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Do you speak Badaga? Then we need your help!
எல்லோருகு நமஸ்காரா
படுகு பாஸைய தமிழுதோகெ பரவது பத்தி ஒந்து பிரச்சினை இல்லேந்துத்த தோரிறா. இன்னொந்து முக்கிய விசய ஏனாந்தலெ நங்க தமிழ்நாடுதோகெ இப்பதெந்த தமிழ் எழுத்தவே படுகுதோகெ பரவதுகு உபயோகிச்சோது ஒள்ளித்து. ஐரோப்பாதோகெ பேரெ பேரெ பாஸெ அட்டலெயு எழுத்தெல்லா கிட்டத்தட்ட ஒந்தே மாக்கெத்தா அடதே.
- மஞ்சூர் ராசா
It has always been felt that for a language to survive, it should have its own script. It cannot remain only as a spoken language for long. But of course, the script need not be peculiar and specific one pertaining to that particular language.
So too is the necessity of a script for Badaga. Many have attempted to achieve this objective with various degrees of success. But unfortunately, to my knowledge, no records exists, if any. I am no expert on phonetics or languages or much less innovating an unique script. But the urge to have a separate script has convinced me that it is very much possible to ‘ADOPT’ an existing script and ‘ADAPT’ it to Badaga language.
In Tamil script we cannot differentiate ‘K’ from ‘G’ or ‘T’ from ‘D’. This makes a huge impact when Badaga words are written in Tamil script. ‘Gaasu – potato’ is totally differnt from ‘Kaasu – coin, remove’. Or ‘Ettu – eight’ and ‘Eddu – getup’. Another drawback could be the absence of ‘Ha’ in classical Tamil. On the other hand, in English, we cannot clearly bring out the difference of ‘na’ from ‘Na’ [anna - food, aNNa- elder brother] or ‘halli – lizard’ from ‘haLLi – name, village’. ‘Kalla – a male name’ sounds the same as ‘ kaLLa – a thief.
Yes, it is indeed a little tricky to choose between Tamil and English. But, taking into consideration the younger generation who are going to be the future hope and the irrefutable fact that they are all more familiar with English than Tamil, the choice is English. Keeping in mind the successful adoptation of English script for Malay language (Malaysia) I would plump in for English. With a few minor modifications to overcome the grey areas mentioned above, English script can be easily used in Badaga.
- Bellie Jayaprakash
VOWELS
A,a- அ,
A:,a: - ஆ,
I,i - இ,
I:,i: - ஈ,
U,u - உ,
U:,u: - ஊ,
E,e- எ,
E:,e: - ஏ,
O,o - ஒ,
O:,o:- ஓ,
Au- ஔ,
Ai- ஐ,
CONSONANTS
Ka,ka- க,
Ga,ga- ഗ,
ṅa - ங,
Sa,sa- ஸ,
Ca,ca' - ഛ(cha),
ña - ஞ
Pa,pa- ப,
Ba,ba- ബ,
Ma,ma- ம
Ta,ta- த,
Da,da- ட,
ṭa - ട (Retroflex)
Na,, - ண
Ya,ya- ய,
ra- ர,
la- ல,
N'a- ந
Va,va- வ,
Za,za- ழ,
La- ள
na-ன
Ha,ha- ஹ,
śa- ஷ,
