Brahmin Tamil/Lesson1
The Braahmik Alphabet[edit | edit source]
Short Vowels : a, i, u, e, o
Long Vowels : aa, ii /ie, uu, ee, oo
Diphthongs : ai / ei, au
Velar Consonants : k, g
Palatal Consonants : chee, jee
Retroflex Consonants : tada, dada
Dental Consonants : th, dh
Labial Consonants : p, b
Velar Nasal : ng
Palatal Nasal : nj
Retroflex Nasal : hn
Dental or Alveolar Nasal : n
Bilabial Nasal : m
Fricatives and continuants : y, r, l, v, zh, hl, sz, sh, s, h, rr, z
Many of these can occur as geminates : kk, gg, nng, nnj, hnn, mm, nn, cch, jj, tt, dd, tth, ddh, pp, bb, ll, hll, trr
There are also aspirated stop consonants : kh, gh, chh, jh, t'h, d'h, thh, dhh, ph, bh
Idhu 'this, this is'. The link verb 'to be' is not used in the present tense. There is no article, definite or indefinite. 'This table' as a full sentence means 'this is a table'.
The final -u in words is pronounced as an unrounded back vowel, something between i and u.
Nouns are followed by postpositions like kite 'near', le 'in' or kiizhe 'below'. There are also compound postpostions made up of a postposition plus noun plus postposition like k adi le 'below'. The verb iruku means 'is' or 'there is'.
Nouns are in an oblique form before a preposition. Most nouns have no special oblique form. Many have. Pusthahath is the oblique form of pusthaham. Sometimes between the oblique form and the postposition a dummy particle like u or n is placed. Chevar has an oblique form chevath. English words in English spelling are freely used in Braahmik.
Vocabulary[edit | edit source]
| Braahmik | English |
|---|---|
| Idhu | 'this, this is' |
| meejei, meeszei | 'table' |
| naakaali, naarkaali, kasaalei (paalu) | 'chair' |
| jannal, janal (paalu) | 'window' |
| kadhavu | 'door' |
| chevar, szevar | 'wall' |
| kite | 'near' |
| Ul-lae | 'in' |
| um | 'also' |
| dhaan | 'only' |
| kee lae | 'under, below' |
| kupai kudai | 'waste basket' |
| iruku (pres. t. of iru 'to be') | 'is, there is' |
| meele | 'above, on' |
| Puthakam, pusthakham | 'book' |
| pusthahath | (obl. form of pusthaham) |
| u | (a dummy infix before a postposition) |
| n | (a dummy infix before a postposition) |
| ku pakath le | 'near' |
| pakam | 'side' |
| Eluthukhol, pena | 'pen' |