Iyengar Tamil: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Dialect of Tamil}}

| name             = Iyengar Tamil

| region           = Primarily Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

| speakers         = Unknown

(The Iyengar community employs the dialect in tandem with standard Tamil)

| familycolor     = Dravidian

| fam2             = [[Southern Dravidian languages|Southern]]

| fam3             = [[Tamil–Kannada languages|Tamil–Kannada]]

| fam4             = [[Tamil–Kodagu languages|Tamil–Kodagu]]

| fam5             = [[Tamil–Malayalam languages|Tamil–Malayalam]]

| fam6             = [[Tamil languages]]

| fam7             = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]

| glotto          = aiya1239

| glottoname      =  

| glottofoot      =  

| glottorefname    = Aiyangar

| isoexception     = dialect

'''Iyengar Tamil''' is a dialect of the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] language spoken mostly in [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Karnataka]], as well as other neighbouring regions of [[South India]]. It is spoken by the [[Iyengar]] community, a sect of Tamil Brahmins whose members adhere to [[Sri Vaishnavism]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Hinduism |date=1997 |publisher=Centre for International Religious Studies |editor=Nagendra Kr Singh |isbn=81-7488-168-9 |location=New Delhi |oclc=37795201}}</ref> Iyengars are present in considerable numbers in the states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]], and [[Andhra Pradesh]], though their spoken dialect varies from state to state.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Kamil Zvelebil |date=1 January 1964 |title=Spoken Language of Tamilnad |journal=Archív Orientální |volume=32 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1304095347 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-03-12 |via=Proquest |language=en}}</ref>

 

During the ancient period, Brahmin Tamil was spoken only by those Brahmins who were associated with the [[Smarta tradition|Smartha]] tradition, including the [[Iyer|Iyers]]. The Iyengars developed a unique dialect of their own over the centuries, called the Sri Vaishnava [[Manipravalam]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bright |first=William |last2=Retnamma |first2=K. |date=March 1978 |title=A Linguistic Study of Early Manipravalam |journal=Language |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=248 |doi=10.2307/413039 |issn=0097-8507}}</ref> Owing to the development of a homogenised Brahmin identity during the medieval period, the Vaishnavite Brahmins of [[Tamilakam]] 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.

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 (''tirtham'') and non-potable water (''jalam''), with the former bearing a sacred connotation. The Tamil vernacular, in comparison, employs the terms ''taneer'' or ''tanni'' 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 ''ela'' and ''ono.'' For instance, an Iyengar would be likely to ask "sapt''ela''?" or "sapte''ono''?" rather than the colloquial "sapte''ngla''?" to enquire, "Eaten?". Iyengar Tamil also possesses the vowel substitution of "a" with "o" at the end of words when it comes to directives. For instance, an Iyengar would be likely to say "pong''o''" rather than the colloquial "pong''a''" to direct someone to go.

For a more comprehensive list of the variations between standard Tamil and Iyengar Tamil, refer to [[Brahmin Tamil]].