Malayalam: A University Course and Reference Grammar 0891480463, 9780891480464

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Open Educational Resources for South Asian Language Instruction

Language: Malayalam

Malayalam: A University Course and Reference Grammar by Rodney F. Moag is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This work is normally printed in two volumes (the second volume beginning with Lesson 17), but it is presented here in a single document. Created in cooperation with the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning. Last updated: April 2018 Rodney F. Moag Professor Emeritus University of Texas at Austin

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• A Universit~ C-ourse. • and \4fe.re.nle. 6.rammar Vol. 1 -

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Malayalam: A University Course and Reference Grammar . Fourth Edition

Rodney F. Moag

Published by The Center for Asian Studies The University of Texas at Austin

Spring,2002

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ..................................................... , ....................................................... i Preface ............................................................................................................................. .iii The Book and How to Use It .............................................................................................. '.vii Malayalam Script ................................................................... , ......................................... xv LESSON ONE .................................................................................................................... 1 LESSON ONE CONVERSATION: What is Your Name? .................................................... 3 LESSON ONE GRAMMAR NOTES .................................................................................... 6 1.1. How to Use Grammatical Explanations ............................................................. 6 1.2. The Order of Elements Within the Sentence ...................................................... 6 1.3. Equative Sentences ........................................................................................... 6 1.4. Copula Deletion in Short Sentences Giving Names ............................................ .7 1.5. The Quotative or Citation Particle raj) 7 1.6. Social Dimensions of the Personal Pronouns ....................................................... 8 LESSON TW0 ................................................................................................................... 11 LESSON TWO CONVERSATION: Mr. Thomas' Office ....................................................... 15 LESSON TWO GRAMMAR NOTES .................................................................................... 19 2.1. The Locative Case of Nouns .............................................................................. 19 2.2. Spelling Changes in Adding Vowel-Initial Suffixes .......................................... 20 2.3. -b3J as a Marker for Yes-No Questions ............................................................... 21 2.4. Verbal Cues for the Near-Far Distinction ......................................................... 22 2.5 Changing the Order of Sentence Elements for Emphasis ...................................... 23 2.6 Spelling and Pronunciation Changes when Joining -2 o ....................................... 25 LESSON THREE ................................................................................................................ 26 LESSON THREE CONVERSATION: Is James Here? (Lending and Borrowing) .................... 28 LESSON THREE GRAMMAR NOTES ................................................................................. 35 3.1 Existive/Locative Sentences with 2 ~ ............................................................. 35 3.2 "One of Your" Possessive Phrases ....................................................................... 37 3.3 Possessive Sentences: Alienable versus Inalienable Possession ............................ 37 3.4 The Polite Command and Citation Forms of Verbs .............................................. 39 3.5 Impersonal Expressions for Health and Welfare ................................................ 39 3.6 Coordinate Conjunctions " ... and ... and" ............................................................. 40 LESSON FOUR. ................................................................................................................. 39 LESSON FOUR CONVERSATION: Going to the Teashop .................................................. 41 LESSON FOUR GRAMMAR NOTES .................................................................................. 47 4.1 Wishes and Desires the Indirect Form ~OJ 6Tn o ........................... : ...................... 47 4.2. Likes and Desires Indirect Sentences with g;Q n33' s OJ J 6TD .....................................48 4.3 Differing Responses to Yes-No Questions According to the Verb ......................... .49 4.4 The Dative For Indirect Objects ........................................................................ .50 4.5 Differences in the Dative Ending ...................................................................... .50 4.6 Two Kinds of "Giving" ....................................................................................... .52 LESSON FIVE .................................................................................................................. .53 LESSON FIVE CONVERSATION: Will Krishnan Go to the Movies? ................................ .55 LESSON FIVE GRAMMAR NOTES ................................................................................... .59 5.1 The Simple Present Tense ................................................................................. .59 5.2 The Gerund and the Infinitive of Purpose ........................................................... 60 5.3 More Possessive with 2 ~ ................................................................................ 61 5.4 Changing the Order of Elements in the Sentence for Emphasis ............................ 61

an .........................................................

