Tanglish (Tamil: தமிங்கிலம், pronounced [ˌt̪əˈmɪŋgɪləm]) refers to the macaronic code-mixing or code-switching of the Tamil and English languages, in the context of colloquial spoken language. In the context of colloquial written language, Tanglish refers to the transliteration of Tamil text in English, with extensive usage of English vocabulary.
| Tanglish | |
|---|---|
| Thanglish | |
| தமிங்கிலம் | |
| Pronunciation | ˌt̪əˈmɪŋgɪləm |
| Region | Tamil Nadu, SE Asia, North America |
| Ethnicity | Tamil |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
The name is a portmanteau of Tamil and English, and has taken various forms over time. The earliest form is Tamilish (dating from 1972), then Tinglish (1974), Tamglish (1991), Tamlish (1993), Thanglish (1997), and Tanglish (1999).[1]
Distribution
editTamil Nadu
editThe use of Tanglish is common in Chennai, possibly due in part to the use of English in education. The influx of speakers of other languages (such as Telugu, Gujarati, and Kannada) to the city has also increased the importance of English as the lingua franca.[2] In The Hindu in 2010, a student in Chennai told of the widespread use of Tanglish by teenagers in her city. She said Tanglish was "something almost every teenager in Chennai uses", but noted that her mother said Tanglish was "murdering the [Tamil] language".[3] That same year, a Tamil teacher in a matriculation school in Chennai reported that few of her students had a large enough Tamil vocabulary to be able to speak Tamil without including some words of English.[2]
Tanglish is increasingly used in advertising aimed at consumers in Tamil Nadu, particularly for promotion of international products.[4] For example, Pepsi has mixed English with Tamil in its slogan "ullam kekkuthae more".[5] In 2004, The Hindu commented on a mobile phone advertising campaign in Chennai that used slogans that combined Tamil and English, such as "Konjam Samaiyal... Konjam Serial", "Konjam Advice... Konjam Udaans", and "Konjam Kadhal... Konjam Modhal."[4] It also is common for advertising to use the Tamil language rendered in the English alphabet, a trend that leads to concern that people are losing the ability to read Tamil script.[4]
The Tanglish lyrics of the film song "Why This Kolaveri Di", which went viral on Internet social networking sites in November 2011, have been identified as a factor in the song's popularity.[6][7][8]
Tamil diasporas
editUse of Tanglish has been reported among Tamil-speaking immigrant populations in Malaysia and Canada, particularly by young people.[9][10] Singaporean rapper Yung Raja is known for his extensive use of Tanglish in his lyrics.[11]
Characteristics
editA study of code switching in everyday speech in Tamil Nadu found that English words are commonly inserted into sentences that otherwise follow Tamil syntax.[12]
A characteristic of Tanglish or Tamil-English code-switching is the addition of Tamil affixes to English words.[12] The sound "u" is added at the end of an English noun to create a Tamil noun form, as in "soundu" and the words "girl-u heart-u black-u" in the lyrics of "Why This Kolaveri Di".[12][13] English nouns often are combined with Tamil case markers, as in "journeyai" (accusative case), "driverkku" (dative case, used to mean "for the driver"), and "teacheroṭa" (of the teacher, genitive case). Verbs and some nouns from the English language are converted to Tamil verb forms by adding Tamil verbalizers that indicate verb mood. For example, the Tamil verb "paṇṇu" (imperative mood "do") is added to the English verb "drive", resulting in "drive paṇṇu", used to mean "do the driving".[12] Another pattern that has been noted by speakers or observers of Tanglish is the addition of the syllable "fy" at the end of a Tamil word (e.g., maattify, Kalaachify).[3][14]
See also
edit
- Indian English
- Regional differences and dialects in Indian English
- Madras Bashai, a related, but distinct, language variant, a slang form of Tamil used in Chennai that is a blend of Tamil with Indian English, Telugu and Hindustani
References
edit- ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 31-32. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
- ^ a b Vasundara, R (21 June 2010). "Tanglish rules the roost in Tamil Nadu". The Times Of India Chennai. p. 2. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014.
- ^ a b Narayanan, Hiranmayi (21 April 2010). "Enter, Tanglish". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Rangarajan, Malathi (21 February 2004), "Konjam Tamil Konjam English", The Hindu, archived from the original on 16 April 2014
- ^ Hasuria Che Omar, ed. (2009). The Sustainability of the Translation Field. p. 459. ISBN 978-983-42179-6-9.
- ^ "Dhanush: Never expected 'Kolaveri di' to become such a rage", The Times of India, 29 November 2011, archived from the original on 6 October 2013
- ^ "Why this 'Why this Kolaveri'?", The Hindu, 23 November 2011
- ^ Steven Baker (26 October 2015), Ten surprising expressions in Indian English, British Council
- ^ Vinesh, Derrick (2 October 2011), "Penang's link with ocean made waves", The Star, archived from the original on 8 December 2011
- ^ Das, Sonja Neela (2008). Between text and talk: Expertise, normativity, and scales of belonging in the Montreal Tamil diasporas (Dissertation). University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-549-98093-3.
- ^ "Yung Raja Is Bringing His Brand Of "Tanglish" Rap To America".
- ^ a b c d Kanthimathi, K. (2009). "Tamil-English Mixed Language Used in Tamilnadu" (PDF). The International Journal of Language Society and Culture (27): 48–53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2012.
- ^ Rao, Mallika (28 November 2011), "'Why This Kolaveri Di': India's Latest Viral Hit", Huffington Post
- ^ Music composed by D.Imman "Fy Fy Fy Kalaachify" by Remya Nambeesan from the film "Pandiya Naadu"