Tamil Language and Culture Guide
The Tamil Language
Tamil is a language with a long
and ancient literary tradition that has been spoken in southern India for
several millennia. The Tamil language is a member of the Dravidian language
family, including about thirty languages. The Dravidian language family is
distinct from the Indo-European language family, including Hindi and many other
Indian languages, Farsi, and the Germanic and Romance languages. The Tamil
language is spoken in a wide range of countries, including India, Northern Sri
Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, South Africa, and parts of East Africa, Great
Britain, the United States, Canada, Trinidad, Guyana, and Mauritius. It is an
official language in India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. The number of second
language speakers in Tamil may number in the millions. In northern Sri Lanka
about 20 percent of the population speaks Tamil, around 4 million people.
Tamil is a diglossic language,
which means there is a large difference between the written form of the
language and the spoken form. These differences include grammatical,
vocabulary, and pronunciation differences. The literary form is considered
prestigious, while the spoken from is used in informal settings by all social
classes.
There are six regional dialects
of Tamil which are classified as, East, West, North, South, Central, and Sri
Lanka. Sri Lankan Tamil has retained older features while continental dialects
have lost them or changed in different directions.
Tamil has been influenced by
other languages. Sanskrit, an Indo-European language and a parent language of
Hindi, Bengali, and other northern Indian languages has influenced
Tamil
significantly. However, since colonial times increased cultural interaction with the British,
English has become the most influential language on the Tamil language.
Above information was taken
from http://www.thetamillanguage.com/abo.html &http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=99&menu=004
Demographics:
Tamil Nadu demographic
information
According to the 2001 Census
conducted by the Tamil Nadu government, the total population stood at
62,405,679, with 31,400,909 males, 31,004,770 females, a sex ratio of 987
females per 1000 males, literacy rate of 73.45%, 13.11% of the population below
seven years and a population density of 479.83.
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Tamil_Nadu
Sri Lanka demographic
information
Sinhalese make up 73.8% of the
population (according to 1981 census) and are concentrated in the densely
populated southwest region. Sri Lanka Tamils, citizens whose ancestors have
lived on the island for centuries, total about 12.6% (according to 1981 census)
and live primarily in the north and east. Indian Tamils are a considered a
distinct ethnic group and they make up 5.1% of the population.
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Sri_Lanka
United States demographic
information
There are approximately 84,000
Tamil speakers in the United States. Tamil is spoken in 260 counties and 49
states. It is among the ten most spoken languages in ten counties but it is not
among the ten most common languages in any one state. The highest percentage of
Tamil speakers are located in New Jersey and the Washington D.C. metropolitan
area. In the United States, 1 of every 3,125 people age five and older speaks
Tamil at home. In New Jersey, this figure is 1 in 991 people, while in
Maryland, 1 in 1,531 residents is a Tamil speaker.
The link below provides a
breakdown of the number of Tamil speakers in different counties in the United
State:
Tamil demographics in the
United States
Above information is taken
from: http://www.usefoundation.org/userdata/file/Research/Languages/tamil.pdf
Culture:
Religion
Of the Tamil Nadu population
88% are Hindus, 6 % are Muslims, and 5.5 % are Christians. The Christians are
mostly Roman Catholics and the majority of the Muslims in Tamil Nadu speak
Tamil. In Sri Lanka, the majority of Tamil speakers are Hindu while the rest
are Roman Catholic. However, Buddhism is the majority religion in Sri Lanka.
The most popular deity is
Murugan, the son of Siva. The worship of Amman, is thought to drive from an
ancient mother goddess, is also very common. Kannagi, the heroine, is
worshipped as Pattini by many Tamils, particularly in Sri Lanka. There are also
many followers of Ayyavazhi in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the southern districts. In
addition, there are many temples and devotees of Vishnu, Siva, Ganapathi, and
the other Hindu deities. Hindu Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence;
recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and
the realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large,
that indeed is the distinguishing feature of Hindu religion.‖ (Bal Gangadhar
Tilak's statement of Hinduism's defining features) The roots of Hinduism in
southern India, and amongst tribal and indigenous communities, are
fundamentally contributive to the foundations of the religious and
philosophical Hindu system.
