Understanding Tamil Vowels and Consonants for English Speakers

Introduction to Tamil Script

Tamil is a classical language with a unique script consisting of vowels and consonants. Understanding these basics is essential for English speakers beginning to learn Tamil.

Tamil Vowels (உயிரெழுத்துக்கள்)

Tamil has 12 vowels, known as uyirezhuthukal. These vowels can appear independently or combine with consonants to form syllables.

• அ (a)
• ஆ (aa)
• இ (i)
• ஈ (ii)
• உ (u)
• ஊ (uu)
• எ (e)
• ஏ (ee)
• ஐ (ai)
• ஒ (o)
• ஓ (oo)
• ஔ (au)

Pronunciation of Tamil Vowels

Each vowel has a distinct sound. For example, 'அ' is pronounced as /a/ like the 'a' in 'America', while 'ஆ' is a longer 'a' sound /aː/.

Tamil Consonants (மெய்யெழுத்துக்கள்)

Tamil has 18 consonants called meyyezhuthukal. These consonants combine with vowels to form syllables.

• க (ka)
• ச (ca)
• ட (ṭa)
• த (ta)
• ப (pa)
• ற (ṟa)
• ஞ (ña)
• ங (ṅa)
• ண (ṇa)
• ந (na)
• ம (ma)
• ன (ṇa)
• ய (ya)
• ர (ra)
• ல (la)
• வ (va)
• ழ (ḻa)
• ள (ḷa)

Special Consonants and Sounds

Some Tamil consonants like 'ழ' (/ɻ/) have no direct equivalent in English and require practice to pronounce correctly.

Combining Vowels and Consonants

In Tamil, consonants combine with vowels to form compound letters called uyirmei ezhuthukal. For example, the consonant 'க' combined with the vowel 'இ' forms 'கி' (ki).

Learning these combinations is key to reading and writing Tamil effectively.

Examples of Combined Letters

• க + அ = க (ka)
• க + இ = கி (ki)
• க + உ = கு (ku)
• க + எ = கெ (ke)
• க + ஓ = கோ (kō)

Tips for English Speakers Learning Tamil Script

Tamil script is phonetic, so once you learn the vowels and consonants, pronunciation becomes easier. Practice writing and speaking regularly to build confidence.

Listening to native speakers and using language apps can also help improve your skills.