Tamil loanwords in Sinhala

Sinhala words of Tamil origin came about as part of the more than 2000 years of language interactions between Sinhala and Tamil in the Island of Sri Lanka.

Kinds of loanwords

Borrowings

The words pertaining to the fields of commerce, administration, botany, food and military are the most numerous; this is to be expected because

• new innovations and goods usually reached the Sinhalese via the Tamils whose area of settlement separates them from the rest of South Asia and
• Tamil-speaking Muslims conducted most of the island's foreign trade since the 10th century.

Bilingualism and assimilation

See also: Sinhalisation

However it is important to note that the range of borrowings goes beyond the scope to be expected for a situation where two neighbouring peoples exchange material goods: Firstly, there are many Tamil loanwords pertaining to everyday and social life (kinship terms, body parts, ordinary activities etc.); secondly, not only lexical words (nouns, adjectives and verbs) but also at least one function word (ōnē) has been borrowed. This—along with the deep impact Tamil has had on Sinhala syntax (e.g. the use of a verbal adjective of "to say" as a subordinating conjunction meaning "whether" and "that")--is the result of not only close coexistence but the existence of large numbers of bilinguals and a high degree of mixing, intermarriage, etc.

The borrowing process

Tamil loanwords in Sinhala can appear in the same form as the original word (e.g. akkā), but this is quite rare. Usually, a word has undergone some kind of modification to fit into the Sinhala phonological (e.g. paḻi becomes paḷi(ya) because the sound of /ḻ/, [ɻ], does not exist in the Sinhala phoneme inventory) or morphological system (e.g. ilakkam becomes ilakkama because Sinhala inanimate nouns (see grammatical gender) need to end with /a/, [ə], in order to be declineable).

These are the main ways Tamil words are incorporated into the Sinhala lexicon with different endings:

• With an /a/ added to Tamil words ending in /m/ and other consonants (e.g. pālam > pālama).
• With a /ya/ or /va/ added to words ending in vowels (e.g. araḷi > araliya).
• With the Tamil ending /ai/ represented as /ē/, commonly spelt /aya/.
• With the animate ending /yā/ added to Tamil words signifying living beings or /yā/ replacing the Tamil endings /aṉ/, /ar/, etc. (e.g. caṇṭiyar > caṇḍiyā).

It can be observed that the Tamil phonemes /ḷ/ and /ḻ/ do not coherently appear as /ḷ/ in Sinhala but sometimes as /l/ as well. This is because in Sinhala pronunciation there is no distinction between /ḷ/ and /l/; the letter /ḷ/ is merely maintained as an etymological spelling.

Time of borrowing

In many cases, the appearance of a loanword in a language indicates whether the borrowing is old or more recent: The more a word deviates from the "original" one, the longer it must have been a part of the respective lexicon, because while being used, a word can undergo changes (sometimes regular sound changes along with the native words). The inversion of this argument is not possible since loanwords already matching the linguistic requirements of the target language may remain unchanged. Thus, the word täpäl (Tamil tapāl) gives away its old age because the respective umlaut processes took place before the 8th century; iḍama (Tamil iṭam) however needn't be a recent borrowing, because no sound changes that could have affected this word have taken place in Sinhala since at least the 13th century.

List of words

In the following list, Tamil words are romanized in accordance with Tamil spelling. This results in seeming discrepancies in voicing between Sinhala words and their Tamil counterparts. Sinhala borrowing however has taken place on the basis of the sound of the Tamil words; thus, the word ampalam, [ambalam], logically results in the Sinhala spelling ambalama, and so forth. However, the Tamil language used here for comparison is Tamil as spoken in Sri Lanka.

Note: For information on the transcription used, see National Library at Calcutta romanization and Tamil script. Exceptions from the standard are the romanization of Sinhala long "ä" ([æː]) as "ää", and the non-marking of prenasalized stops.