Above information was taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu
Dress
Veshti is the traditional men's
garment in Tamil Nadu. It is a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually
around 7 yards long, wrapped around the waist and the legs, and knotted at the
waist. This is the traditional men's garment in India.
A sari is a female
garment in the Indian subcontinent. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth,
ranging from four to nine meters in length that is draped over the body in
various styles. The Madisar is the style in which the sari is worn by
communities in Tamil Nadu, India. In ancient days, this was the mandatory style
in which the sari was supposed to be worn by a woman after her marriage, but
today, to suit modern trends, yet accommodate traditions, the madisar is worn
by women on
selected
festive occasions and while witnessing ceremonies. Normally saris are six yards
in length, but since the madisar is worn in a different style, one requires a
nine-yard sari to wear it.
Above information is taken
from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhoti;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ and
http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/wo-men/Madisar.htm
Music
Tamil folk music tends to be
vivacious and is best experienced at a live performance. Recent efforts have
revived interest in folk music and good recordings are starting to be
available.
Listening Sample:
http://www.geocities.com/dr_sidd_r/tamilnadu/MUSIC/folk.au
Songs in praise of religious
deities are commonplace in Tamil Nadu. Although the polytheistic Hindu religion
inspires much of this music, the Muslims and Christians have their share of
songs too.
Carnatic music, referred to as
"classical music" in South India, is a very old tradition. One of its
greatest composers was Thyagaraja, who is regarded by many as a saint. Most of
these songs are Hindu devotional in nature, but are enjoyed by almost anybody
with taste.
Listening Sample:
http://www.geocities.com/dr_sidd_r/tamilnadu/MUSIC/gaja.au
Above information is taken
from:
Food
Each geographical area where
Tamils live has developed its own distinct variant of the common dishes plus a
few dishes distinctly native to itself. The Chettinad region, comprising of
Karaikudi and adjoining areas, is known for both traditional vegetarian dishes,
like appam, uthappam, paal paniyaram, and non-vegetarian dishes, made primarily
using chicken.
Rice, the major staple food in most of Tamil, is usually steamed and served with about two to six accompanying items, which typically include sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu, and thayir (curd) or moru (whey or buttermilk). Ghee Clarified butter called neyyi in Tamil, is used to flavor the rice when eaten with dhal or sambar, but not with curds or buttermilk. Morkulambu, a dish which can be spiced with moru, is also popular with steamed rice.
Above information is taken
from:
http://www.neivedyam.com/2007/10/making-of-ghee-clarified-butter.html
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_people
Family Life
Among the Tamil people, the
nuclear family is one of the most important social unit--husband, wife, and
unmarried children. When economic need causes several families (Tamil-kudumbam)
or generations to live together, each wife will maintain her own cooking place
and prepare food for her own husband as a sign of the individuality of the
nuclear family.
Ethnic groups in Sri Lanka
preserve clear distinctions in the roles of the sexes. The women are
responsible for cooking, raising children, taking care of housework, weeding
and help with the harvest. Among poor families women also perform full-time
work for the more well-to-do. The man's job is to protect women and children
and provide for them. In this role men dominate all aspects of business and
public life. At the center of the system are children, who mix freely until
puberty and receive a great deal of affection from both sexes. As they enter
their teens, children begin to adopt the adult roles that will keep them in
separate worlds: girls help with household chores and boys work outside the
home. Among the middle- and upper-income groups, however, education of children
may last into their early twenties, and women may mix with males or even take
on jobs that were in the past reserved for men. There has been a tendency to
view the educational qualifications of women as a means for obtaining favorable
marriage alliances, and many middle-class women withdraw from the workplace
after marriage.
Above information is taken
from:
http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/41.html
Education
Tamil Nadu has a history that
dates back to a thousand years or more. The state’s reputation lies with the
fact that one of the first three universities established by British East India
is located here in Chennai – the University of Madras. Having made great
strides in the field of Higher Education, Tamil Nadu is a frontline state in
India imparting quality education in the field of science and technology.
