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'''Loan words in [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialects|Sri Lankan Tamil]]''' came about mostly due contact between [[Colonialism|colonial]] powers and the native population. Linguists study a language's lexicon for a number of reasons. Languages such as Tamil with centuries of [[Tamil literature|literature]] and multi-cultural contact offer the chance to compare the various processes of lexical change. The words of foreign origin or [[loanword]]s illustrate those processes: [[calque]]s, [[loanword]]s, the distinction between [[function word]]s 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 distinct from the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] dialects used in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. They are used in Sri Lanka and in the [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora]]. Linguistic borrowings from European colonizers such as the [[Portugal|Portuguese]], [[England|English]] and the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] have also contributed to a unique vocabulary that is distinct from the colloquial usage of Tamil in the Indian mainland. Furthermore, a form of Tamil spoken exclusively by [[Sri Lankan Moors]] has been strongly influenced by [[Arabic]]. Words that are peculiar to [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialect]]s 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 [[South America]] via the Portuguese traders. Most of these words are also shared with [[Sinhalese language]] users.

{| class="wikitable"
!Word !! Meaning !! Original form
|-
|style="width:08em"|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 (Registry)|tombo]]
|-
|tuvāy*||towel||toalha
|-
|vaṅki||bench||banco
|-
|veethuru|| glass|| vidro
|-
|veranta||verandah||varanda
|-
|viskottu||biscuit||biscoito
|-
|}<ref name=Smith>Smith, H. S.''Reinterpreting Indian Ocean Worlds'', p. 152-153</ref><ref name=Dalgado>Dalgado, S. ''Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages'', p. 502-504</ref>

===Dutch===
{| class="wikitable"
!Word !! Meaning !! Original form
|-
|style="width:08em"|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
|-
|}<ref name=Avram>Avram, A. ''The Dutch lexical contribution to three Asian Portuguese Creoles'', p. 16–548</ref><ref name=Thananjayarajasingham>Thananjayarajasingham, T. ''Some Dutch Loan-words in the Jaffna Dialect of Tamil'', p. 793-799</ref>

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

{| class="wikitable"
!Word !! Meaning !! Original form
|-
|style="width:08em"|kōfii*|| Coffee || coffee
|-
|pattīx*|| ''A kind of fried potato snack'' || patties
|-
| Piḷavus || Worn with [[Sari]]|| blouse
|-
|rōlls*|| ''A kind of fried meat snack'' || rolls
|-
| Iṭākuttar*|| Doctor ||doctor
|-
|}<ref name=Suntharesan>Suntharesan, V. ''Impact of borrowings from English on Jaffna Tamil (a text book for University students)'', p. 426</ref>

===Civil conflict terminology===
[[Black July]] induced civil conflict has introduced number of English and international words to the native population.

{| class="wikitable"
!Word !! Meaning !! Original form
|-
|style="width:08em"|Kilēmōr*|| Land or aerial mine|| [[M18 Claymore mine|Claymore]]
|-
|Eli*|| Helicopter || Helicopter
|-
|Kapīr*|| Bomber || [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] Bomber
|-
|Cel*|| [[Mortar (weapon)|Mortar]] or [[artillery]] shells || Shell
|-
|}<ref name=Suntharesan/>

==Sinhalese==
Loanwords from the neighbouring [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] are quite sparse in Sri Lankan Tamil (as opposed to the large number of [[List of Sinhalese words of Tamil origin|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.

{| class="wikitable"
!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
|-
| Tuvakku || [[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|date=February 2007}}. The same terminology is shared with Sinhalese.

{| class="wikitable"
!Word !! Meaning !! Original form
|-
|style="width:08em"|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==
{{Reflist|group="note"}}

{{reflist|group=nb}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Cited literature ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Halikowski Smith|first=Stefan | title=Reinterpreting Indian Ocean Worlds| publisher= Cambridge Scholars Publishing |date=2011|isbn=978-144-38-30-447}}
* {{cite book |last=Dalgado|first=Sebastiao Rodolfo | title=Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages| publisher= Asian Education Services |date=1988|isbn=978-81-20-604-131}}
* Avram, A.A., 2013. The Dutch lexical contribution to three Asian Portuguese Creoles//Contribuição lexical do holandês para três crioulos de base portuguesa da Ásia. PAPIA-Revista Brasileira de Estudos do Contato Linguístico, 23(1), pp.51-74.
* Hoogervorst, T. (2018) ‘Sailors, Tailors, Cooks, and Crooks: On Loanwords and Neglected Lives in Indian Ocean Ports’, Itinerario, 42(3), pp. 516–548. doi:10.1017/S0165115318000645.
* Thananjayarajasingham, Sabaratnasingham, "Some Dutch Loan-words in the Jaffna Dialect of Tamil", Proceedings of the First International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies - Volume Two : First International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 16 - 23 April 1966. Edited by Thani Nayagam, Xavier S., International Association of Tamil Research, April 1969, 793-799.
* Suntharesan, V. "Impact of borrowings from English on Jaffna Tamil (a text book for University students)." Language In India, vol. 14, no. 6, June 2014, pp. 426
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361407248_Translation_of_Tamil_Dialects_in_Sri_Lankan_Context

{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}

[[Category:Tamil language-related lists|S]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil society]]
[[Category:Dutch language lists|Tamil]]
[[Category:Portuguese language lists|Tamil]]
[[Category:Sri Lanka-related lists|Words]]
[[Category:Lists of loanwords|Tamil Sri Lanka]]

Loanwords in Sri Lankan Tamil - Revision history

YourPritam7: Starting Basic Post W/ Refs