Sinhala	Meaning	Tamil	Meaning	Type
ādāyama	Income	ādāyam	Profit	Trade
akkā	Elder sister	akkā	Elder sister	Kinship
ambalama	Way-side rest	ambalam	Public place	Daily
ämbäṭṭayā	Barber	ampaṭṭaṉ	Barber	Trade
āṃgāṇiya	Stall (in a market)	aṅgāṭi	Market	Trade
āṇḍuva	Government	āṇṭāṉ	Rich man with many slaves	Administration
appā	Father (regional/colloquial)	appā	Father	Kinship
āppa	Hoppers	āppam	Hoppers	Food
araliya	Oleander	araḷi	Oleander	Botany
avariya	Indigo plant	avuri	Indigo plant	Botany
ayyā	Elder brother	aiyā (see also Ayya)	Sir, father	Kinship
caṇḍiyā	Bandit, rowdy	saṇdiyar	Bandit	Daily
cīttaya	Chintz	cīttai	Chintz	Trade
ediriya	Opposition, hostility	edhiri	Opponent, enemy	Military
galkaṇḍuva	Sugar-candy	kaṟkaṇdu	Sugar-candy	Food
iccāva	Flattery	iccakam	Flattery	Daily
iḍama	Site, land	idam	Place, site	Construction
īḷa	Asthma	īḷai	Asthma	Daily
ilakkaya	Target	ilakku	Target	Military
ilakkama	Number	ilakkam	Number	Trade
iḷandāriyā	Young man	iḷandāri	Young man	Daily
iḷavuva	Death, funeral	iḻavu	Death	Daily
iranavā	To saw, to tear	iṟu-	To break, to destroy	Trade
iraṭṭa	Double, even number	iraṭṭai	Double, even number	Trade
jāḍiya	Jar	cāṭi	Jar	Daily
jōḍuva	Pair	jōdi/cōdi	Pair	Daily
kaḍadāsiya	Paper	kadudhāsi	Letter, paper	Daily
kaḍalē	Chickpea	kadalai (paruppu)	Chickpea	Food
kaḍasarakkuva	Spice, curry stuffs	kadai + sarakku	Shop + Goods	Trade
kaḍaya	Shop	kadai	Shop	Trade
kaḍinama	Haste	kadiṉam	Difficulty	Daily
kaḍiyāḷama	Bridle	kadivāḷam	Bridle	Military
kaṃkāṇiyā	Overseer	kaṅkāṇi	Foreman	Administration
kalanda	A small measure of weight	kaḻañcu	Weight of 1.77 grams	Trade
kalavama	Mixture, blend	kalavai	Mixture	Daily
kālaya	Quarter	kāl	Quarter	Trade
kaḷudäävā	Donkey	kaḻudai	Donkey	Daily
kambiya	Wire	kambi	Wire	Trade
kāndama	Magnet	kāandam	Magnet	Trade
kaṇisama	Size	kaṇisam	Size, amount	Daily
kaṇṇāḍiya	Mirror, spectacles	kaṇṇāadi	Mirror, spectacles	Daily
kappama	Tribute	kappam	Tribute	Military
kappara	Small ship	kappal	Ship	Trade
kappi	Grit, bruised grain	kappi	Coarse grits in flour	Daily
kāppuva	Bracelet	kāappu	Bangle	Daily
kärapottā	Cockroach	karappaāṉ	Cockroach (SL)	Daily
karavaḷa	Dried fish	karuvāadu	Dried fish	Food
kāsiya	Coin	kāasu	Small change, coin	Trade
kasippu	Illicit liquor	kacippu	Illicit liquor	Trade
kaṭṭumarama	Catamaran	kaṭṭumaram	Catamaran	Trade
kayiyeliya	Cloth with coloured border	kaili	Multicoloured cloth worn by Muslims	Daily
keṇḍa	Calf	keṇdai(kkāl)	Calf	Daily
keṇḍiya	Pitcher	keṇṭi	Pitcher	Daily
kiṭṭu	Close, near	kiṭṭa	Close, near	Daily
koḍiya	Flag	kodi	Flag	Administration
kollaya	Plunder, pillage	koḷḷai	Plunder	Military
kombuva	Name of the sign ෙ	kombu (lakaram)	Name of the sign ள	Daily
kōn	Part of a name	kōṉ(ar)	Name pertaining to members of the Iṭaiyar caste ("shepherd, king")	Personal name
kōṇama	A loin cloth for men	kōvaṇam	A loin cloth for men	Daily
koṇḍaya	Plait/bun of hair	koṇdai	Bun/plait of hair	Daily
koṭṭamalli	Coriander	koṭhamalli	Coriander	Botany
koṭṭaya	Pillow	koṭṭai	Nut, round shape, pillow	Daily
kōvila	Hindu temple	kōyil	Temple	Daily
kuḍē	Umbrella	kudai	Umbrella	Daily
kūḍē	Basket	koodai	Basket	Daily
kūḍuva	Nest, cage	koodu	Nest, small box	Daily
kulala/kuḷala	Pipe	kuḻal	Tube, musical pipe	Daily
kulappuva	Confusion	kuḻappu-	to confuse	Military
kulama	Pond	kulam-	Pond	Agricultural Term
kurumbā	Young coconut	kurumbai	Young coconut	Food
kuliya	Rent	kooli	Rent, pay	Administration