The State Government has
undertaken several schemes and programs to overcome the problem of rural
illiteracy and has provided free elementary education to the masses. The
state’s literacy rate has increased significantly from 62.66% in 1991 to 73.47%
in 2001 which is well above the national average. About 99% of the population
has access to primary education. Tamil Nadu has: 40 Universities, 350
engineering colleges and 1150 Arts Colleges
Sri Lanka’s population has a
literacy rate of 92%, higher than that expected for a third world country. Sri
Lanka has the highest literacy rate in South Asia and overall, one of the
highest literacy rates in Asia. An example of two schools found in Sri Lanka
are:
National Schools
National Schools come under the
direct control of the Ministry of Education therefore has direct funding from
the ministry. These few are referred to as famous schools or elite schools
since they have a rich history and well-maintained facilities than the average
public school. 323
Provincial Schools
Provincial Schools consists of
the vast majority of schools in Sri Lanka. Funded and controlled by the local
governments many suffer from poor facilities and a shortage of teachers.
Above information is taken
from:
Dance
The dominant classical dance
amongst Tamils is Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam is performative, rather than
participative. The dance is an exposition of the story contained in a song, and
is usually performed by one performer on stage, with an orchestra of drums, a
drone, and one or more singers backstage.
The most notable of Tamil folk
dances is karakattam. In its religious form, the dance is performed in front of
an image of the goddess Mariamma. The dancer bears, on his or her head, a brass
pot filled with uncooked rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a
bamboo frame, and tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a
grain.
Above information is taken
from:
Holidays
The most important Tamil
festivals are Pongal, a harvest festival that occurs in mid-January, and
Varudapirappu, the Tamil New Year, which occurs around mid-April. Both are
celebrated by almost all Tamils, regardless of religion. The Hindu festival
Deepavali is celebrated with fanfare; other local Hindu festivals include Thaipusam,
Panguni Uttiram, and Adiperukku.
Above information is taken
from:
Political Information:
Tamil
Dravidian languages, such as
Tamil, are distinct from Indo-Aryan, languages, such as Hindi. Increased
awareness of linguistic and other racial and regional differences
produced
a mindset in which Indians began to see themselves in terms of their ancestry
and began to classify themselves into distinct Aryan and Dravidian races. This
mindset affected thinking in India about racial and regional differences and
had an impact on aspects of Tamil nationalism. Tamil speakers believed
themselves to be some of the earliest inhabitants of India, and perceived the
Aryan population as oppressors from whom they should liberate themselves. A
movement toward the establishment of an independent Tamil state began. Calls
for independence were somewhat quelled by naming Tamil one of the official
languages of India and by reorganizing Indian states along linguistic and
ethnic lines. However, there is still some support in Tamil Nadu for the
establishment of an independent state. In fact, the fight for independence in
Sri Lanka by the Tamil Tigers receives significant support from Tamils of Tamil
Nadu.
Above information is from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Tamil_Nadu
Sri Lanka
A civil war has been fought in
Sri Lanka on and off since July of 1983. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
have fought a guerilla war against the government to create an independent
Tamil state. The root of the conflict goes back to British colonial rule. After
independence was granted by the British in 1948, disagreements between the
Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic communities flared up when drawing up the country's
first post-independence constitution. The Tamil minority felt they were being
oppressed by the Sinhalese majority. Incidents, such as passage of the Sinhala
Only Act, which mandated Sinhala as the only official language of Sri Lanka,
angered the Tamil people. The act became a symbol of oppression and
justification for their fight for independence. On May of 2009 the governement
forces defeated the Tamil Tigers, killing their leader, and ending the conflict
after decades of civil war.
Above information if from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhala_Only_Act and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War#Origin_and_evolution
Linguistic Features:
Phonology
Comparison of English and
Tamil Consonants
Information taken from:
English Consonants
Tamil consonants
Side
by side Comparison of vowels in English and Tamil Nadu
Information taken from:
The Tamil language
distinguished 18 consonants and 12 vowels. Together these combine to form 216
compound characters. There is a special character (aaytha ezutthu), giving
a total of 247 character. Vowels are classified into short and long (five of
each) and two diphthongs. Consonants are classified into three categories with
six in each category: vallinam - hard, mellinam - soft or nasal
and idayinam - medium.
