LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Grammatical Influence of Telugu on
Hyderabad Tamil

A. Parimalagantham, Ph.D.

Charminar Towers in Hyderabad

Introduction

When two languages come into contact, it is natural that one language influences the other. The situation when two languages come into contact is called bilingual contact situation. When more than two languages are in contact that situation is called multilingual contact. Linguistic changes may take place in the language in three major levels, that is, phonological, morphological, and lexical levels.

Aim of the Paper

The present paper aims to bring out some of the grammatical changes that occur in the speech of the Tamils who are settled in Hyderabad due to the influence of the major language Telugu and other languages such as Dakhini Urdu and Hindi.

About the Tamils in Hyderabad

The Tamils who are settled in Hyderabad are permanent settlers. They have migrated from Tamilnadu more or less 300 to 400 years ago. They live as a packet. One set of people lives in the outskirt of the city like Bolaram, Thirmalgiri, Venkatapuram, etc. They are mostly manual labourers. Some of the other Tamils live in the Railway Nilayam, Regimental Bazaar, NamalgunDu, MeTTuguDam, LalaguDam, etc. They are mostly railway employees. In KoTi, New NallakunTa, West Maratpally, Liberty, Sanathnagar etc., the Tamil Brahmins and Mudaliars are prominent. They are mostly the white collar job employees.

While Dakhni Urdu dominates the linguistic landscape of Hyderabad-Secunderabad, Tamils settled in Hyderabad-Secunderabad seem to borrow grammatical processes more heavily from Telugu. This is possibly due to the ease with which they can relate to another Dravidian language, with similarities in idiomatic and other expressions. There are also many lexical similarities in their construction between Telugu and Tamil. This also may contribute to the situation of greater borrowing from Telugu in the speech of Hyderabad-Tamils.

Identity

These settled Tamils identify themselves as 'Indians' first, then as 'Hyderabadi'. They never identify themselves as Tamils alone. They call themselves as 'Hyderabad Tamils'. This way of naming themselves show how deeply they have acculturated with the Telugus of Hyderabad. They have the title 'Rao' with their names as Ananda Rao, Padma Rao, Iswar Rao like the names of Telugu people, Umamahesvara Rao, Ramarao, ctc. They have the house name "Ponneeri" and call themselves as Ponneeri Ananda Rao, etc like Telugu people call themselves as "Pratala Ravi," etc.

Method of Migration

The migration of Tamil people took place in three phases. In the first phase, the Tamils came with the British Regiments as manual laborers and settled in the cantonment areas in Hyderabad. The second phase of Tamils came as employees in different recruitments like in the Railways, colleges, etc. The third phase of Tamils came to Hyderabad to improve their economic condition by taking jobs in various companies, businesses, etc.

Social Background of the Tamils

The migrant Tamils try to co-operate with the Telugus as "when you are in Rome, be a Roman" to create peaceful conditions of living. The migrant Tamils use invariably Telugu in all the primary and secondary domains except in the house and among the close relatives. The medium of instruction in the schools and colleges is generally in Telugu or English. So the Tamils select either English or Telugu as the medium of instruction for education. Previously there was one Zilla Parishad school where Tamil medium was up to 5th class. Now, as far as the author's knowledge goes, Tamil teaching is available only in Key's High School, Secunderabad. While attending the interviews for jobs they identify themselves as Telugus if the interviewing authority is Telugu or as Tamils if the interviewing authority is Tamil. This type of identification helps them to lead a peaceful life.

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