List of loanwords in Sri Lankan Tamil

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Loan words in Sri Lankan Tamil
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Loan words in Sri Lankan Tamil came about mostly due contact between colonial powers and the native population. Linguists study a language's lexicon for a number of reasons. Languages such as Tamil with centuries of literature and multi-cultural contact offer the chance to compare the various processes of lexical change. The words of foreign origin or loanwords illustrate those processes: calques, loanwords, the distinction between function words and content words.

Note: For information on the transcription used, see

National Library at Calcutta romanization and Tamil script
.

European contribution

Sri Lankan Tamil dialects
are marked with an asterisk (*).

Portuguese

Most Portuguese loan words are for items the native population lacked when the encounter happened c. 1505. Some are administrative terms, others are personal usage terms as well as items directly introduced from

Sinhalese language
users.

Word Meaning Original form
alumāri cupboard armário
annāsi pineapple ananás
alavangu iron lever alavanca
alupunethi safety pin alfinete
alugosu executioner algoz
baila dance baile or bailar
chuppu suck chupar or chupo
rothai wheel roda
savei key chave
jaṉṉal window janela
kathirai chair cadeira
kaju cashew caju
kalusan* trousers calção
kamicai* shirt camisa
kaṭatāsi* paper carta
koiappalam guava goiaba
kōppai drinking glass copo
kusini* kitchen cozinha
mēcai table mesa
pān* bread pão
pappāḷi/papā paḻam papaya papaia
pēnā pen pena (old type)
piṅkāṉ* plate palangana
pīppa wooden cask, barrel pipa
sapāttu shoe sapato
selvam wood silva
thavaranai tavern taverna
tācci* metal pan tacho
tompu* title tombo
tuvāy* towel toalha
vaṅki bench banco
veethuru glass vidro
veranta verandah varanda
viskottu biscuit biscoito

[1][2]

Dutch

Word Meaning Original form
kakkūs Toilet kakhuis
kāmara* (rarely used) Room kamer
kantōr* Office kantoor
Thapal Post Tapal
kokkis Cookies koekjes
piaskōpu (rarely used) Cinema bioscoop
tē(ttaṇṇīr)* Tea thee

[3][4]

English

Sri Lankan Tamil dialects use countless number of English words; following are some of the unique ones.

Word Meaning Original form
kōfii* Coffee coffee
pattīx* A kind of fried potato snack patties
blows Worn with Sari blouse
rōlls* A kind of fried meat snack rolls
dakuthar* Doctor doctor

[5]

Civil conflict terminology

Black July induced civil conflict has introduced number of English and international words to the native population.

Word Meaning Original form
Claymore* Land or aerial mine
Claymore
Heli* Helicopter Helicopter
Kafir* Bomber
Kfir
Bomber
Shell* Mortar or artillery shells Shell

[5]

Sinhalese

Loanwords from the neighbouring

Tamil loan words in Sinhala
), which is most likely due to the relative isolation of the exclusively Tamil-speaking settlements in the North and East of the island.

Word Meaning Original form
kirāma cēvakaṉ* Village Leader grāma sēvakayā
(mālu) panis* (fish) buns (mālu) banis
mahattayā* Sir, mister mahattayā
piratēciya sapā* Council pradeśiya sabhāva
sarvōtayam * Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement sarvōdaya
Tuvaku Gun Tuvakuva
vitānayar* Village headman vidāna (muhandirama)

Malay

There are also a few words from the Malay language. Malay words for edible fruits were introduced during the colonial period by traders [citation needed]. The same terminology is shared with Sinhalese.

Word Meaning Original form
maṅkostīn* Type of Fruit Mangosteen
ramputan* A type of fruit Rambutan
rempa* (rarely used) Curry mix Rempa
totol * A type of sweetmeat dodol
tūriyan* Type of Fruit Durian
kaccān * Peanuts kacang

Notes

References

  1. ^ Smith, H. S.Reinterpreting Indian Ocean Worlds, p. 152-153
  2. ^ Dalgado, S. Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages, p. 502-504
  3. ^ Avram, A. The Dutch lexical contribution to three Asian Portuguese Creoles, p. 16–548
  4. ^ Thananjayarajasingham, T. Some Dutch Loan-words in the Jaffna Dialect of Tamil, p. 793-799
  5. ^ a b Suntharesan, V. Impact of borrowings from English on Jaffna Tamil (a text book for University students), p. 426

Cited literature

External links