Unlike most other Indian
languages, Tamil does not have aspirated consonants. The Tamil script does not
have distinct letters for voiced and unvoiced plosives, although both are
present in the spoken language as allophones--i.e., they are in complementary
distribution and the places they can occur do not intersect. For example, the
unvoiced plosive 'p' occurs at the beginning of the words and the voiced
plosive 'b' cannot. In the middle of words, unvoiced plosives commonly occur as
a geminated pair like -pp- , while voiced plosives do not usually come in
pairs. Only the voiced plosives occur after a vowel, or after a corresponding
nasal. Thus both the voiced and unvoiced plosives can be represented by the
same script in Tamil without ambiguity, the script denoting only the place and
broad manner of articulation (plosive, nasal, etc.).
Phonologists are divided in
their opinion over why written Tamil did not distinguish between voiced and
unvoiced characters. One point of view is that Tamil never had conjunct
consonants or voiced stops - voice was rather the result of elision or sandhi.
Consequently, unlike Indo-European languages and other Dravidian languages,
Tamil did not need separate characters for voiced consonants. A slightly
different theory holds that
voiced
consonants were at one stage allophones of unvoiced consonants, and the lack of
distinction between the two in the modern script merely reflects that.
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_phonology
Morphology
Tamil nouns (and pronouns) are
classified into two super-classes (tiai): "rational" (uyartiai),
Humans and deities; masculine singular, feminine singular and rational plural
classes "irrational" (aiai), all other nouns that include
animals , objects and abstract nouns; inrrational singular and irrational
plural class.
Classes are indicated through
suffixes which perform as cases or postpositions. Tamil nouns can take one of
four prefixes, i, a, u and e which are functionally
equivalent to the demonstratives in English.
Verbs: also use suffixes to
show person, number, mood, tense, and voice.
- Person and number are
indicated by suffixing the oblique case of the relevant pronoun. The suffixes
to indicate tenses and voice are formed from grammatical particles, which are
added to the stem.
- There are two voices in the
Tamil language. The first indicates that the subject of the sentence undergoes
or is the object of the action named by the verb stem, and the
second indicates that the subject of the sentence directs the action
referred to by the verb stem.
- Tamil has three simple
tenses—past, present, and future—indicated by the suffixes, as well as a series
of perfects indicated by compound suffixes. Mood is implicit in Tamil, and is
normally reflected by the same morphemes which mark tense categories. Tamil
verbs also mark evidentially.
Grammars of Tamil do not
distinguish between adjectives and adverbs. Tamil has a large number of idiophones
that act as adverbs indicating the way the object in a given state
"says" or "sounds".
Tamil does not have articles.
In the first person plural, Tamil makes a distinction between inclusive
pronouns we and our that include the addressee and exclusive
pronouns that do not.
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language
Syntax
The basic order of constituents
in a simple Tamil sentence is Subject-Object-Verb. Other orders can be found,
but they range from simple stylistic variation to unusual ―afterthought‖ word
order, where the speaker has not formed the sentence well and adds things after
the basic order has been established (usually after the verb has been made
finite). Compared to English, Tamil syntax is often the mirror-image of the
order in an English sentence, particularly when there are relative clauses,
quotations, adjectival and adverbial clauses, conjoined verbal constructions,
aspectual and modal auxiliaries, and other complexities.
Nouns
The simplest Tamil sentence
consists of two Noun Phrases, with no verb present in the surface structure:
idu pustaham `This (is a) book.'
Nouns which are the subject of
a sentence are usually in the nominative case, except in certain constructions
involving stative and/or defective verbs, and in constructions involving iru
when it means `have'.
Noun phrases which are the
subject of a sentence are generally the first constituent in the sentence.
Adjectives and other members of the Noun Phrase precede the Noun. Case markers,
plural markers, and certain quantifiers follow the Noun, as in:
avan-ukku `to
him'
koandenga `children'
paal-ellaam `all
the milk'
Verbal syntax
As mentioned above, verb
phrases containing finite verbs are generally the last constituent in the
surface structure of a Tamil sentence.
That is, a Verb Phrase consists
of a verb-stem plus tense, plus optional infinitive plus optional aspect and
optional modal and person-number-gender. If a conditional mode is chosen, it is
attached to tense; negation must be attached to infinitive, in which case there
is no person-number-gender. When aspect is present, the past-marked verb stem
must be used; aspectual verbs have their own tense markers as well, or
modal/negative; person-number-gender is present if modal and negative are not.