5.5 The Negative Question Marker -~-:::i- ................................................................62 5.6 The Plural Marker for Nouns and its Spelling Changes ....................................... 63 5.7 Verbstems and the Hint of [y] W ........................................................................ 65 LESSON SIX ....................................................................................................................... 67 LESSON SIX CONVERSATION: Do You Know the Brahmin Hotel? (Directions) ............... 69 LESSON SIX GRAMMAR NOTES······························'-·······················'···· .......................... 75 6.1 The Polite Assertive Marker -cmo~~:P ............................................................. ]5 6.2 The Negative Question as a Signposting and Rhetorical Device ......................... 76 6.3 The Intentive or Potential Verb Ending .................... :......................................... 77 6.4 The Indirect Uses of cmo o 1 CQ) I cfh.. .. . ... . ... .. . .. .. ... ... ..... .. .. .. ... . . ... ... . .... ... . .... .. ... .. ..... 78 6.5 The Postpositions and their Case Requirements ................................................. 79 6.6 The Possessive Form (Case) of the Noun ............................................................. 80 6.7 More Uses of the -:xrcr Verbform ....................................................................... 83 LESSON SEVEN ................................................................................................................ 86 LESSON SEVEN CONVERSATION: Where Will I Catch the Quilon Bus? ........................ 91 LESSON SEVEN GRAMMAR NOTES ................................................................................ 95 7.1 The General Future and the Habitual Ending-~ o .............................................. 95 7.2 The Impersonal Verb cfh1 §Jcfh ....................................... :..................................... 98 7.3 Asking and Telling Time .................................................................................... 98 7.4 The Locative Requirement with Verbs of Motion ................................................ 99 7.5 The Two Part Qualifier nBJWHHH ····································································99 7.6 Spelling Changes When Joining nBJWrn.gil and ntj)ffh1 cmL ...... ,......................... 101 7.7 The Hortative "Lets" Verbform ......................................................................... 101 LESSON EIGHT ......................................................................................................-........... 103 LESSON EIGHT CONVERSATION: Hey James! (Adjective/Relative Clauses) ................. 107 LESSON EIGHT GRAMMAR NOTES ................................................................................. 113 8.1 Uses and Forms of the Accusative Form (Case) of the Noun ................................. 113 8.2 Adjective or Relative Clauses Made with Present Verbform ............................... 115 8.3 The Addressive or Associative Form of the Noun ............................................... 116 8.4 The Desiderative Form of the Verb -6TTJ o .......................................................... 118 8.5 Reported Commands with the Infinitive ........................................................... 120 8.6 Tag Questions .................................................................................................... 121 8.7 Times of the Day ............................................................................................... 124 MINILESSON A ................................................................................................................ 126 LESSON NINE .................................................................................................................. 127 LESSON NINE CONVERSATION: Sharing Saris ............................................................. 130 LESSON NINE GRAMMAR NOTES ................................................................................... 135 9.1 Making Pronouns and Noun Phrases from Adjectives ........................................... 135 9.2 The Complex Verb I

~

,\;)

2--

'-1--

xxx

Table IV· . · Cont"mued

xx xi

Table V: How to Write Consonants without the Inherent Vowel

A. For three of the consonants, the inherent vowel -CCIO is suppressed by the addition of a ' tail" as follows. 1

becomes

becomes

becomes

xxxn

Table V: ·Continued

B. For two other consonants, the inherent vpwel is suppressed through the use of a completely different character as follows.

becomes

becomes

C. For all other consonants, the inherent vowel is suppressed by the use of

the echo vowel (-'"' ), which is written at the upper right-hand corner of the consonant, as in the following examples:

v

s xxxiii

Table VI: How to Write the Common Double Consonants

v

6l3 +

~ v

v

cm

...2J + ...2J

v

s

cm

s

+

v

m

+

+

v

m

60.J + 60.J XXXlV

Table VI: Continued

-6

v

G -

v

Q] + Q]

CQ) + CQ)

If

~£5) 3J~5

ru v

7

v

ru

eJ + eJ

xxxv

+

ru

Table VIII: How to Join CQ), A.

When

~.

