# A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil/Chapter I

CHAPTER I
On the Alphabet and Orthography
1. Before commencing this chapter, the student should read the preface, and especially the introductory remarks, which form the conclusion of the preface.
2. This chapter shows the system on which Tamil is written, and explains the pronunciation of the various letters, so far as it is advisable to attempt to do so on paper. It must from the first be clearly understood that it is impossible to explain correctly through the medium of the English language, all the exact shades of pronunciation that occur in the Tamil letters, and in their various combinations. It is presupposed that the student has the assistance of a competent teacher, and without such assistance it is better for him not to attempt to study Tamil for colloquial purposes. With such assistance, it is unnecessary in these pages to do more than give a general description of the sounds of the Tamil letters, leaving the more delicate shades of pronunciation to be communicated by oral instruction.
3. When learning to write Tamil, great care must be taken to form the letters in the proper manner. Watch the teacher as he writes each letter, and notice carefully how he forms it. Theoretically there is no difference between the forms of the Tamil letters in printing and in handwriting; but, as a matter of fact, the printed letters ​naturally assume a somewhat more uniform and sharply cut shape; whereas in handwriting they are more rounded off, and somewhat less sharply defined. The native running hand need not be studied till a considerable knowledge of the language has been acquired.
4. When learning to read and to speak Tamil, the greatest attention must be paid to pronunciation. There are several sounds which do not exist in English; and the meaning of a word not unfrequently depends upon the hard or soft pronunciation of a consonant. Mark carefully the teacher's pronunciation; repeat each letter and each word after him several times; and speak clearly, distinctly, in a loud voice, and with the head well up, and the shoulders thrown back.
SECTION 1
5. In Tamil there are twelve vowels, and eighteen consonants.
6. The twelve Tamil vowels are given in the following table, with their approximate sounds in English, as they are sounded in the Tamil alphabet.
7. The second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and eleventh vowels are the lengthened sounds of the short vowels which immediately precede them. The short vowels are pronounced somewhat more abruptly than the corresponding English sounds.
8. All the Tamil long vowels have a drawling pronunciation, which is not used in English, and therefore cannot be exactly rendered by the English examples given below. Thus, for instance, ஏ has the sound of the French ê in même.
9.
| அ | resembles the sound of | u | in | up, (or of final a in China.) | up, (or of final a in China.) |
| ஆ | ,, | a | ,, | father | (Para. 8.) ​ |
| இ | resembles the sound of | i | in | ink. | ink. |
| (Tamil characters) or ஈ | ,, | ee | ,, | eel. | (Para. 8.) |
| உ | ,, | u | ,, | full. | full. |
| ஊ | ,, | u | ,, | June. | (Para. 8.) |
| எ | ,, | e | ,, | ember. | ember. |
| ஏ | ,, | a | ,, | ache. | (Para. 8.) |
| ஐ | ,, | the word eye. | the word eye. | the word eye. | the word eye. |
| ஒ | ,, | o | in | police. | police. |
| ஓ | ,, | o | ,, | opium. | (Para. 8.) |
| ஔ | ,, | ou | in | police. | police. |
10. There are no Tamil vowels which have the exact sounds of the English a in pan or of the English o in hot. Great care must be taken not to give these sounds to அ and ஒ. One of the most common and ruinous faults in an Englishman's pronunciation is to pronounce அ like a in pan. Hence it is better from the first to associate அ with the sound of u in up, although it might be equally well represented by final a in China. When transliterating, it is better to represent அ by ă.
SECTION 2
11. In order to explain the Tamil consonants, at first a few only of them will be given which present no difficulties in pronunciation, and with them the general system of Tamil writing and reading will be illustrated. The remainder of the consonants will then be given, some of which present special difficulties in pronunciation.
12. As a consonant cannot be sounded without the help of a vowel, it is necessary to introduce the sound of a vowel, in order to pronounce the consonants in any alphabet. Thus, in English, the sounds of the vowels e and a respectively are introduced to pronounce the consonants ​b and k, as be, ka. In pronouncing the consonants in the Tamil alphabet, the sound of the vowel is uniformly introduced. It is not written, but understood: hence the vowel அ is considered as inherent in each of the eighteen Tamil consonant forms. Thus, for instance, the six Tamil consonants க, ப, ம, ர, ல, ன, are pronounced kă, pă, mă, ră, lă, nă. (Para. 10.) These six consonants must be thoroughly learnt, before proceeding farther.
13. When it is required to denote the entire absence of any vowel sound, or, in other words, to denote that the consonant is mute, a dot is placed over the consonant. Thus the English word up would be written in Tamil letters அப், and the English words pun, rum, run, would be written um, பன்,ரம்,ரன். When it is necessary to name a mute consonant, the vowel இ is sounded before it. Thus when speaking of the mute consonants க், ப், ம், ர், ல், ன், they are called இக், இப், இம், இர், இல், இன். Learn the following Tamil words, மரம் a tree, பக்கம் a side, அப்பம் bread, என் my, உன் thy.
