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The Tamil language

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Ronnie Krishnan said:
Vanakam. I have never spoken tamil. My mother spoke tamil to other elders, but not to us. I did ask her to teach me the language, but she did not take me seriously. I have learnt a little reading d writing the alphabets but would like to speak the language first. the way a little child normally starts. Is there an easy way to learn. I would like to keep this beautiful language alive.
Click to expand...

Dear Ronnie,

I grew up in a home where everyone spoke English and only sometimes my parents would speak Tamil to each other but not to us kids.

Even though I could read Tamil script a little but my spoken Tamil was hopeless.

But as I became a teen..I started watching Tamil movies and my Tamil improved...but firstly I picked up all words that are used in fighting! LOL

Now I speak fairly well.

So keep seeing more Tamil movies and you will learn speaking Tamil eventually.
 
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renuka said:
So keep seeing more Tamil movies and you will learn speaking Tamil eventually.
Click to expand...

good idea renu!! :)

ronnie, not sure where you live. but hopefully, you are familiar enough with tamil nadu, to separate the wheat from the chaff -

- tamils do not live quite the way presented in tamil movies;

- they do not sing or dance in the streets impromptu :);

- there is no set comedian in everyone's lifes; all our wifes are not fair skinned like tamil movie heroines of today (btw these are mostly punjabis, do not speak tamil, and there is a lively dubbing industry catering to their needs);

- depending on where the story happens - the accents and the words may differ; so you might have to be specific whether you want to practice madras tamil, kongu tamil or madurai tamil!!

- there is no real life goondas of the variety you find in tamil movies; so even if you imagine yourself in the hero role, there is no need to have the six pack and ability to 'dish dish' the bad guys

- finally, like all 'good' movies, i sincerely you, after all this effort, you do get the GIRL!!! :)

- enjoy your tamil tutelage and may mother tamil bless you with the ability to pronounce ழ - which unfortunately cannot be phonetically translated in any other language. you just have to rush to your TV or DVD and see a tamil movie to hear it words like பழம் (pazham - fruit) etc. no! it is not pronounce paz-am;

- or maybe not as nowadays tamil diction even among our newsreaders appear to lack the ability to pronounce ழ (it is often substituted with the hard La - not soft la ;)

- hope you enjoy as much fun, as i did, penning this short post

- good luck
 
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Dear Ronnie,

See this..it will help you in learning to pronounce the letter ழ as in Phalam.

<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">[video=youtube_share;hkkmKk9LcQk]http://youtu.be/hkkmKk9LcQk[/video]
 

Dear Renu,

I can't stop laughing! Watching today's Tamil movies will end up in talking the language like Chennai Senthamizh!! :lol:

For example: 'DhA pAru machchi! indhak kasmAlaththai vitturudA!'
 
Ronnie Krishnan said:
Vanakam. I have never spoken tamil. My mother spoke tamil to other elders, but not to us. I did ask her to teach me the language, but she did not take me seriously. I have learnt a little reading d writing the alphabets but would like to speak the language first. the way a little child normally starts. Is there an easy way to learn. I would like to keep this beautiful language alive.
Click to expand...
Welcome to this forum, Savior of Tamil language! :)
 
First off let me apologise for putting a dampener on everyone's light hearted pointers. For me personally I think if one has absolutely no Tamil basic, then one cannot learn or pick up much bar a couple of words. The reason I'm saying this is because of my Hindi experience that I am just extrapolating to Tamil. I watch Bolly off and on but till date I know only 20 maybe 30 words. Nothing more really. But if you have very basic Tamil knowledge then watching movies will possibly (not probably mind!) help :D
 
If there is a children's TV program/serial in Tamil that may be the best place to learn.

Yet another suggestion - You can try this google translate http://translate.google.com

http://goo.gl/FI0i8 (put a space between banana and fruit)

and click the speaker button on the right to get an approximate(?) pronunciation You can also try other words in English and get (almost) equivalent Tamil words.

Here is your opening post (translated (not a kosher one) in Tamil ) and you can even hear it spoken(?) in Tamil!

Google Translate

(My links work properly in chrome browser but not in safaris (IPAD or IPAD minis) )
 
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amala said:
First off let me apologise for putting a dampener on everyone's light hearted pointers. For me personally I think if one has absolutely no Tamil basic, then one cannot learn or pick up much bar a couple of words. The reason I'm saying this is because of my Hindi experience that I am just extrapolating to Tamil. I watch Bolly off and on but till date I know only 20 maybe 30 words. Nothing more really. But if you have very basic Tamil knowledge then watching movies will possibly (not probably mind!) help :D
Click to expand...

You have to watch with the subtitles off. There are enough English words mixed in nowadays that it is possible to extrapolate the others. The main point is hearing continuously. That's how kids learn.
 
I think after a certain age picking up a language which you have absolutely no basic in or where your native language is completely different by just watching films is not possible. No subtitles not withstanding. To pick up a language you need constant exposure and then you need to speak it lots. So I completely disagree with your suggestion. It doesn't work. Its different with very young children though. I picked up two languages (as a child) which I never studied formally (well one I did for a bit much later though) and I still remember it today.
 

Dear Prof M S K Sir,

I listened to the audio part of google translate and NOT happy! Some non Tamilian pronounces it like 'manthram'!!

And are you really happy with this translation

வாழ்த்துக்கள். நான் தமிழ் பேசப்படும். என் அம்மா ஆனால் எங்களுக்கு, மற்ற பெரியவர்களிடம் தமிழ்

பேசினார். எனக்கு மொழி கற்பிக்க அவளிடம் கேட்டேன், ஆனால் அவர் தீவிரமாக எடுத்து கொள்ளவில்லை.

