LingoflyAt the residents' meeting in Tamil
Two neighbors argue whether to put a security camera in the yard in Tamil. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «வாசலில (vāsalila) ஒரு (oru) கண்காணிப்புக் கேமரா (kaṇkāṇippuk kēmarā) வைக்கலாம் எண்டு (eṇḍu) நான் (nāṉ) ஒரு (oru) யோசனை வைக்கிறன்» (yōsaṉai vaikkiṟaṉ) — I put forward a proposal to place a security camera at the entrance; «எனக்கு (eṉakku) வேற (vēṟa) ஒரு (oru) கருத்து (karuttu) இருக்கு (irukku). முதல்ல (mudalla) அதன்ர சாதகம் (sādagam) பாதகம் (pādagam) ரெண்டையும் (reṇḍaiyum) பாப்பம்» (pāppam) — I have a different opinion.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two neighbors argue whether to put a security camera in the yard. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- vāsalila oru kaṇkāṇippuk kēmarā vaikkalām eṇḍu nāṉ oru yōsaṉai vaikkiṟaṉI put forward a proposal to place a security camera at the entrance.
- sādagam teḷivu: tiruṭṭu kuṟaiyum. kiṭṭattaṭṭa ellārum idai virumbugiṉamThe advantage is obvious: there will be fewer thefts. Almost everyone wants this.
- nāṉ adai muḻukka maṟukkēllai. āṉā piṉviḷaivugaḷaiyum kaṇakkila eḍukkiṟaṉI do not quite reject that. But I also take the consequences into account.
- appiḍi eṇḍā nāṉ ottukkiṟaṉ. oru karuttuk kaṇippu seydu tīrmāṉam eḍuppamIn that case I agree. We will conduct a survey and make the decision.
Lines one by one
| Tamil | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| வாசலில (vāsalila) ஒரு (oru) கண்காணிப்புக் கேமரா (kaṇkāṇippuk kēmarā) வைக்கலாம் எண்டு (eṇḍu) நான் (nāṉ) ஒரு (oru) யோசனை வைக்கிறன் (yōsaṉai vaikkiṟaṉ) | vāsalila oru kaṇkāṇippuk kēmarā vaikkalām eṇḍu nāṉ oru yōsaṉai vaikkiṟaṉ | I put forward a proposal to place a security camera at the entrance. |
| எனக்கு (eṉakku) வேற (vēṟa) ஒரு (oru) கருத்து (karuttu) இருக்கு (irukku). முதல்ல (mudalla) அதன்ர சாதகம் (sādagam) பாதகம் (pādagam) ரெண்டையும் (reṇḍaiyum) பாப்பம் (pāppam) | eṉakku vēṟa oru karuttu irukku. mudalla adaṉra sādagam pādagam reṇḍaiyum pāppam | I have a different opinion. First let us look at both the advantage and the drawback. |
| சாதகம் (sādagam) தெளிவு: திருட்டு (tiruṭṭu) குறையும். கிட்டத்தட்ட எல்லாரும் (kiṭṭattaṭṭa ellārum) இதை (idai) விரும்புகினம் | sādagam teḷivu: tiruṭṭu kuṟaiyum. kiṭṭattaṭṭa ellārum idai virumbugiṉam | The advantage is obvious: there will be fewer thefts. Almost everyone wants this. |
| நான் (nāṉ) அதை (adai) முழுக்க (muḻukka) மறுக்கேல்லை. ஆனா (āṉā) பின்விளைவுகளையும் கணக்கில எடுக்கிறன் (kaṇakkila eḍukkiṟaṉ) | nāṉ adai muḻukka maṟukkēllai. āṉā piṉviḷaivugaḷaiyum kaṇakkila eḍukkiṟaṉ | I do not quite reject that. But I also take the consequences into account. |
| என்ன (eṉṉa) பாதகம் (pādagam)? உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) நோக்கு (nōkku) நிலையை கொஞ்சம் (koñcam) விளக்குங்கோ (viḷakkuṅgō) | eṉṉa pādagam? uṅgaḍa nōkku nilaiyai koñcam viḷakkuṅgō | What drawback? Explain your point of view. |
| ஒவ்வொருத்தரும் (ovvoruttarum) யார் (yār) எப்ப (eppa) வருகினம் (varugiṉam) எண்டு (eṇḍu) தெரியும் (teriyum). சிலருக்கு அது (adu) பிடிக்காது (piḍikkādu) | ovvoruttarum yār eppa varugiṉam eṇḍu teriyum. silarukku adu piḍikkādu | It will be visible who comes and when. Some people will not like it. |
| நியாயமான (niyāyamāṉa) வாதம் (vādam). அப்ப (appa) தரவு (taravu) எத்தனை (ettaṉai) நாள் (nāḷ) இருக்கும் (irukkum) எண்டு (eṇḍu) ஒரு (oru) நிபந்தனை (nibandaṉai) போடுவம் | niyāyamāṉa vādam. appa taravu ettaṉai nāḷ irukkum eṇḍu oru nibandaṉai pōḍuvam | A fair argument. Then let us set a condition on how many days the data is kept. |
| அப்பிடி எண்டா (appiḍi eṇḍā) நான் (nāṉ) ஒத்துக்கிறன் (ottukkiṟaṉ). ஒரு (oru) கருத்துக் கணிப்பு (karuttuk kaṇippu) செய்து (seydu) தீர்மானம் (tīrmāṉam) எடுப்பம் | appiḍi eṇḍā nāṉ ottukkiṟaṉ. oru karuttuk kaṇippu seydu tīrmāṉam eḍuppam | In that case I agree. We will conduct a survey and make the decision. |
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?
“வாசலில (vāsalila) ஒரு (oru) கண்காணிப்புக் கேமரா (kaṇkāṇippuk kēmarā) வைக்கலாம் எண்டு (eṇḍu) நான் (nāṉ) ஒரு (oru) யோசனை வைக்கிறன்” (yōsaṉai vaikkiṟaṉ) (vāsalila oru kaṇkāṇippuk kēmarā vaikkalām eṇḍu nāṉ oru yōsaṉai vaikkiṟaṉ) — I put forward a proposal to place a security camera at the entrance. 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.