Adjectival syntax
Within the Noun Phrase,
adjectives always precede a noun. If there is no nominal form present,
there can be no adjective. That is, a sentence like English `this is good' is
not possible in Tamil; rather a Tamil sentence must have the form `this thing
is a good thing' or `this one is a good one.'
idu nalladu `This thing is (a) good thing.'
Adverbs
There are no true adverbs in
Tamil, i.e. none that one could list in the dictionary. They are all formed by
the addition of aa(y) to nouns or NOMINALIZED adjectives, with one
exception: nalla `good' + aa equals nallaa `well',
although nalladaa also occurs. In Brahmin dialect this item is regular,
i.e. nallaa does not occur, but the nominalization of nalla is nannaa;
nallataa also occurs. Adverbial forms of adjectives occur in identity
statements with copula iru.
With certain noun phrases
marked with aa iru the meaning may be `temporarily serving as,
functioning as', e.g. idu vahuppu saale, aanaa ippa aaffiisaa irukku `This
is (usually) a classroom, but now it's (serving as) an office.'
Interrogatives
Interrogatives, or question
sentences, are formed in Tamil in a number of ways, the most common being by
the addition of suffixes or prefixes, rather than by subject-verb inversion as
in some languages.
Conditional
Conditional sentences (
`If'-type sentences in English) are formed by adding, in the place where
person-number gender would normally occur, the suffix -aa(l). This is
added to the PAST stem of the verb only, and thus tense and person-number
gender are neutralized, i.e., the conditional of a verb gives us no information
about tense or person-number gender.
paattaa ... `If
(some)one sees ... '
avaru vandaa `If
he/she came/comes'
nii saappittaa `If
you eat/ate'
If the verb is aspectually
marked, such as with iru or (v)idu, the suffix -aa is
added in past tense context:
avan vandirundaa `If he had come...'
poost vantittaa `If the mail definitely came...'
nii pooyirundaa ade paattiruppee `If you had gone, you would have seen.'
Consecutive action
Tamil has a number of ways to
express one action following another. Most of these constructions differ
slightly in how they express the IMMEDIACY of the action that follows. That is,
one can express whether the action is almost simultaneous, follows on the heels
of another action, or merely follows it sometime afterward.
Above information is taken
from: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/tamilweb/book/chapter6/node1.html
Semantics
Tamil is a Dravidian language
that is more than 2,000 years old. Speakers of Tamil take great pride in their
language and have a strong desire to maintain the linguistic purity of their
language. Though classical and modern Tamil has borrowed words from other
languages (i.e. Munda, Malay, Chinese, Teluge, Kannade, English, Arabic, etc.),
there is great opposition to use of foreign loan-words. The strongest impact of
purism in Tamil has been on loan-words from Sanskrit. During its history,
Tamil, along with other Dravidian languages like Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam
etc., was influenced by Sanskrit in terms of vocabulary, grammar and literary
styles, reflecting the increased trend of Sanskritisation in the Tamil country.
Tamil vocabulary never became quite as heavily Sanskritised as most of the
other Dravidian languages, and unlike in those languages, it was and remains
possible to express complex ideas, including in science, art, religion and law
- without the use of Sanskrit loan words. Tamil in formal documents, literature
and public speeches has seen a marked decline in the use Sanskrit loan words in
the past few
decades.
There has also been an effort made to replace modern English words with new
words derived from Tamil roots.
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language
Pragmatics
A non-confrontational
communication style is used, and information or requests may not be stated
directly.
Indirect style of
communication is preferred over direct, so Indians or Sri Lankans may say what
they think a partner wants to here to be polite
Telling someone ―no‖ is
considered rude and unkind.
In order to be polite and
prevent from losing face, most Indians will never tell you "No". If
they say "Yes" to one of your questions while bobbling their head (a
mixture between a shake and a nod), that "Yes" generally means
"No".
Tamils greet each other by
saying ―vanakkam,‖ which means, ―May you be blessed with a long life.‖
When Tamils meet a person of
superior rank they join their hands and lift them to thir forehead or breast
and say, ―Tambiran Nanmei Taratum,‖ which means ―God confer on you good.‖
The Sri Lankans will want to
feel at ease with you and at least have a small bit of background about you
before they will feel comfortable doing business or discussing business with
you.
