Iyengar Tamil () is a dialect of the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

language spoken mostly in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. 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 Indi ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, as well as other neighbouring regions of

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It is spoken by the

Iyengar Iyengars (also spelt Ayyangar or Aiyengar, pronounced ) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, whose members follow Sri Vaishnavism and the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. Iyengars are divided i ...

community, a sect of Tamil Brahmins whose members adhere to

Sri Vaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism () is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vi ...

. Iyengars are present in considerable numbers in the states of

, and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, though their spoken dialect varies from state to state.

Development

During the ancient period, Brahmin Tamil was spoken only by those Brahmins who were associated with the

Smartha The ''Smarta'' tradition (, ) is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Uttara Mīmāṃsā, Advaita, Yoga, and theism. The Smar ...

tradition, including the

Iyer Iyers () (also spelt as Ayyar, Aiyar, Ayer, or Aiyer) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the '' Advaita'' philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the Smarta tradition. This is ...

s. The Iyengars developed a unique dialect of their own over the centuries, called the Sri Vaishnava

Manipravalam Manipravalam (, ) is a macaronic language found in some manuscripts of South India. It is a hybrid language, typically written in the Grantha script, which combines Sanskrit lexicon and Tamil morpho-syntax.The Illustrated weekly of India, (1965). ...

. Owing to the development of a homogenised Brahmin identity during the medieval period, the Vaishnavite Brahmins of

Tamilakam Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, La ...

largely assimilated Brahmin Tamil with their own dialect, retaining several words of the Vaishnava Manipravalam in their lexicon. The Hebbar and Mandyam Iyengars who reside outside the Tamil country, however, continue to use Iyengar Tamil as their mother tongue.

Characteristics

A unique characteristic of Iyengar Tamil is its retention of a lexicon associated with sacredness, with its roots usually from Sanskrit. For example, Iyengar Tamil makes distinctions between potable water (''tīrtham'') and non-potable water (''jalam''), with the former bearing a sacred connotation. The Tamil vernacular, in comparison, employs the terms ''tanīr'' or ''tannī'' to refer to potable water. Similarly, Iyengars employ the term ''bhakshanam'' to refer to religious offerings of food, which is otherwise absent in standard Tamil. In terms of grammar, enquiries in Iyengar Tamil often involve substitutions in the suffixes present in the vernacular, namely with ''élā'' and ''ōnō.'' For instance, an Iyengar would be likely to ask "sāptélā?" or "sāptéōnō?" rather than the Tamil colloquial "sāpténglā?", or the formal "sāptīrgàlā?" to enquire, "Have you eaten?" to someone. Iyengar Tamil also possesses the vowel substitution of "a" with "ō" at the end of words when it comes to directives. For instance, an Iyengar would be likely to say "pōngō" rather than the colloquial "pōngà" to direct someone to go. For a more comprehensive list of the variations between standard Tamil and Iyengar Tamil, refer to Brahmin Tamil.

References

{{Tamil language Tamil dialects Dravidian languages