[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Well, both are wrong. It is actually written and pronounced as "Thosai" in Tamil as there is no "D" equivalent. But in common dialect it is "dosai". Dosa is actually how people from the north call it.

Sir you are wrong, I agree that its written as "Thosai" in Tamil but pronounced as Dosa/Dosai by Tamilians.

Test: I asked my 6 Tamil colleagues to pronounce the same, not even single person pronounced 'Thosai', I heard different versions of Dosa

It does not matter as long as it taste good

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Well, both are wrong. It is actually written and pronounced as "Thosai" in Tamil as there is no "D" equivalent. But in common dialect it is "dosai".

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Sir you are wrong, I agree that its written as "Thosai" in Tamil but pronounced as Dosa/Dosai by Tamilians.

I did not say everyone pronounces it that way, did I?

Originally Posted by Latheesh

I asked my 6 Tamil colleagues to pronounce the same, not even single person pronounced 'Thosai', I heard different versions of Dosa

People of the older generation, especially those who know only Tamil, still call thosai, especially in TN.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

does not matter as long as it taste good

Agreed! A dosa by any name will still taste as good! Have you tried the "Pesarattu" from Andhra? Done the right way, it tastes divine!

[ntomer]

Originally Posted by pb10gagan

There is a song in punjabi:- "Jatt di Marsari dil mangdi" or something like that.
Can you guess what is Marsari?

Err... Mercedes???

Nitin

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Agreed! A dosa by any name will still taste as good! Have you tried the "Pesarattu" from Andhra? Done the right way, it tastes divine!

Thanks, will try this weekend.

Originally Posted by pb10gagan

There is a very famous song going on these days up here in north india. Woofer by Imran Khan.
The wording are damn hillarious. Must be written by a UK born punjabi. A few examples are:-

"Baariyaan kaaliyan ve gadiyaan nu mai laavan"
"Speed main 220 te chalaan"
"Black Leather seataan utte aa baih ni"
"40 degrees di dhup paindi"

Whatever this song give full workout to my basic ICE. Nice song to show off your ICE isnt it?

[CaliAtenza]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Thanks, will try this weekend.



Whatever this song give full workout to my basic ICE. Nice song to show off your ICE isnt it?

that song is called "Amplifier".

[tacho]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Tamils are always proud to be Tamizhs ;

Good one. How is Tamizh pronounced? I have seen that word elsewhere too but didn't know who to ask.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by tacho

Good one. How is Tamizh pronounced? I have seen that word elsewhere too but didn't know who to ask.

Try to think of a non-existing character which combines the sound of characters R, L and D. This is roughly the way zh is pronounced.

So Tamizh would be pronounced as Tami +(combination of R,L,D).

Rohan

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by tacho

Good one. How is Tamizh pronounced? I have seen that word elsewhere too but didn't know who to ask.

It is Thamizh actually. The izh part is a shortened pronounciation of the letter "zha" which AFAIK is unique to Tamil and Malayalam. As for how to pronounce - well, how do you pronounce the "xhau" in exhaust? How do Americans pronounce the r in "America"? These two are the closest I can think of immediately!

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by tacho

Good one. How is Tamizh pronounced? I have seen that word elsewhere too but didn't know who to ask.

I had always thought that the 'zh' is pronounced as a higher pitch of the letter 'L'.

For example, in Kannada when we say 'Jola'(Corn), the L is pronounced the same way 'zh' is pronounced in Tamizh. Other examples include male(rain), Bele(crop), Kola (pond). In all these words, the L is pronounced differently.

If I'm not wrong, the last L in the word Malaya'l'am is also pronounced the way 'zh' is pronounced, right??

This is just my understanding. I'd be happy if someone would clarify this.

Originally Posted by Gansan

How do Americans pronounce the r in "America"?

I think, that is the nearest one.

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

I had always thought that the 'zh' is pronounced as a higher pitch of the letter 'L'.
For example, in Kannada when we say 'Jola'(Corn), the L is pronounced the same way 'zh' is pronounced in Tamizh. Other examples include male(rain), Bele(crop), Kola (pond). In all these words, the L is pronounced differently.
If I'm not wrong, the last L in the word Malaya'l'am is also pronounced the way 'zh' is pronounced, right?
This is just my understanding. I'd be happy if someone would clarify this.

No. Kannada 'La' ಳ is different from Tamil/Malayalam 'zha' ழ. Kannada 'La' ಳ = Tamil 'La' ள

Having said that, many people in Tamil Nadu, especially in the southern districts, whose mother-tongue is Tamil and studied Tamil language, could not prounce ழ ['zha'] properly and instead prounce it as ள ಳ ['La'].

ழ 'Zha' is really a tongue-twister for many!

[Gansan]

@addyhemmige
No, it is not correct. Some people (mostly unlettered) do pronounce it that way, and it is considered a slang.

In Tamil corn is "Cholam" and pronounced the same way Jola is pronounced in Kannada. But rain is "Mazhai" and is pronounced differently. Similarly the old Chola dynasty (Chozha actually) is also pronounced differently.

[Jeep]

Cool thread. As someone pointed out earlier, English across the world is spoke in various accents. Go to London and you will not fail to notice.

I was in a conf room with a few Brits in London a week back and a lady from US joined the call. In between she mentioned 'stack throughput' and the Brits wanted to clarify - 'stack thorughput?'. She immediately 'corrected' - 'No, I meant STOCK throughput'. The team had a good laugh. I was imagining the same would have happened if there was a call from Tamilnadu (every 'o' is 'ah') to Kerala ( every 'o' is 'ooo').

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

I think, that is the nearest one.
No. Kannada 'La' ಳ is different from Tamil/Malayalam 'zha' ழ. Kannada 'La' ಳ = Tamil 'La' ள

Having said that, many people in Tamil Nadu, especially in the southern districts, whose mother-tongue is Tamil and studied Tamil language, could not prounce ழ ['zha'] properly and instead prounce it as ಳ ['La'].

ழ 'Zha' is really a tongue-twister for many!

Originally Posted by Gansan

@addyhemmige
No, it is not correct. Some people (mostly unlettered) do pronounce it that way, and it is considered a slang.

In Tamil corn is "Cholam" and pronounced the same way Jola is pronounced in Kannada. But rain is "Mazhai" and is pronounced differently. Similarly the old Chola dynasty (Chozha actually) is also pronounced differently.

Thanks Gansan & Ravi. Looks I have a big tongue twister on my mouth now

Originally Posted by Gansan

Some people (mostly unlettered) do pronounce it that way.

Even many educated, Tamil teachers included, mis-pronounce it that way.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Even many educated, Tamil teachers included, mis-pronounce it that way.

Agreed! But it is slang all the same. The letter is unique to Tamil and Malayalam, and a true blue Tamil/Mallu should be able to pronounce it!

@addyhemmige
I am reminded of an OT incident here. A few of us were transferred to our Bangalore office suddenly in June'00 to replace a bunch of locals who abruptly left on VRS. Some of us quickly picked up a smattering of Kannada, at least to get by but one fellow found it very difficult. So I jokingly told him " replace all V and B in Tamil with B and V and there is Kannada for you". He asked suspiciously how can it be, so I pointed out to him "Viduthalai Puli" in Tamil = "Biduthale Uli" in Kannada! He actually believed and tried it for a couple of days, causing considerable mirth in the office!