Iyengar Tamil of Karnataka

Iyengar Tamil are dialects of the Tamil language spoken mostly in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the adjoining areas in South India. Iyengars are followers of the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. The Sri Vaishnava Paribhashai uses many archaic words from the early religious texts like Nalayira Divya Prabandham.

There are three distinct Iyengar dialect forms today. The dialect of the mainstream Iyengars of Tamil Nadu are similar to that of Iyers. The Hebbar and Mandyam dialects are mostly spoken in Karnataka, India.

Mandyam Tamil

Mandyam Tamil is an Iyengar Tamil dialect spoken in Karnataka, India. There is a city and district in Karnataka called Mandya.

Some Iyengars followed Ramanuja from Tamil Nadu and lower Andhra Pradesh (near the Tirupati region, which had a very large Tamil-speaking population) to regions near Mandya and settled there. One hypothesis is that these Iyengars are called Mandyam Iyengars because of Mandya, but Mandyam Iyengars also claim there was a village near Tirupati which sounded similar to "Mandyam" where the people originally came from. The Mandyam Iyengars have always been one of the smallest Brahmin social groups, and recently their local population is dwindling due to increasing amounts of inter-cultural marriages and emigration.

Hebbar Tamil

Hebbar Sri Vaishnava Tamil is peculiar in that it contains many archaic Tamil expressions which can only be found in the paasurams of the Alvars and the early writings of the acharyas. For example, they use the word 'kaDAram' for a small tank of water — lifted straight out of Periyalvar's 'nIrATTam'. They say 'tiruppiNDi' for 'kOlam', which can be seen being used in the 'vArttAmAlai'. The Tamil of Hebbar Sri Vaishnavas reflects archaic Tamil vocabulary with a heavy influence of Kannada phonology and the Sanskrit lexicon, reflecting adopted upper country of the Kannada-speaking area of southern India.

Here is a list illustrating the different ways that the same original word is changed in the two dialects.

Standard Tamil	Iyer/TN Iyengar	Hebbar Iyengar	Meaning
irukkiRadhu இருக்கிறது	irukku இருக்கு	ikRana [ɪkərna] இக்றன	is (singular)
irukkinRana இருக்கின்றன	irukku இருக்கு	ikRana [ɪkərna] இக்றன	are (plural)
irukkiraan இருக்கிறான்	irukkaan இருக்கான்	ikraane [ɪkrane] இக்ரானெ	He is
irukkiRaaL இருக்கிறாள்	irukkaa இருக்கா	ikraaLe [ɪkraɭe] இக்ராளெ	She is
irukkavillai இருக்கவில்லை	irukkalla இருக்கல்ல	ikville [ɪkʋɪlle] இக்வில்லெ	was not
varugiRadhu வருகிறது	varadhu வரது	varna [vʌrna] வர்ன	comes (singular)
varuginRana வருகின்றன	varadhu வரது	varna [vʌrna] வர்ன	come (plural)
-giRadhu -கிறது	-radhu -ரது	-rna [-rna] அர்ன	singular verb ending
-ginRana கின்றன	-radhu ரது	-rna [-rna] அர்ன	plural verb ending
vaikka வைக்க	vai வை	vekki [ʋʌkki] வெக்கி	place it
udhakka உதக்க	udhai உதை	udhakki உதக்கி	kick (verb)
aagumbOdhu ஆகும்போது	aagarchchE ஆகர்ச்சே	aavaththi ஆவத்தி	while it happens
avaL அவள்	avo அவொ	ave [ʌʋe] அவெ	She
vandukondu வந்துகொண்டு	vandundu வந்துண்டு	vandkindu [ʋɔnd̪gɪnd̪ɔ] வந்த்கிண்டு	coming
pOykkondu போய்க்கொண்டு	pOyindu போயிண்டு	pOkindu [pogɪnd̪ɔ] போகிண்டு	going
sEviththu சேவித்து	sEviththu சேவித்து	chOthaa [t͡ʃot̪a] சோதா	prostrate