('),

eJ, and nJ to Preceding Consonants

is the second component of a conjunct, it is represented by

CQ)

the symbol

J , which is placed to the right of the preceding consonant,

as in CTD J v

CO) eg. B.

ffi)

CQ)

+

CTD Jo ("truth")

When either CO or () is the second component of a conjunct, that component is uniformly represented by the symbol to the left of the preceding consonant, as in

Lo..Jl CQ) o

("beloved")

+ () eg. C.

Lo..J

co

+ eg.

L , which is placed

Lo..J J ~ S cB

U:,CLJ

(for English "proctor")

When eJ is the second component of a conjunct, it is represented by the symbol as

6D

,

which is placed underneath the preceding consonant,

in~

+ eJ eg. ~ J D.

ru ("jackfruit tree")

When OJ is the second component of a conjunct, it is represented by the symbol J , which is placed to the right of the preceding consonant, as in

ffi)

ffi)

J

+

ru

ffi)Jt~ ........., I

eg. ffi)JCTm o ("one's own")

xxxvii

LESSON ONE Reference List

Classroom Expressions

o..JO®l cajj~p(q

Please say I speak/ tell. everyone

0

63crnlaj

together

o..Jocwi mmcruCTDle.JJ(gCWJ?

say Do you understand?

mm en) CTDl eJ J cwl

(I) understand.

Vocabulary

uo col

okay, fine, good

mJlCTJB

Bill

COJOJrr8

a male (Hindu) name

m16m1~J@S

your (polite)

cg o..J ci

name what? what is? (short for caj) CTm J

6TD')

my Quotative or Citation Marker (placed after the quoted element) he (inferior to speaker) who?

1

Lesson One

2 v

~6TD

is

coJ2?,·ITT

a male name

cmoruDo

she (inferior to speaker)

Cil 6TD1

a female name

CCIOG~Gn..D

he (respected)

0

~ CTD J Cil en) CTD J

cB

Mr. Thomas

v

g;Q CTD

this (thing)

nB! mJ) '.)?

g;Q cm

What is this?

QJ'.)b(ffi

mango

v

CCIOCTD

that (thing)

CLJ'8 0

banana v

CLJ 1CTD CTD cfTi o

book

ffi.Ji&

book, notebook

~CLJm

pen

~

Cil (JC)

cfTi~

table

CTDCO

chair

Reading Practice v

Note

how~

6TD joins to the following items.

m16m3Do

ml 6m3 ~ J

cmoruDo

cmo ru ~ J

COJCilITT

(Q'.)Cilffi'.)6TD

COJ2?,m

co J 2?, m J

g;Qcm

g;QCIDJ6ffi

nq)rrm

nq) mJ) '.) 6ffi

6ffi

6ffi v

6ffi

Lesson One

3

v

v

~co

~COJ6TD

G CTD J Cil rn5 mJ J ~

G CU) J Cil CT\J CT\J J 0 J 6TD

v

v

v

v

v

cNO G GG n._() o

JCT8

6lU> 6Til3 [X)

CITTO rucB

cmoGG:GrLD o

v

o.GJ CTQ)

COJ~m

g;Q(O)

a: muo

cm a: cru co

m6TD1

v

o.Q)ITT) v

w l m5 ®cm o cmoru[X)

~co

7. Pronunciation Practice: A

Practice the alveolar sounds in the following words. The tip of your tongue should touch the roof of your mouth behind the teeth as in the "nd" sound in English "Sunday."

ng)wCT8o

my

CITTO ru 6J CT8 0

his

(OJCil6)CT80

Raman's

coJ~wCT8o

Rajan's

1 CT8 ()

ffi) '.) () @

sir's

Lesson One

6 A

Practice the dental clusters in the following items. Make sure the tip of the tongue touches the back of the teeth. 'what what is this

C. Practice distinguishing between the dental and alveolar sotmds as the above items are

spoken aloud. If you hear a dental sound, respond by saying nJ ~ ("tooth").

If the

word has a non-dental (alveolar) sound, respond with @. ~ ("not, no").