14. The following is a most important rule to remember. When Tamil consonants are doubled, they are pronounced much more strongly and distinctly than in English. Com¬ pare the pronunciation of the English word upper with that of the Tamil word அப்பம் bread.
15. When a word begins with எ or ஏ, these vowels usually take a sound of y. Thus என்ன What ? and ஏன் Why? are usually pronounced yenna and yen. Initial இ and ஈ also sometimes take the y sound. Thus இரக்கம் mercy, is often pronounoed yirakkam instead of irakkam.
16. In Tamil there are no capital letters. The vowels given in para. 9 are called the initial forms of the vowels, because they can only be used to begin a word. In all other positions the vowel takes a different form called the secondary ​15
form of the vowel which is combined with each of the consonant forms, so that the two together make what is called a compound letter. For example, the secondary form of @ is © which, in the case of most letters, is placed at the top of the consonant form with which it is combined ; thus இ combined with becomes the compound letter இ kt. The dot, being only placed over a consonant when it is mute, disappears when the secondary form of any vowel is attached to the consonant. The next step is to learn the secondary form of each of the twelve vowels.
17. The vowel அ has no secondary form, because it is inherent in each consonant form (para. 12). The absence of the dot, which would make the vowel mute (para. 13), implies the presence of ௮2 as ௬, ப,ம, ர, ல, ன, Exam- ples கல்‌ a stone, மனம்‌ the mind, பல many.
18. The secondary form of ஆ is 7, which is placed immediately after the consonant form; thus’ combined with ஆ becomes ar ka. In the same manner are formed uit, wt, 77, லா. In the case of three letters, all of which will be given hereafter, the secondary form of —% is Ou which is written underneath the letter from right to left. Thus ன combined with ஆ becomes னா. Hxamples—ara a leg, பால்‌ milk, காலம்‌ time, மான்‌ a stag,
19. The secondary forms of @ and 2 (or *) are 9 and © respectively, which, in most instances, are placed at the top of the consonant form; as இ, பி, மி, ரி, லி, ofl, —and—&, 19, மீ, ரீ, லீ, of. Hxamples—Qof yet, பின்‌ alter, மீன்‌ a fish, மின்னல்‌ lightning (para. 14).
20. The secondary forms of உ and ஊ present several variations. They are of three kinds, namely—(1) A curve passing below the letter from right to left for ©, and a circle added to it for eo ; thus, when eombined with these
vowels, ம and 7 become (௦, ¢p, and ௬, ரூ. The letter ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/20 ​லொ-and-கோ, போ, மோ, ரோ, லோ. The three letters which take v instead of , as the secondary form of 3 (para. 18) retain this form also in the secondary forms of ஒ and ஓ. Thus, when combined with these vowels, ன becomes னொ and னோ. Examples-கொலை murder பொன் gold, மோர் buttermilk. (Para. 28), போ go (thou). - 26. The secondary form of or is © prefixed to the consonant, and i affixed to it ; as கௌ , பௌ, மௌ, ரௌ, லௌ , னௌ . Example- மௌனம் silence. 27. All the secondary forms of the vowels have now been explained; and it has been shown how they are united with each of the six consonants க, ப, ம, ர, ல, ன to form compound letters. (Para. 16.) Thoroughly learn the following table of compound letters in horizontal lines, and write them out.
க கா கி கீ கு கூ கெ கே கை கொ கோ கௌ ப பா பி பீ பு பூ பெ பே பை பொ போ பௌ ம மா மி மீ மு மூ மெ மே மை மொ மோ மௌ ர ரா ரி ரீ ரு ரூ ரெ ரே ரை ரொ ரோ ரௌ ல லா லி லீ லு லூ லெ லே லை லொ லோ லௌ ன னா னி னீ னு னூ னெ னே னை னொ னோ னௌ
28. (a) The consonant r is usually written r, that is, without the little stroke at the right foot of the letter, except where it might be mistaken for the secondary form of ஆ ; as ஊர் a village, நீர் you, கரி charcoal ; but மரம் a tree, etc. | (b) The letter i always has a distinct r sound, and must not be slurred as it often is in English (not in Scotch). Notice the difference in pronunciation between the English words near, par, Parker, and the Tamil words fi you, பார் look (thou), பார்க்க to look. 29. When a Tamil word has both long and short vowels, a certain amount of eniphasis naturally falls upon the long, ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/22 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/23 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/24 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/25 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/26 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/27 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/28 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/29 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/30 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/31 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/32 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/33 ​Page:Arden - A Progressive Grammar of Common Tamil.djvu/34 ​85. All the Tamil words given in this chapter ought to be entered in a pocket-book, and carefully committed to memory. In learning a living language, it is most important to store the mind with a good vocabulary.