LingoflyWhich faculty? in Tamil
Two students meet on the university grounds in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) எந்த (enda) பீடத்தில (pīḍattila) படிக்கிறியள்?» — Hello, which faculty do you study in?; «நான் (nāṉ) கலைப் பீடத்தில (pīḍattila). என் (eṉ) துறை (tuṟai) வரலாறு» (varalāṟu) — The humanities. My major is history. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two students meet on the university grounds. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- reṇḍu irukku. piṟagu oru karuttaraṅguTwo. Then a seminar as well.
- aḍutta vāram tavaṇaip parīṭcai. tayār āguṟiyaḷā?There is a test next week. Are you preparing?
- ovvoru nāḷum paḍikkiṟaṉ. maṟuparīṭcai eṉakku vēṇḍāmI study every day. I do not need a retake.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) எந்த (enda) பீடத்தில (pīḍattila) படிக்கிறியள்? | vaṇakkam, nīṅgaḷ enda pīḍattila paḍikkiṟiyaḷ? | Hello, which faculty do you study in? |
| நான் (nāṉ) கலைப் பீடத்தில (pīḍattila). என் (eṉ) துறை (tuṟai) வரலாறு (varalāṟu) | nāṉ kalaip pīḍattila. eṉ tuṟai varalāṟu | The humanities. My major is history. |
| இண்டைக்கு (iṇḍaikku) விரிவுரை (virivurai) இருக்கா (irukkā)? | iṇḍaikku virivurai irukkā? | Are there lectures today? |
| ரெண்டு (reṇḍu) இருக்கு (irukku). பிறகு (piṟagu) ஒரு (oru) கருத்தரங்கு (karuttaraṅgu) | reṇḍu irukku. piṟagu oru karuttaraṅgu | Two. Then a seminar as well. |
| உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) புலமைப்பரிசில் (pulamaipparisil) கிடைச்சதா? | uṅgaḷukku pulamaipparisil kiḍaiccadā? | Did you get a scholarship? |
| ஓம் (ōm). அதனால (adaṉāla) நான் (nāṉ) மாணவர் (māṇavar) விடுதியில (viḍudiyila) தங்கிறன் | ōm. adaṉāla nāṉ māṇavar viḍudiyila taṅgiṟaṉ | Yes. That is why I live in the dormitory. |
| அடுத்த (aḍutta) வாரம் (vāram) தவணைப் பரீட்சை (tavaṇaip parīṭcai). தயார் (tayār) ஆகுறியளா? | aḍutta vāram tavaṇaip parīṭcai. tayār āguṟiyaḷā? | There is a test next week. Are you preparing? |
| ஒவ்வொரு (ovvoru) நாளும் (nāḷum) படிக்கிறன் (paḍikkiṟaṉ). மறுபரீட்சை (maṟuparīṭcai) எனக்கு வேண்டாம் (eṉakku vēṇḍām) | ovvoru nāḷum paḍikkiṟaṉ. maṟuparīṭcai eṉakku vēṇḍām | I study every day. I do not need a retake. |
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?
“வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) எந்த (enda) பீடத்தில (pīḍattila) படிக்கிறியள்?” (vaṇakkam, nīṅgaḷ enda pīḍattila paḍikkiṟiyaḷ?) — Hello, which faculty do you study in? 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.