowel and other signs, and their Tamil names

pui i i

u u e e j

o o w jd m

Good luck!


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End

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