நான் எழுத்துக்கள் எழுதி ஒரு சிறிய வாசிப்பு ஈ கற்று ஆனால் முதல் மொழி பேச விரும்புகிறேன். வழியில் ஒரு

சிறு குழந்தை சாதாரணமாக தொடங்குகிறது. கற்று கொள்ள ஒரு சுலபமான வழி ஒன்று இருக்கிறது. நான் இந்த

அழகான மொழி உயிருடன் விரும்புகிறேன்.

for

Greetings. I have never spoken tamil. My mother spoke tamil to other elders, but not to us. I did ask her to teach me the

language, but she did not take me seriously. I have learnt a little reading d writing the alphabets but would like to speak

the language first. the way a little child normally starts. Is there an easy way to learn. I would like to keep this beautiful

language alive.

BTW, what is 'ஒரு சிறிய வாசிப்பு ஈ கற்று' :noidea:
 

Dear Amala,

I learnt spoken Telugu by trying to talk to my helper maid first and then to my friends. Of course watching the weekly

Telugu movies helped me a lot in picking up the language easily. But I took care to follow only metro Heroes and Heroines.

Otherwise I would have picked up something equivalent to Chennai Senthamizh in Telugu!! :)
 
mskmoorthy said:
If there is a children's TV program/serial in Tamil that may be the best place to learn.

Yet another suggestion - You can try this google translate Google Translate

http://goo.gl/FI0i8 (put a space between banana and fruit)

and click the speaker button on the right to get an approximate(?) pronunciation You can also try other words in English and get (almost) equivalent Tamil words.

Here is your opening post (translated (not a kosher one) in Tamil ) and you can even hear it spoken(?) in Tamil!

Google Translate

(My links work properly in chrome browser but not in safaris (IPAD or IPAD minis) )
Click to expand...

I like this translation!
I would like to keep this beautiful language alive = நான் இந்த அழகான மொழி உயிருடன் விரும்புகிறேன்
Click to expand...
 
Raji Ram said:

Dear Prof M S K Sir,

I listened to the audio part of google translate and NOT happy! Some non Tamilian pronounces it like 'manthram'!!

And are you really happy with this translation

வாழ்த்துக்கள். நான் தமிழ் பேசப்படும். என் அம்மா ஆனால் எங்களுக்கு, மற்ற பெரியவர்களிடம் தமிழ்

பேசினார். எனக்கு மொழி கற்பிக்க அவளிடம் கேட்டேன், ஆனால் அவர் தீவிரமாக எடுத்து கொள்ளவில்லை.

நான் எழுத்துக்கள் எழுதி ஒரு சிறிய வாசிப்பு ஈ கற்று ஆனால் முதல் மொழி பேச விரும்புகிறேன். வழியில் ஒரு

சிறு குழந்தை சாதாரணமாக தொடங்குகிறது. கற்று கொள்ள ஒரு சுலபமான வழி ஒன்று இருக்கிறது. நான் இந்த

அழகான மொழி உயிருடன் விரும்புகிறேன்.

for

Greetings. I have never spoken tamil. My mother spoke tamil to other elders, but not to us. I did ask her to teach me the

language, but she did not take me seriously. I have learnt a little reading d writing the alphabets but would like to speak

the language first. the way a little child normally starts. Is there an easy way to learn. I would like to keep this beautiful

language alive.

BTW, what is 'ஒரு சிறிய வாசிப்பு ஈ கற்று' :noidea:
Click to expand...

If you hover the mouse over the word 'alpha' on the right-hand bottom corner ofthe translation box, you will get an explanation
 
Raji Ram said:

Dear Amala,

I learnt spoken Telugu by trying to talk to my helper maid first and then to my friends. Of course watching the weekly

Telugu movies helped me a lot in picking up the language easily. But I took care to follow only metro Heroes and Heroines.

Otherwise I would have picked up something equivalent to Chennai Senthamizh in Telugu!! :)
Click to expand...
hi RR madam,

language learning is like art...like music/cooking.....even dance tooo....i speak more than 10 indian languages....born tamil....

studied malayalam in school.....telugu in college/university....worked in karnataka......little bengali/assamese...fluent in

hindi/punjabi....learned gujarati/marathi becoz of neccessity.....besides sanskrit/english......so language learning

is part of interest/survival tool......little german/french too....a part time hobby....but the sad part is being a tamil

teacher's son.....tamil never studied tamil in school/college.....so no writing/reading experiences......
 
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tbs said:
.......... language learning is like art...like music/cooking.....even dance tooo....i speak more than 10 indian languages........
Click to expand...
:thumb: . . .
award_star.png
 
Ronnie Krishnan said:
Vanakam. I have never spoken tamil. My mother spoke tamil to other elders, but not to us. I did ask her to teach me the language, but she did not take me seriously. I have learnt a little reading d writing the alphabets but would like to speak the language first. the way a little child normally starts. Is there an easy way to learn. I would like to keep this beautiful language alive.
Click to expand...

The first step to learning any language is to learn as much vocabulary as possible. Some films even suggest learning some bad, wierd, witty, funny words first, so we would keep repeating them for humour, and eventually we may like the language and the sounds (phonetics).

In this movie, the guy was taught wrong words in malayalam: Vivek And Vaali Comedy | Paarthale Paravasam | Tamil Movie Comedy | Vivek, Madhavan - YouTube

In this movie, the guy was taught wrong words in tamil: Super comedy frm MOUNARAGAM - YouTube
 
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