Hindus generally maintain a
personal space of 3 to 3.5 feet during conversation.
Touching is generally not a
part of communication, however among close friends holding hands or putting
arms around each other is a way of expressing friendship.
Touching between men and
women is not appropriate and displays of physical affection in public are
rarely seen.
Sustained eye contact is not
generally the norm, especially a woman looking at a man.
When communicating with
elders it is common to use indirect eye contact.
In India, the head wobble,
which is very common throughout the country can mean "yes" and not
"no". It depends on the angle and expression and the speed to
determine which is which.
Grasping the ears signifies
sincerity or repentance, since ears are considered sacred, pulling or boxing
ones ears is a grave insult.
When a person meets a person
of equal rank, some simply bow to each other and some raise their joined hands
to their breasts.
When walking with a person of
superior rank or caste, it is improper to walk sidelong or before him.
Tamils show great reverence
for elders by rising form their seats when they see them and giving them
precedence during all public and private meetings.
There are many different
kinds of civility offered to superiors, such as giving a seat, giving water for
the hands or feet, and furnishing food.
On formal occasions, a son
salutes his parents by falling down and grasping the feet.
Rules of etiquette when one
has a visitor include addressing the visitor with pleasing language, rising on
his approach, and accompanying him for a distance when he departs.
The above information is from:
Chitty, C. (1988). The castes,
customs, manners and literature of the Tamils. New Dehli: Asian Educational
Services.
Cultural and Language
Considerations with Tamil speakers
Do’s and Don’ts
Dress in this culture is very
conservative, so when meeting with individuals from this culture dress
professionally, preferably with shoulders and knees covered
In this culture individuals
are very conscious of social order and status. In families the father or oldest
male is general considered the leader of the family. Consulting with the father
and showing deference to the father as the head of the family may be important
when working with individuals of this culture.
Face, which can be described
as honor or personal dignity, is extremely important; publicly reprimanding or
criticizing someone could lead to a loss of face and should be avoided.
Answering questions with
"no" to people from Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu seems blunt or rude, so
be tactful when answering questions so you do not offend and be aware that in
response to your questions they may provide vague or uncommitted answers
To make your client feel
comfortable you may want to greet them in their native tongue by saying
"vanakkam."
Women from Sri Lanka and
Tamil Nadu often refrain from physical contact with a man outside their family,
so always wait to see if a woman extends her hand or not if you are male. Male
to male and female to female handshakes are ok.
In that culture you pick up
objects and eat only with the right hand because the left hand is considered
unclean, so when handing things to your client try to use right hand
Both cultures are
hierarchical and titles are very important. So when you introduce yourself give
your professional title, and when addressing a client and his/her family always
use the appropriate title followed by the surname. If one does not have a
professional title, use the honorific title "Sir" or
"Madam".
If you are presented with a
business card treat it with respect, and always present your business card with
two hands.
Do not put people in awkward positions or under pressure. Never openly
criticize people.
Sri Lankans are very non-confrontational in their communication style, so when
interacting do not put the client in an awkward position or under pressure
Use your first meeting with a client to build rapport, jumping straight to
business is considered rude
Possess a polychronic attitude toward time, particularly during social
situations, so be respectful and aware of this when working with individuals of
these cultures.
India and Sri Lanka are very hierarchical societies, so generally it is best to
defer to the most senior person in the room.
Avoid topics or materials
that could insult client’s religions, such as leather, alcohol, pigskin or dog.
The above information is from:
Chitty, C. (1988). The castes,
customs, manners and literature of the Tamils. New Dehli: Asian Educational
Services.
Possible error patterns The below lists contains aspects of the Tamil language
that differ from English. Be conscious of these characteristics as possible
errors that a speaker of Tamil may produce when speaking English:
Phonology
Fricatives and affricates are not produced in Tamil, be aware of this possible
influence on English
Consonant clusters are not produced in the word initial position
No aspirated consonants
No distinct letters for
voiced and unvoiced plosives (/p/ and /b/)
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_phonology
Syntax
Most common sentence structure order is Subject-Object-Verb (verbs must
conclude the sentences)
Not all Tamil sentences have subjects (―null subject language‖)
Tamil lacks relative
pronouns, though speakers convey their meanings by usin relative participle
constructions For example, the English sentence "Call the boy who learnt
the lesson" will be said in Tamil roughly as "That-lesson-learnt-boy
call".