LESSON ONE GRAMMAR NOTES

1.1. How to Use Grammatical Explanations Remember not to devote too much time to studying and learning the grammar, even if you find it irresistibly fascinating; the real focus of your efforts should always be the. language itself. If you find the grammar sections unpleasant or inscrutable, focus on the examples rather than the explanations. Grammar must be an aid, never an obstacle, to learning. In this interest, every effort has been made to minimize the technical jargon in the grammar notes. Where technical terms are unavoidable, I have tried to keep them as simple and straightforward as possible.

1.2. The Order of Elements Within the Sentence The normal order for the Malayalam sentence is Subject, Object (or complement), Verb. The most basic rule is that the verb must appear at the end of the sentence. This rule is exhibited in all sentences found in this lesson's conversation and exercises.

1.3. Equative Sentences The type of sentences found in this lesson is called "equative," or "equational"; that is, they make a statement of the type X = Y. The verb in such sentences functions like an equals sign, and is often called a copula or copular verb. Remember that the Malayalam sentence

Lesson One

7

seems a strange equation from our point of view, since the equals sign appears on the right-hand side, rather than in the middle as in English. For example,

II

cmo ru CT8

(l) J

~mJ

6TD'

11

is

most literally rendered, "he Rajan is." In equative sentences; the second element is not strictly an object, but a complement or predicate nominative. Sentences with objects, i.e. those with action verbs instead of copula verbs, are introduced in Lesson Five. A third type of sentence, the existive sentence, is introduced in Lesson Three.

1.4. Copula Deletion in Short Sentences Giving Names In general, the verb is the most basic and necessary element in the Malayalam sentence.

Ordinarily, it must be retained even when everything else is dropped off. Notable exceptions are sentences that give a person's name or identify an object. These verbless sentences are more colloquial and less formal in nature.

1.

A B.

n4)@ CT8 o n4)@CT8o

~ o..J c5 Cll J m CT8

n4) cm J 6TD.

~o..Jc5 CllJmcrB.

"My name is Raman."

2.

A.

B.

cmocm affilM

6)6)eJ~L6TlJo1 COIQ) 6TD. 6)6)eJ~L6TlJ01.

"That's the library."

In literature and in oral narrative, verbless sentences are sometimes used to introduce

relevant details--either to set the scene or to give information about a character, place, or subject already introduced.

1.5. The Quotative or Citation Particle

nm m)

Sentences that give a person's name have another special feature besides that of copula deletion in informal speech. When the copula is used, the name stated must be followed by the particle

nq)®. nm® is a marker indicating

that something is being quoted or cited from

another, usually earlier, situation. In later lessons you will find it used as a marker for

Lesson One

8

reported quotes, thoughts, feelings, and the like. In writing it is always joined to the preceding word.

1.6. Social Dimensions of the Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are of three types. First-person pronouns refer to the person speaking: oneself or the group for whom one is speaking. Second-person pronouns refer to the person(s) with whom one is conversing. Third-person pronouns refer to persons talked about. A fairly comprehensive discussion of the personal pronouns appears below. Second Person Pronouns: Malayalam has several words meaning "you." The particular pronoun that a given speaker selects depends on that person's relationship with the individual addressed. This lesson uses the term family relationship.

ml 6ITT3 Do

mlcmoDo,

which indicates a somewhat formal, non-

is quite polite and may be used safely in any situation

without fear of insulting anyone .. Two other words are in common use. The term

ml is used only

in addressing someone who is clearly younger and of lower social standing. Adults use

ml to address children,

~nvariably

both inside the family and without. It is a non-reciprocal term,

that is, it can be used from parent to child, but not from child to parent. The term

@'.)ITT

is

generally used between persons of the same age who have no kinship ties, such as school or college classmates. Other words for "you" come in subsequent lessons and are fully covered in Appendix A at the back of the book. Because the words for "you" are loaded, Malayalis prefer other ways to address those with whom they interact. Within the family, kinship terms are used to address all those who are superior to oneself in age. Whereas English-speakers use kinship terms only for mother, father, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, Malayalis also use kinship terms to address older siblings. Lesson Three introduces the separate Malayalam words for older brother, older sister, younger brother, and younger sister. These terms are not restricted to the nuclear family as in English; in Malayali culture all cousins are also considered brothers and sisters.

