From: ah724@yfn.ysu.edu (Sundara Pandian)
Subject: Folk Tamil words ( was Re: Thiruppaavai Verses 18-20 )
Reply-To: ah724@yfn.ysu.edu (Sundara Pandian)
Organization: St. Elizabeth Hospital, Youngstown, OH
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 02:33:28 GMT
Expires: Sun, 31 Jan 1993 05:00:00 GMT


In a previous article, selvakum@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (C.R.Selvakumar - Electrical Engineering) says:

>In article <1993Jan3.232454.18292@news.ysu.edu> ah724@yfn.ysu.edu (Sundara Pandian) writes:
>>
>>   Selva has answered YES to my question whether the word `machchaan'
>> in folk Tamil derived from `maiththunan'. I have been thinking about
>> how some words in folk Tamil came to effect. It might be a good topic 
>> in the net. I think that the word `aaththaa' in folk Tamil meaning
>              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> `mother'  is derived from `akaththaaL'. The word `akam' meaning `il'
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> or `house' [family life] dates back to the Sangam age and this age
>> classified the Tamil literature into `akam' and `puRam'. Though the
>> word `akaththaaL' is not seen in Tamil literature, its equivalent
>> `illaaL' occurs in many places in the `akam' literature in Tamil.
>> [ In `ThirukkuRaL', for instance.]
>
>     The suggestion you have made seems interesting, namely
>     akaththaaL > aaththaaL just like 'akaththukku > aaththukku'.
     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>     Although your suggestion can not be discounted, I think the
>     word 'aaththaaL' is a pure Tamil word for mother. This word
>     gives the import of one who has great love ( since 'aaththam'
                                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^
>      in Tamil means 'anbu' = love Cf. kazhaga akarathi) and a 
>      very respectable one ( 'aaththan' means 'namba thakunthavan,
                              ^^^^^^^^^
>     kadavuL'). aaththaaL, aayi are pure tamil words for mother.
>     However, the word 'aaththaa' is used in the sense of great 
>     respect and love as to refer to Godess. In many villages in the
>     Salem, Trichy side 'aaththaa' is used by villagers to refer to
>     the lady-folks of the 'rich' or 'land-owning' families of the
>     'upper caste' ( I think non-brahmin types). 'aaaththavaakiyam'
>     or 'aaththaavaakku' means 'aruL-vaakku' ( = divine revealations). 
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^         ^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>     Therefore, I think the word 'aaththaaL' is not a 'corrupted'
      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>     or 'transmuted' word but a pure word for mother. 
      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
        I see  pure Tamil words in Malayalam language often, but
       I don't see them in a `uncorrupted' form in folk Tamil in
       their usage. `puzhai' and `punal', pure Tamil words meaning
       `lake' and `river' respectively are found in Malayalam, but
       not in folk Tamil, for instance. The Tamil words in usage for
       `lake' and `river' are `Eri' and `ARu' but there are more words
        also.
 
         Yes, I took akththaaL > aaththaa from akaththukku > aaththukku.
       I have not seen the word `aaththaaL' in the Sangam literature.
       The word `aaththam' meaning `anbu' might be a derivation of the
       word `aa' [cow] in my opinion. Tamils held cows in reverence and
       there is  a legend that a CHozha king gave justice to a cow's
       plight of its calf ran over by the prince's chariot by running
       the chariot over his own son. `kO' means both `cow' and `king'.
       ( There is a saying `kO maadhaa engaL kula maadhaa' in Tamil. )
       `maadu' means both `cow' and `wealth'. Valluvar says in one kuRaL
        in the chapter `kalvi' (education), `.. maadalla maRRayavai.'
       In later days, the word `maadu' meaning `wealth' came to mean `cow'
       as well. I think that the words you have mentioned, the like of 
       `aaththam' are from the word `aa' meaning cow. `aaththaa' looks
       more as from the word `akaththaaL' in my opinion. The word `akam'
       is still in usage as `illam' (house) and the words `akamudaiyaan'
       and `akamudaiyaaL' meaning `husband' and `wife' are used in a
       corrupted form `aambadaiyaan' and `aambadiyaaL' by Brahmin caste.
       Similar usages by the same caste are `aaththukkaarar' and 
       `aaththukkaari'. These could be compared to `veettukkaarar' and
       `veetukkaari'. `aaththaaL' falls in the same pattern, but it is
       not clear why this is used to mean `mother'. The word `machchaan'
       or `machchinan', corrupted words from `maiththunan' not necessarily
       have the old meaning, `husband'. What is worse, some folk words
       have the *opposite* meaning of their original. An example is
       `naaththam'(bad odour) derived from `naaRRam' (fragrance). 

>>
>>  I noticed the word `thattoLi' in verse 20 and Srinivasan has
>> translated it as `mirror'. I find this word `thattoLi' interesting.
>> This word looks like it is from Malayalam.
>
>    Yes, this word 'thattoLi' is a very interesting word.
>>

>        anbudan
>        Selva
>
>

-- 
pax vobiscum,
sundara pandian.
ah724@yfn.ysu.edu

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