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_grammar
Morphology
Showing appropriate person markers are done by adding suffixes to the stem word
(Tamil language does not have specific person words to use)
No
distinction between adjective and adverbs
No articles
There is no limit on the
number of suffixes that can be added to a word in Tamil (can lead to very long
words that would be equivalent to long sentences in English)
Above information is taken
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_grammar
Semantics
Terms used in one language
that are not used in the other.
The above information is from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language
Assessments for speakers of
Tamil
Few assessments are available that have specifically been prepared for speakers
of the Tamil language. However, the Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) does
have a version for the Tamil language.
See the recourses listed
below to obtain assessment and therapy materials for this population.
Extra Resources:
Websites
American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Find a Professional: Online
Directory of Audiology and
Speech-Language Pathology. Retrieved May 23,
2009, from
http://www.asha.org/proserv/.
Audley Blog Com.(n.d.)
Retrieved on May 23, 2009 from
http://www.audleyblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/rsinsouth-indian-temple-complex-tamil-nadu0000235010_resized.JPG
Culture crossing. (n.d.) A
community built guide to cross cultural etiquette and understanding.
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
http://www.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student_details.php?Id=21&CID=96
Kwintessential. (n.d.) Sri
lanka –language,culture, customs, and etiquette. Retrieved May 23, 2009,
from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/srilanka.html
Neivedayam Innovation in
Cooking. (n.d.) Making of Ghee. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://www.neivedyam.com/2007/10/making-of-ghee-clarified-butter.html
Official
Website of the Development Corporation and Department of Tourism of Tamil Nadu.
(n.d.) Retrieved on May 23, 2009 from http://www.tamilnadutourism.org/
Online Language Translators:
Certified Translation of Your Documents. (n.d.) Tamil language. Retrieved
May, 23, 2009, from http://www.online-languagetranslators.com/tamil_language.htm
Stylusinc. (n.d.) Communicating
cross-culturally in india. Retrieved May 24, 2009, from
http://www.stylusinc.com/business/india/communicating.htm
Suleka.com. (n.d.) Madisar. Retrieved
on June 1, 2009, from http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/wo-men/Madisar.htm
Tamil Language in Context.
(n.d.) Retrieved on June 1, 2009 from http://www.thetamillanguage.com/abo.html
Tamil Nadu Education. (n.d.)
Provincial Schools. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://www.tamilnadueducation.net/Facts/
Tamil Nadu Homepage. (n.d) Music
in tamil. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~siddhart/tamilnadu/MUSIC/index.html
The Texas Speech-Language and
Hearing Association. (n.d.) Linguistically diverse populations:
Considerations and resources for intervention. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
http://www.txsha.org/Diversity_Issues/cld_document.asp#language
The University of Congress.
(n.d.) Family. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/41.htm
The University of Leeds. (n.d.)
Tamil. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/tamilweb/book/chapter6/node1.html
UCLA Language Materials
Project: Teaching Resources for Less Commonly Taught Languages. (n.d.) Tamil.
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=99&menu=004
Virtual Tourist. (n.d.) State
of tamil nadu local customs. Retrieved May, 23, 2009, from
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/India/State_of_Tamil_Nadu/Local_Customs-State_of_Tamil_Nadu-BR-1.html
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia (n.d.) Demographics of Sri Lanka. Retrieved on June 1,
2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Sri_Lanka
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia (n.d.) Demographics of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved on June 1,
2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Tamil_Nadu
Wikipedia:
The Free Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Dhoti. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhot
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Hinduism. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia (n.d.) Politics of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved on June 1, 2009,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Tamil_Nadu
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
(n.d.) Sinhala Only Act. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhala_Only_Act
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Sri lanka. Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia (n.d.) Sri Lankan Civil War. Retrieved on June 1, 2009,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War#Origin_and_evolution
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Tamil grammar. Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_grammar
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Tamil language. Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Tamil people. Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_people
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Tamil people. Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_people#Language_and_literature
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Tamil phonology. Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_phonology
Wikipedia: The Free
Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Women in sari. Retrieved on June 1, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Books
Chitty, C. (1988). The castes,
customs, manners and literature of the Tamils. New Dehli: Asian Educational
Services.
