Pronunciation is best learned with someone for whom Thamil is a first language. The guide provided below is just a crude approximation of Thamil sounds using English words. Even if you learn written Thamil well, having an accent when speaking can offset a lot of your hard work. If you want to be able to speak Thamil without an English (or French, German, etc.) accent, tape recording yourself speaking helps – and you might be in for a surprise when you hear youself.
Although you may think of Thamil people’s accents as silly when speaking English, they may help you improve your pronunciation. For (probably) at least 95% of the people who speak English with a Thamil accent, they pronounce the English words with Thamil characters. For example, when a person says the word “rice”, what they really may be pronouncing is “ரைசு”. Similarly, “pizza” may become “பீட்சா” and “computer” may become “கம்பியூட்டர்”. Depending on the person, even more can be learned about Thamil pronunciation.
| Vowel | Sounds Like | Example of Sound in English Word |
|---|---|---|
| அ | short a | another |
| ஆ | long aa | all |
| இ | short i | in |
| ஈ | lone ee | bee |
| உ | short oo | book |
| ஊ | long oo | pool |
| எ | short ay | enter |
| ஏ | long ay | ate |
| ஐ | ai | life |
| ஒ | short o | oboe |
| ஓ | long o | phone |
| ஔ | ou,ow | flour |
Sometimes, letters are doubled with its consonant sound. In those cases, the consonant will precede the letter, and the consonant receives an extra emphasis when the word is said aloud. Also, க and ப also pronounced differently if they begin a word.
| Consonant | Sounds Like | Example of Sound in English Word |
|---|---|---|
| க் | k (beginning of word, or preceded by f;) | bucket |
| h (not preceded by க்) | hallow | |
| ங |
ng | thing |
| ச |
ch (preceded by ச்) | charge |
| s (not preceded by ச்) | salad | |
| ஞ |
ny | cognac |
| ட |
t (preceded by ட்) | tight |
| d (not preceded by ட்) | door | |
| ண |
strong n | ~ |
| த |
th | tooth |
| ந |
n | now |
| ப |
p (beginning of word, or preceded by ப்) | pear |
| b (not preceded by ப்) | bear | |
| ம |
m | mom |
| ய |
y | yell |
| ர |
r | red |
| ல |
l | laugh |
| வ |
v | have |
| ழ |
~ | ~ |
| ள |
~ | ~ |
| ற |
~ (preceded by ற்) | ~ |
| strong r (not preceded by ற்) | ~ | |
| ன |
n | win |
Some sounds only happen in consonant clusters. They are listed below.
| Consonant Cluster | Sounds Like | Example of Sound in English Word | Example in Thamil |
|---|---|---|---|
| ங்க | hard ng | gong | தங்கம் hear word |
| ஞ்ச | soft ng | change | மஞ்சள் hear word |