malaya	Hill country	malai	Hill	Place name
māmā[citation needed].	Maternal uncle	māmā	Maternal uncle	Kinship
marakkalaya	Boat, Ethnic Moor, Sampan	marakkalam	(Sailing) Boat	Fishing
massinā	Brother-in-law	machiṉaṉ	Brother-in-law	Kinship
mudala	Money	mudhal	Capital	Trade
mudalāli	Merchant, owner of a shop	mudhalāḷi	Merchant	Trade
mudali	Part of a name	mudhaliyār	Name of a caste	Personal name
muruṃgā	"Drumsticks", the edible fruits of the Drumstick tree (Moringa pterygosperma ?)	muruṅgai	Horse-radish tree	Food
nāḍagama	Stage-play	naādagam	Drama, stage-play	Culture
naṃgī	Younger sister	naṅgai	Young girl	Kinship
ōna, ōnē	Necessary, must	vēṇdum	Necessary, must	Daily
oppuva	Proof	oppu	Same	Administration
ottē	Odd number	otṟai	Odd number	Trade
ottuva	Espionage	otṟu	Espionage	Administration
padakkama	Medal	padhakkam	Medal	Administration
pāḍama	Lesson	pāadam	Lesson	Culture
paḍiya	Wage	paṭi	Extra pay	Administration
pālama	Bridge	pāalam	Bridge	Construction
paḷiya	Revenge	paḻi	Guilt, revenge	Military
pandalama	Bower, shady place	pandhal	Bower, shady place	Daily
pandama	Torch	pandham	Torch	Religious
parippu	Lentils	paruppu	Lentils	Food
pattu karanavā	To light, to set on fire	patṟu-	To catch fire	Daily
pēru väṭenavā	To fall to someone by chance	pēṟu	Luck	Place name
piṭṭu	A rice dish	piṭṭu	A rice dish	Food
poraya	Fight	pōr	Fight	Military
poronduva	Agreement, promise	porundhu-	To fit, to agree	Daily
porottuva	Delay, waiting	poṟutthu	Having waited	Daily
pullē	Part of a name	Pillai	Part of a name (originally a Hindu title)	Personal name
salli	Money	salli	Coin	Trade
saṇḍuva	Fight	saṇdai	Fight	Military
sereppuva	Sandals	seruppu	Sandals	Daily
sotti	Crippled, deformed	sothhai	Emaciated person, defect	Daily
suruṭṭuva	Cigar	suruṭṭu	Cigar	Daily
takkāli	Tomato	thakkaāḷi	Tomato	Food
tallu karanavā	To push	thaḷḷu-	To push	Daily
tambiyā	Derogatory term for a Muslim man	thambi	Younger brother	Daily
tani	Alone	thaṉi	Alone	Daily
täpäl	Postal	tabaāl	Postal, mail	Administration
tarama	Size, position, quantity	tharam	Quality, sort	Trade
taṭṭa	Bald	thaṭṭai	Baldness	Daily
tāttā	Father	thāathaā	Grandfather	Kinship
taṭṭu karanavā	To knock	thaṭṭu-	To knock	Daily
uḍäkkiya	A narrow drum	udukkai	A narrow drum	Daily
udavva	Help	udhavi	Help	Daily
ulukkuva	Sprain (of a joint)	suḷukku	Sprain	Daily
ūḷiyama	Tax payable by foreigners	ooḻiyam	Service	Administration
urumaya	Inheritance, ownership	urimai	Ownership, right	Administration
veḍi tiyanavā	To shoot, to fire	vedi	Shot, dynamite	Military
veri	Drunk	veṟi	intention, madness	Daily

See also

• Dutch loanwords in Sinhala
• English loanwords in Sinhala
• Portuguese loanwords in Sinhala

References

• Coperahewa, Sandagomi and Arunachalam,Sarojini Devi Sinhala Bhashave Demala Vacana Akaradiya[Dictionary of Tamil Words in Sinhala] (Colombo: S.Godage, 2002).
• Gair, James (1998). Studies in South Asian Linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 368. ISBN 0-19-509521-9. 
• Geiger, Wilhelm: Linguistic Character of Sinhalese, in: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon), Vol. XXXIV
• Gunasekara, A.M.: A Comprehensive Grammar of the Sinhalese Language, Colombo 1891 (reprint New Delhi 1986), ISBN 81-206-0106-8 (§234: Naturalised and derived words from Tamil)

External links

• Tamil Sinhala online dictionary
• Article on Sanskritisms in Sinhala (partly based on opinion)