Siblings

younger than oneself are not normally addressed by kinship terms, but are ·spoken to by name or with

ml.

In addition, proper names are commonly used in addressing persons outside the

family in order to avoid the issue of relative status. Mary reach the office today?"

Thus one might ask Mary, "When did

Lesson One

9

Third-Person Pronouns: Malayalam has three words for "he" and two for "she." The

czno OJ cW

pronoun

is used for males who are socially inferior, in age or social status, or for v

equals with whom one has a close personal relationship. CT3TO G cg G n...0 o, on the other hand, is a pronoun used for socially superior males. In referring to persons of truly high

station~-top

level personages in religious, governmental, or other institutions, as well as movie v

czno G cg G n...O

0

is always used.

A third masculine pronoun,

cmo CQ) '.)()o

then

oW G 8:::J J [>o

when?

v

g;QOn

today v

cmocm

that day on which day?

Adverbs of Manner: this way, like this

Cffi06Ufl6)ffi

that way, like that which way?, how?

Vocabulary

ffi)

J c6'

ffi) J

() 1@ CT8 ()

you (respectful), gentleman, sir your (respectful), gentleman's

~nJJlm5

office

g;Qrulws

here

13

Lesson Two

cmQ) G 6Tn J?

is? are? (question form of cmQ) 6TTI)

n..DOJrc3

a male (Muslim) name

cmo@cm

yes

fil2 rul 6) s cmm Ei)(lD

right here

-@CITTl

in, among

cmQ) n..0 I nu1CTJ8

in the office

g;QCQ)JUo

he (equal, close by)

g;QCQ)J6)~ mmrr0'nule.JJGCQ)J?

Do you know I recognize him? no

a formal greeting (literally "I bow to you," also

m OJ m) Gcm)

ruls

house, home, native place

o.girul@s

where

cmJuauaice

Trichur, a town in central Kerala

G~Je.Jl

job, work

GTmJcr8

I

one (indefinite article) doctor -~o

also, too this (adjective) a male (Hindu) name Cochin, an important port city in central Kerala teacher

-63'.)

question marker

Lesson Two

14

Reading Practice A Note how - g;Q CTJ8 joins to the following words.

ruls

rul31CT58

dhGCTDCO

cm GCTD CO CQ)1CTJ8

GQJUd

GQJ Ud CQ)1CTJ8

ccnicm

cmocml@B

ccniruccr

cmo ru co1CT58

mlbm1Do

mlbm1~1CT58

v

. rucmlCTJB

rucm COIQ) CLO I m5

COIQ) CLO I ffi)1CT58

ruruc8

ru ru co1CT58

n...J 2m5cm cfh o

n...J 2m5cmcfhCITTm1 CT58

GcfhCO~o

Gcfh CO ~ CITTm1CTJ8 B. Note how - ~ o joins to the following words.

Gcfhuarum

GcfhCJd0Jffi2 o

cmorum

cmo rum 2o

co J 2'?im

COJ2'?iffi2o

GQJUd

GQJCJdCQ)2 o

a:i6ID1

. a:i6IDlCQ)20

dhGCTDCO

cfh GCTD CO CQ) 2o

ccniruc8

cmo ru co 2o

ccniruDo

cmo ru ~ 2o

n...J 2m5cm cfh o

n...J2rn5cmcfhru2 o

Lesson Two

15

Conversation

coJmm3: cruJol@m3o cDIQ)oJJlmJ ~rul@SCQ)JG6TDJ? n...0 ml c3: crno @cm , ~ rul 6J s curm 6J cm . - - - -cDIQ) oJJI CTUl cu3- --n...0mlc3:

~CQ)J6)~ mmrn)crule.JJGCQ)J?

COJmm3: ~~n...O ml c3:

~ cci5 Gcm J men) cru Jo J ITT).