Online Journals
Language in India - A monthly online journal devoted to the study of the
languages spoken in the Indian sub-continent which provides scholarly research
findings, linguistic descriptions, interdisciplinary research and current
issues of importance relating to Indian languages.
Language in India: Strength for
Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow, 9. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
http://www.languageinindia.com/
Research Articles
Cheng, L. L. (1993).
Asian-American cultures. In D. E. Battle (Ed.), Communication disorders in
multicultural populations (pp. 38–77). Boston: Andover Medical Publishers.
Cheng, L. L. (1999). Moving
beyond accent: Social and cultural realities of living with many tongues. Topics
in Language Disorders, 19(4), 1–10.
Lian, C., & Abdullah, S.
(2001). The education and practice of speech-language pathologists in malaysia.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10, 3-9.
Shah, A. (2007). Cultural
Issues in Clinical Context with Asian Indian Patients. In Uzzell, B., Ponton,
M. et al. (Eds.), International Handbook of Cross-cultural Clinical
Neuropsychology (IHCCN), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
van Kleeck, A. (1994). Potential
cultural bias in training parents as conversational partners with their
children who have delays in language development. American Journal of
Speech-Language Pathology, 3, 67-78.
Williamson, S. (1979). Tamil
baby talk: A cross-cultural study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
University of Pennsylvania.
Video Clips
Resources for Acquiring Materials or Information for Assessment or
Intervention
May be able to acquire
materials or information needed assessment and/or intervention from the
following sources:
The ALL India Institute of
Speech and Hearing in Mysore, India is an institute established to train
professionals and conducts research in speech-language pathology, audiology,
speech sciences, and hearing sciences. Some of the research conducted focuses
on development of assessment materials for Indian languages, and speech speaker
recognition. Normative data for speech and language acquisition in children for
various Indian languages have been developed.
The All India Institute of
Speech and Hearing. (n.d.) retrieved May 23, 2009 from
http://www.aiishmysore.com/
The Asian Indian Caucus
(AIC) is one of six multicultural constituency groups within the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association. It was formed in 1994 by a group of
professionals committed to representing the unique needs and interests of
speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and individuals with communication
disorders of Asian-Indian origin.
Asian Indian Caucus: A
Multiculural Constituency Group of ASHA. (n.d.) retrieved May 23, 2009 from
http://www.asianindiancaucus.org/
The UCLA Language
Materials Project (LMP) is an on-line bibliographic database of teaching
and learning materials for over 150 Less Commonly Taught Languages
UCLA Language Materials
Project: Teaching Resources for Less Commonly Taught Languages. (n.d.) Tamil.
Retrieved May 23, 2009, from http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=99&menu=004
SLP’s with Tamil language
background
Unfortunately no bilingual
SLP’s knowledgeable in the Tamil language could be located. The ASHA and TSHA
websites on linguistically diverse populations as of May of 2009, did not
contain information or resources for the Tamil language.
Interpreter and Translator
services in the Tamil language are available and one provider of these services
in the Texas area is listed below:
Texas Interpreter and Translator Services
Texas interpreter and
Translator. (n.d.) Retrieved on May 23, 2009 from
http://www.interpretersunlimited.com/texas-interpreter-translator.php
Tamil Cultural Association at
The University of Texas at Austin is an organization from which individuals
with knowledge of Tamil could be recruited and trained to act as interpreters.
Tamil Cultural Association at
the University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.) Retrieved on May 23, 2009, from http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/tamilsa/
Multicultural Case History Form for
Adults
Name:
Date:
Instructions: Please fill out
the questions below. The information will be used to design appropriate
assessment tools.
In what countries, cities, and
states have you lived? For how long?
Do you have any food
preferences that may affect swallowing?
Do you any religious and or
spiritual beliefs that may affect the assessment?
Who lives in your home with you
(parents, siblings, friends)?
Do you have use different
communication patterns/styles with different family members or friends?
What is the predominant
language you speak at home? Other settings (e.g., work, social settings, gym,
church)?
Why are you concerned about
your speech and language?
How difficult is it for you to
learn new skills?
Are there
any other family members you would like to have present during the evaluation?
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