Kongu Tamil or Kovai Tamil is the dialect of
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
that is spoken by the people in
Kongu Nadu, which is the western region of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. It is originally known as "Kangee"` or "Kongalam" or "Kongappechu or Kongu bashai or Coimbatore Tamil".
Variations
The speciality of Kongu Tamil is the use of the
alveolar ற - Tra/Dra (as in the English word track) instead of
retroflex
A retroflex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɹɛtʃɹoːflɛks/), apico-domal (Help:IPA/English, /əpɪkoːˈdɔmɪnəl/), or cacuminal () consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated betw ...
T/D (ட) of standard Tamil. For example, 'ennuDaya' (mine) of standard Tamil is pronounced enRa in the Kongu dialect. However, only Coimbatore district people use this. Additionally the use of guttural nasal (ங்) that sounds "ng" as in the English word Gang, is more prevalent in Kongu Tamil, leading to situations where the grammar of Kongu Tamil would not fit into the grammar of standard Tamil. One of the examples is the use of ங் to end a word like வாங் "vaang" or வாஙொ "vango" means 'come' expressed in a respectful tone, which in standard Tamil would be வாங்க "vaanga". Both of these are
stereotyping
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
Kongalam with regional, professional variations.
Kongu Tamil also uses certain Tamil words that are archaic to Kongu region and are not used in modern Tamil.
See also
*
Kongu Nadu, region in South India
*
Kongu Vellalar
Kongu Vellalar is a community found in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, India.
Etymology
The Vellalar of the Kongu country came to be known as Kongu Vellalar. They are also known by names such as "Bupaalan", Gangavamsam, Kudiyaanavar and Vi ...
, community in South India
*
Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
, metropolis in Tamil Nadu, India
References
Tamil dialects
Dravidian languages
{{Dravidian-lang-stub