Wy/syl/ꠔꠣꠝꠤꠟ ꠝꠣꠔꠞ ꠛꠣꠁꠟ
 | ꠀꠋꠞꠦꠎ ꠝꠣꠔꠕꠘꠦ ꠅꠘꠥꠛꠣꠖ ꠇꠞꠣꠞ ꠅꠘꠥꠞꠥꠗ ⁕ ꠇꠤꠀꠘꠕꠘꠦ ꠀꠘꠣ ꠅꠁꠍꠦ ꠀꠞ ꠇꠣꠞ ꠇꠣꠞ ꠅꠛꠖꠣꠘ ꠀꠍꠦ ꠁꠔꠣ ꠖꠦꠈꠣꠞ ꠟꠣꠉꠤ en:voy:ꠔꠣꠝꠤꠟ ꠝꠣꠔꠞ ꠛꠣꠁꠟ ꠖꠦꠈꠃꠇ꠆ꠇꠣ ⁕ |
Tamil (таміл. தமிழ் or таміл. tamiḻ) is the language closest to Proto-Dravidian among the Dravidian language family. Spoken predominantly by Tamils in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore, it has smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. As of 1996, it was the eighteenth most spoken language, with over 74 million speakers worldwide. It is one of the official languages of India, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
Pronunciation guide
[edit | edit source]Tamil is written using its own script. Like other Indic scripts, the Tamil script is an abugida, meaning that each letter represents a consonant, and vowels are indicated by modifications to the consonant letter or lack thereof.
Vowels
[edit | edit source]- அ
- like "a" in "about"
- ஆ ா
- like "a" in "father"
- இ ி
- like "i" in "pin"
- ஈ ீ
- like "ee" in "feet"
- உ ு
- like "u" in "push"
- ஊ ூ
- like "oo" in "moon"
- எ ெ
- like "e" in "bed"
- ஏ ே
- longer "e"
- ஐ ை
- like "y" in "type"
- ஒ ொ
- like "o" in "hope"
- ஓ ோ
- longer "o"
- ஔ ௌ
- like "ow" in "town"
Basic phrases
[edit | edit source]Basics
[edit | edit source]- Hello.
- வணக்கம் (vuh-nnuhk-kuhm)
- Hi.
- ஹாய் (hahy) (as used in English)
- How are you?
- எப்படி இருக்கீங்க? (ehp-puh-dih ih-ruk-keeng-guh?)
- Fine, thank you.
- நல்லா இருக்கின்றேன் (nuhl-lah ih-ruk-kihn-rēhn)
- What is your name?
- உங்க பெயர் என்ன? (ung-guh peh-yuh-ru ehn-nuh?)
- My name is ______ .
- என் பெயர் ______ (ehn peh-yuh-ru ______)
- Nice to meet you.
- தங்களை சந்தித்தது மிக்க மகிழ்ச்சி (thuhng-guh-luh suhn-thihth-thuh-dhu mihk-kuh muh-gizhch-chih)
- Please.
- தயவு செய்து (thuh-yuh-vu sey-thu)
- Thank you.
- நன்றி. (nuhn-drih)
- You're welcome.
- நல்வரவு (nuhl-vuh-ruh-vu)
- Yes.
- ஆமாம் (ah-mahm)
- No.
- இல்லை (ihl-ligh)
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- மன்னிக்கவும் (muhn-nihk-kuh-vum)
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- தயவு செய்து (thuh-yuh-vu sey-thu)
- I'm sorry.
- என்னை மன்னிக்கவும் (ehn-nigh muhn-nihk-kuh-vum)
- Goodbye.
- போய் வருகிறேன் (pōhy vuh-ruh-gih-rēhn)
- Bye.
- வரேன் (vuh-rēhn)
- See you tomorrow
- நாளை பார்க்கலாம் (nah-ligh pahrk-kuh-lahm)
- I can't speak Tamil [well].
- ennaal ?????? Uraiyada Iyalaadhu. (formal)