Madras Bashai (Tamil: , ) is the

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of the

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 o ...

spoken by native people in the city of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(currently known as Chennai) in the

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n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. It is sometimes considered a

pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...

, as its vocabulary is heavily influenced by Hindustani,

Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

, and Burmese; it is not mutually intelligible with any of those except for Tamil, to a certain extent. Madras Bashai evolved largely during the past three centuries. It grew in parallel with the growth of cosmopolitan Madras. After Madras Bashai became somewhat common in Madras, it became a source of

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

for early

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

films from the 1950s, in the form of

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

s and

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s. Subsequent generations in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

identified with it and absorbed English constructs into the dialect, making it what it is today.

Etymology

The phrase ''Madras Bhashai'' is a Hindostani compound word, where the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word ''madrās'' is short for the city of '' madrāsa-paṭnā'' ( ''city of education''), and ''bhaṣa'' is the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

word for "language".

Evolution

Madras Bashai evolved largely during the past three centuries. With its emergence as an important city in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

when they recovered it from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and as the capital of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

, the contact with western world increased and a number of English words crept into the vocabulary. Many of these words were introduced by educated, middle-class Tamil migrants to the city who borrowed freely from English for their daily usage. Due to the presence of a considerable population of Telugu, Hindi–Urdu and many other language-speakers, especially, the Gujaratis,

Marwaris The Marwari or Marwadi (Hindi: मारवाड़ी, Urdu: مارواڑی) are an Indian ethnic group that originate from the Rajasthan region of India. Their language, also called Marwari, comes under the umbrella of Rajasthani languages ...

and some

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

communities, some Hindustani and Telugu words, too, became a part of Madras Bashai. At the turn of the 20th century, though preferences have since shifted in favor of the Central and Madurai Tamil dialects, the English words introduced during the early 20th century have been retained. Madras Bashai is generally considered a dialect of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

like the Cockney dialect of English. Lyrics of ''

gaana Gaana (or Gānā) is a genre of Tamil music, which is sung in the Madras Bashai dialect of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is rap-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the Chennai people." It evolved over the past two ...

'' songs make heavy use of Madras Bashai.

Vocabulary

A few words unique to Madras Bashai are given below; an Internet project, urban Tamil, has set out to collect urban Tamil vocabulary. ; Words borrowed from other languages

In film

Madras Bashai is used in many

movies after the 1950s. Actors such, Manorama, J. P. Chandrababu, Loose Mohan,

Thengai Srinivasan Thengai Srinivasan (21 October 1937 – 9 November 1987) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films and plays from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was given the prefix ''Thengai'' (coconut) after his role as a coconut-seller in th ...

Janagaraj Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthu ...

Cho Ramaswamy Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known as Cho Ramaswamy (5 October 1934 – 7 December 2016), was an Indian actor, comedian, character actor, editor, political satirist, playwright, film director and lawyer from Tamil Nadu. He was a p ...

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...

Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numer ...

, Santhanam,

Vikram Vikram may refer to: * Vikram (name), a male name in the Hindu community * ''Vikram'' (1986 Tamil film) * ''Vikram'' (1986 Telugu film) * ''Vikram'' (2022 Tamil film) * Vikram (actor) (born 1966), Indian actor * Vikram (spacecraft), an Indian M ...

Attakathi Dinesh Dinesh Ravi, better known as Attakathi Dinesh, is an Indian actor who has acted in leading roles in Tamil cinema. He made his breakthrough playing the lead role in ''Attakathi'' (2012), portraying Dinakaran. Career Dinesh completed his high ...

, Vijay and

Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tami ...

are well known for using it. Representative films are '' Maharasan'', ''

Michael Madana Kama Rajan ''Michael Madana Kama Rajan'' is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and written by Kamal Haasan, with Crazy Mohan penning the dialogues. The film stars Haasan in four roles alongside Urvasi, Rupini an ...

'', ''

Thirumalai ''Thirumalai'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Ramana. The film stars Vijay and Jyothika, with Manoj K. Jayan, Avinash (in his Tamil debut), Vivek, Raghuvaran, Kausalya and Karunas in supporting roles ...

'', '' Vasool Raja MBBS'', ''

Attahasam ''Attahasam'' () () is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action masala film written and directed by Saran featuring Ajith Kumar in dual lead roles. Pooja, Sujatha, Karunas and Ramesh Khanna play pivotal roles in the film, while the score and soundt ...

'', '' Pammal K. Sambandam'', ''

Chennai 600028 ''Chennai 600028'' is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language sports comedy film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu in his directorial debut. It stars Shiva, Jai, Premji, Aravind Akash, Nithin Sathya and newcomers Ajay Raj, Ranjith, Vijay Vasanth, Pr ...

'', ''

Siva Manasula Sakthi ''Siva Manasula Sakthi'' () also known by the initialism ''SMS'', is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant M. Rajesh, a former assistant of director S. A. Chandrasekhar. It stars Jiiva and newcomer ...

'', ''

Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai ''Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Thiru. The film, produced by Vikram Krishna. Starring Vishal in the lead role along with Sarah-Jane Dias who makes her acting debut ...

'', '' Saguni'', ''

Attakathi ''Attakathi'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith, a former assistant of Venkat Prabhu. Produced by C. V. Kumar, it stars Dinesh, Nandita Swetha and Aishwarya Rajesh. The film garnered a ...

'', ''

Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru ''Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film co-produced and directed by Sundar C. and produced by Khushbu. The film stars Siddharth, Hansika Motwani, and Santhanam. The film was partially reshot ...

'', '' Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara'', '' Ai'', ''

'', '' Kasethan Kadavulada'', '' Anegan'', ''

Vedalam ''Vedalam'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Siva. It stars Ajith Kumar, Lakshmi Menon and Shruti Hassan while Ashwin Kakumanu, Rahul Dev, Thambi Ramaiah, Kabir Duhan Singh, and Soori play supporting ro ...

'', '' Maari'', ''

Maari 2 ''Maari 2'' is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Balaji Mohan. It is a sequel to his 2015 film '' Maari''. Dhanush, besides producing the film under his company Wunderbar Films, also stars as the title cha ...

'', ''

Aaru __NOTOC__ In ancient Egyptian mythology, Aaru (; egy, jꜣrw "Reeds, rushes"), known also as '' sḫt-jꜣrw'' or the Field of Reeds, is the heavenly paradise where Osiris rules. It has been described as the '' ka'' (a part of the soul) o ...

'', '' Sketch'', ''

Vada Chennai ''Vada Chennai'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action crime drama film written and directed by Vetrimaaran in his fourth film as a director. It is the first instalment in a planned trilogy. Produced by A. Subaskaran's Lyca Production ...

'' and ''

Bigil ''Bigil'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language sports action film written and directed by Atlee and produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram under the banner AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in the titular role. It also stars Nayanthara, Jacki ...

''.

External links

''Chennai Slang''
- List of words

Notes

{{Dialects of Tamil Languages of Tamil Nadu Tamil dialects English-based pidgins and creoles Culture of Chennai Indian slang Mixed languages

Etymology

Evolution

Vocabulary

In film

External links

See also

Notes