posted March 22, 2001 07:19 AM         

French - Romantic Language( I do not have the experience, but people said)

Tamil - Sweet Language, When listen , you could feel. But some people could not accept, because of it is not their tongue. I could say them , One proverb in tamil as Kalutai ariuma kapura vasanai?, translation as 'does donkey know(feel) good smell?

German - rough Language, so roughness of lingustic.

Chinese - No way to comment.

Sinhala - Is it sweet lingustic? I do not want to answer that. Others know Sinhala better than me, in the forum

[This message has been edited by Drwho1 (edited March 22, 2001).]

posted March 22, 2001 09:37 AM            

Do you know another Tamil Phrase: "Tamilukkum Amutnemtru Peer"

Ranjan

posted March 22, 2001 07:14 PM            

Of languages
known to us, none
as sweet as Tamil.
Viewed as but slaves
or animals
by the world.
only the name 'Tamil'
redeems us.
Is it right?
Honey-sweet Tamil
should resound
o'er the earth.

Among poets of fame,
none like Kamban,
Valluvar, Ilango,
anywhere on earth.
No self-praise this
but the truth.
Yet are we dumb, deaf
and blind.
Listen!
For an assured future,
let Tamil ring again
in every street.

The hour's need: both
translation of
learned tomes,
and new creations
of deathless fame
in Tamil.
No more prattling
among ourselves
of past glory;
but compel world critics
acclaim our
poetic gems.

Words glow with life
when the truth-flame
shines in the heart.
As arts and poesy,
like rivers in spate,
rush forth,
the blind who wallowed
in ignorance
shall wake up.
The taste of sweet Tamil
can give on earth
the joy divine.

(Translated by Prema Nandakumar in Poems of Subramania Bharathi)

posted March 23, 2001 02:33 AM         

eg.

Machang (all the Indians have picked up this word from Lankans)
Aiya | Malli | Akka | Nangi
Aiyo (Same here - popular with Indians who hang out with Lankans)
Patas!
Bang | ou Bang | Naa bung
Ivarai!
Anthimai!
Kabalma kabal!
jaarava!
kana-palende theneva
Aney | Aney pau
maarai | maarai neh
sha!
pissu the? Na hati..pissuwe hati
paleyang yande
gona
haraka
bathali
pissu yakek
yanewa yande oi!
Chikeeya | Ikeeya
Gobbaya
Modaya
Mat-ta
mole podak upset
rasthiadu karaya
kalu sud-da
Oul wela
Vareng
Umba
Thamuse
Ou | E-ka | E-ki
amata-siri
maru
ething?
aparaade!
monaada ap-pa!
hathi-danawa
yatigiriyeng kaagahanava
diva kahanawa | ugura kahanava
tha-daang! | Ba-daang!
yamang
aney-manda
sapa-saneepa
aney-athemai
berihang-dunna | deneva
ban-na
Thada vunaa | veneva
deneva
ganing
pandithai | pandithaya
yoodaya
badu
peretheya

Things like:

Kohede yanne? Iserehata | niwanata | vayasete
Maduruwoo kanawa! Ai maduruwoo kanne? - paang kaal-lak kanda.

The above are just a FEW words and phrases that aren't available in the English language, or sound extremely stilted when translated to English...can u think of more?

Then there are the horribly rude ones which are still funny, of which I'm not going to mention because most Sinhalese know these words.

Anyway, if Sinhala has to be given a label, I'd call it the "fun language" - that's why its THE best language for baila (English does NOT suit baila at all and could you imagine French or Hindi baila? Hmmm...).

From C.T Fernando's Baila song Paravunu Mal which u can find at Miyuru Gee, Infolanka:

Paravunu mal navatha nathey pipen-ney
Gangul thale natha harila galan-ney
Davasak gatha una giyaa
Hiruever gilee giyaa
samadaa natha sanda payan-ney!

my translation:

Faded flowers do not bloom again
The river never turns around and flows backwards
A day arose and ended
The sunlight waned and was swallowed (sunset)
The sun does not shine every day!

Now try singing such a beautiful meaning in a fast beat in English...it sounds stupid and stilted doesn't it? But it sounds fantastic in Sinhala.

posted March 24, 2001 06:56 AM         

"...Never in all my days have I found a language so succulent as Sinhala."

posted March 24, 2001 07:24 PM            

Some interesting excerpts:

"First, Tamil is of considerable antiquity. It predates the literatures of other modern Indian languages by more than a thousand years. Its oldest work, the Tolkappiyam, contains parts that, judging from the earliest Tamil inscriptions, date back to about 200 BCE. The greatest works of ancient Tamil, the Sangam anthologies and the Pattuppattu, date to the first two centuries of the current era. They are the first great secular body of poetry written in India, predating Kalidasa's works by two hundred years."

"Second, Tamil constitutes the only literary tradition indigenous to India that is not derived from Sanskrit. Indeed, its literature arose before the influence of Sanskrit in the South became strong and so is qualitatively different from anything we have in Sanskrit or other Indian languages. It has its own poetic theory, its own grammatical tradition, its own aesthetics, and, above all, a large body of literature that is quite unique. It shows a sort of Indian sensibility that is quite different from anything in Sanskrit or other Indian languages, and it contains its own extremely rich and vast intellectual tradition."

"Third, the quality of classical Tamil literature is such that it is fit to stand beside the great literatures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Chinese, Persian and Arabic. The subtlety and profundity of its works, their varied scope (Tamil is the only premodern Indian literature to treat the subaltern extensively), and their universality qualify Tamil to stand as one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world. Everyone knows the Tirukkural, one of the world's greatest works on ethics; but this is merely one of a myriad of major and extremely varied works that comprise the Tamil classical tradition. There is not a facet of human existence that is not explored and illuminated by this great literature."