LingoflyWhat has become of the weather in Tamil
A farmer and a school teacher talk about the changes in the climate in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «இந்த வருஷம் (inda varuṣam) மழை (maḻai) சரியா (sariyā) வரேல்லை (varēllai). நிலம் (nilam) வறண்ட (vaṟaṇḍa) நிலம் (nilam) மாதிரி (mādiri) ஆயிட்டுது» (āyiṭṭudu) — This year there was hardly any rain to speak of. The ground has become as if drought-stricken; «ஓம் (ōm). வானிலையில (vāṉilaiyila) திடீர் ஏற்ற இறக்கம் (tiḍīr ēṟṟa iṟakkam) நிறைய» (niṟaiya) — Yes. There are many sharp swings in the weather.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a farmer and a school teacher talk about the changes in the climate. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- inda varuṣam maḻai sariyā varēllai. nilam vaṟaṇḍa nilam mādiri āyiṭṭuduThis year there was hardly any rain to speak of. The ground has become as if drought-stricken.
- ōm. vāṉilaiyila tiḍīr ēṟṟa iṟakkam niṟaiyaYes. There are many sharp swings in the weather.
- இது மனிசன்ர தாக்கமா, இல்ல இயற்கையா?idu maṉisaṉra tākkamā, illa iyaṟkaiyā?Is it the influence of man, or nature itself?
- reṇḍum. pasuṅguḍil viḷaivāla būmi sūḍāgudu, paṉi uruguṟadu kaḍal maṭṭattai uyattuduBoth. Because of the greenhouse effect the ground warms up, and the melting of ice raises the sea level.
- kuppaiyai piriccu vaiyuṅgō. oru taram pāvikkiṟa paiyai viḍuṅgō. maram naḍuṅgaSort the trash. Give up single-use bags. Plant trees.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| இந்த வருஷம் (inda varuṣam) மழை (maḻai) சரியா (sariyā) வரேல்லை (varēllai). நிலம் (nilam) வறண்ட (vaṟaṇḍa) நிலம் (nilam) மாதிரி (mādiri) ஆயிட்டுது (āyiṭṭudu) | inda varuṣam maḻai sariyā varēllai. nilam vaṟaṇḍa nilam mādiri āyiṭṭudu | This year there was hardly any rain to speak of. The ground has become as if drought-stricken. |
| ஓம் (ōm). வானிலையில (vāṉilaiyila) திடீர் ஏற்ற இறக்கம் (tiḍīr ēṟṟa iṟakkam) நிறைய (niṟaiya) | ōm. vāṉilaiyila tiḍīr ēṟṟa iṟakkam niṟaiya | Yes. There are many sharp swings in the weather. |
| இது (idu) மனிசன்ர (maṉisaṉra) தாக்கமா, இல்ல (illai) இயற்கையா? | idu maṉisaṉra tākkamā, illa iyaṟkaiyā? | Is it the influence of man, or nature itself? |
| ரெண்டும் (reṇḍum). பசுங்குடில் விளைவால பூமி சூடாகுது (pasuṅguḍil viḷaivāla būmi sūḍāgudu), பனி உருகுறது கடல் மட்டத்தை உயத்துது (paṉi uruguṟadu kaḍal maṭṭattai uyattudu) | reṇḍum. pasuṅguḍil viḷaivāla būmi sūḍāgudu, paṉi uruguṟadu kaḍal maṭṭattai uyattudu | Both. Because of the greenhouse effect the ground warms up, and the melting of ice raises the sea level. |
| நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) என்ன (eṉṉa) செய்ய (seyya) ஏலும்? ஊரில (ūrila) ஒரு (oru) தனிப்பட்ட பங்களிப்பு (taṉippaṭṭa paṅgaḷippu) எப்பிடி (eppiḍi) இருக்கும் (irukkum)? | nāṅgaḷ eṉṉa seyya ēlum? ūrila oru taṉippaṭṭa paṅgaḷippu eppiḍi irukkum? | What can we do? What can a personal contribution in the village be? |
| குப்பையை (kuppaiyai) பிரிச்சு (piriccu) வையுங்கோ (vaiyuṅgō). ஒரு தரம் பாவிக்கிற (oru taram pāvikkiṟa) பையை (paiyai) விடுங்கோ (viḍuṅgō). மரம் (maram) நடுங்க | kuppaiyai piriccu vaiyuṅgō. oru taram pāvikkiṟa paiyai viḍuṅgō. maram naḍuṅga | Sort the trash. Give up single-use bags. Plant trees. |
| மரம் (maram) நடுறது உதவுமா? பத்து (pattu) வருஷத்தில (varuṣattila) ஒண்டும் (oṇḍum) தெரியாதே | maram naḍuṟadu udavumā? pattu varuṣattila oṇḍum teriyādē | Will trees help? In ten years nothing will be noticeable. |
| தெரியும் (teriyum). பசுமையாக்கல் (pasumaiyākkal) மெதுவான (meduvāṉa) வேலை (vēlai), ஆனா (āṉā) திரும்ப (tirumba) ஏலாத (ēlāda) மாற்றங்களை நிப்பாட்டுறது அது (adu) தான் (tāṉ) | teriyum. pasumaiyākkal meduvāṉa vēlai, āṉā tirumba ēlāda māṟṟaṅgaḷai nippāṭṭuṟadu adu tāṉ | It will. Greening is slow work, but it is exactly what stops irreversible change. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Tamil in this situation?
“இந்த வருஷம் (inda varuṣam) மழை (maḻai) சரியா (sariyā) வரேல்லை (varēllai). நிலம் (nilam) வறண்ட (vaṟaṇḍa) நிலம் (nilam) மாதிரி (mādiri) ஆயிட்டுது” (āyiṭṭudu) (inda varuṣam maḻai sariyā varēllai. nilam vaṟaṇḍa nilam mādiri āyiṭṭudu) — This year there was hardly any rain to speak of. The ground has become as if drought-stricken. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.