Gcm J mCTU, ~cm

coJmmJ6TD. v

v

GcmJmCTU: mmCTUc6rnJco o. coJmm3: mmmJc6rnJco o, cruJol@cr8o ruls oB)OJl@SCQ)J? c cmJmmJ: · oB)@m3o rul s crnJwCJdicol e.JJ. coJmm3: ml6IT13~]6JS G~Je.Jl nB)CTrnJITT5? GcmJmmJ: 6TmJm3 b3CO] CUJJcfhSOJITT5. coJmm3: ml6ITD~]o CWJcfhSOJG6TDJ?

6TmJffi]o b3CO]

v

CUJJcmSOJ. n...0mlc3: GcmJmmJ, ~ro cruJcB cDIQ)coJITT5? ccmJmmJ: ~@ GcmCJdrum3 CTUJo Jm5.

~CQ)J ~]6JS

ruls

6J cm J-S:jl CQ)l eJ J m5. GcmCJdOJCT8: mmmJc6rnJCOo. n...0mlc3: Gcm Ud ru m3 :

n...0 ml c3:

mmmJc6rnJCOo, ml6ITD~]@S G~Je.Jl nB)CTmJITT5? 6Tm J m3 b3 col o o 1--S:J cB cDIQ) ITT). b3 J , crno cci5

Ud co1.

Lesson Two

16

Exercises

1.

Respond to questions from the teacher or from classmates by giving your own home town or state. Models: A. Teacher:

ml 6rn1~J6) S of1 S o.ffi rul 6) S CQ) J 6ffi?

o.ffi 6)CT80 ru"l S ml CTDlOl CQ)l e.J J Gffi. Teacher: ml 6rn1 ~J 6) S ru"l S ro::Jl c&:i J ~ (f) J CQ)1CTJ8 Student: COlO 6) (Q) , ro::Jl c&:i J ~ (f) J CQ)1e.J J 6ffi. Student:

B.

2.

cm'Q) ~ 6TD J ?

Form answers to questions from the instructor or from classmates by giving the occupation of the person designated.

Remember, English words can be used where

Malayalam job titles are unknown. Models: A. Instructor: COlO CQ) J ~J 6) S ~ ~ J e.Jl

o.ffi CTm J 6ffi? Student: COlO CQ) J ()() CW J ah S 0 J 6ffi. B. Instructor: COlO ru c8 0 0 "l ~ c8 cm'Q) ~ 6TD J? Student: COlO 6) (Q) , 0 0 "l ~ c8 cm'Q) 6ffi.

3.

Read the following sentences and make sure you understand the meaning. Then practice them orally by repeating after the instructor.

2.

cmorucoi o oo"l~c8 cm'Q)~ 6TDJ? cm'Q) CLJ i m) cm d3, o o.m rul 6) s CQ) J 6ffi?

3.

cmo ru CT8

g;Q ~ 8::::P ()()

4.

ru"l 3l CTJ8

cm'Q) co 1GIB'?

s.

cmoG'~Gn...Dmm16)CT8o ~~Je.Jl

6.

cmo® OJe.JCQ)J ~ cmmlCTJB CLJo(Q)i.

i.

cm JCJC) c..ra ico1e.J J 6ffi. nq)CTmJGffi?

6) dJ-i J ~1 CQ) 10 (Q) Jera c..ra i co10 ~ dJ-i co ~mm1CTJ8 s. cmo ru co1CTJ8 cm'Q) co J 6ffi cw J c£h s ccr? 7.

cm'Q) 6ffi.

Lesson Two

4.

17

Match the following English sentences in Colunm I with their Malayalam equivalents in Column II. v

v

l.

Is Mr. Keshavan your teacher?

l.·

cmorut>o b3CT!l CWJc8-iSOJ6TD.

2.

Where is your office?

2.

Gc&iuaruCTB cruJccl' m16Zjl3~l@S · o ol-i!oJG 6TD J?

3.

He is a doctor.

3.

m 16Zjl3 ~J 6) s rul s 6) c8JJ~l CQ)l e.JJG 6TD J?

4.

Is this a mango?

4. g;Q

5.

She is a doctor.

5.

cm

Q:JJ 6Zjl3 JCQ) JG 6TDJ?

ml 6Zjl3 ~J@S CCIQ)o...Olcn5 cajJOJl@s CCIQ)6ffi'? v

6.

Is your home in Cochin?

6.

cmoGGGCLD o 63CT!l CU) '.) ce;' s

7. cmQ)

7. whose book?

() '.) EiTD.

ruls

8.

that chair

8. ~cm ool~c8?

9.

which teacher?

9.

CCIQ)CT!l@S o..Jlm)cmce-, o?

10. cmQ) c8-i Gcru CT!

10. that house

Prepare written Malayalam responses at home to the following questions.

5.

1.

m16Zjl3~J@S 6rulce"1 g;Q'D GQ:JCJaCQ)le.JJG6ffiJ?

2.

m16Zjl3~J@S ool~c8 CCIQ)CTJJ6ffi'?

3.

g;Q'D

4.

cmo ru eel' m 16Zjl3 ~J 6) s cmQ) CTJ J 6TD?

5.

ml 6Zjl3 Do b3CTJl cwJce;'soJG GmJ?

Gmua CQ)lCTJB Go..J mCQ)lG 6TTS J?

6. ml6Zjl30o CCIQ)CTJl@S ool~oJ6ffi'?

7. Gce-, ua ru CT8 cru Jo1 @CT8 o rul s aj) rul 6) s CQ) J EiTD? 8. cmo ru CTJ1

cW

cmQ) CTJ J 6TD Gcm J men) cru J eel'?

9. ..2.Jl c&nJ GCf) J aj) rul 6) S CQ) J 6ffi'? 10.

ml 6Zjl3 ~J@S G~Je.Jl cajJOJl@SCQ)J 6ffi'?

18

Lesson Two

6.

Practice introducing various class members to the instructor and to each other as per the model found in the conversation. Remember always to use Cmll GGG o_D o or Cmll OJ

c8

when referring to the instructor.

7. A.

Rewrite the following sentences adding - ~ o to the underlined words. Model: EiTmJm 63C02 CWJahSOJm). '-'

'-'

6Tm8ffi2 o 63C02 CWJcfhSOJ6m. 1.

o.qi@m3o Go..Jc5 COJmm3 o-O)CTDJm).

2.

cnnol@mo

3.

mlbGB~l@s ruls cmJuaCJdicole.JJG6TDJ?

4.

m16D"l1~16)S o..JZcrUCTDcfho g;QOJl@SCQ)Jm).

5.

((ffiJ

6.

((ffi)co) m16D"l1~1@S ~o..JmCillJG6mJ?

7.

G~ G o_D o

CCl0 nJJlm5 g;Qrul@s(Q)JG 6TDJ?

nB) 6) m) 0 OJI §1eJ8 m).

m16D"13~]6)S 6D.J]& GCTlCJdCillle.JJ~6TDJ?

B. Separate the two individual words in each of the items below.

g;Q rul 6) S CQ) 8 G6m J COJCTlffiJm) '-'

'-'

ffi)J086m

CCIQ)C086m

o..JZcrUcmcmmJm)

6) c£h 8~1CQ)1eJ8 m)

ool~oJm) o.qi rul 6) s

CQ) J

cwuaCJdicole.JJ

8. Pronunciation Practice: In Lesson One we praticed speaking and recognizining the difference between dental

sounds (made with the tongue touching the teeth) and those made with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth behind the teeth (alveolar sounds). We now focus on the distinction between dental and retroflex sounds.

19

Lesson Two

A. Practice the dental. Repeat the following words after the instructor and make sure your tongue touches the back of your upper teeth. v

g;Q (Q)

' this (thing) v

(\ffiJ (Q)

that (thing)

cmo wcm

yes

1

v

n_J ffi) (Q) c:£h

book

0

g;Q 6) (Q) mJ) :J

What is it?

B. Identify and practice the items in the reference list containing dental sounds.

C. Repeat the following items containing retroflex sounds. Make sure that your tongue is curled backwards with the tip touching the roof of the back of the mouth (the hard palate).

g;Qrul@s

here

omrulws

where?

CW:J~Sc-6'

doctor

ru'ls

house, home he (equal to speaker, at a distance) she (inferior to speaker)

D. Identify and practice the items in the reference list containing retroflex sounds.

LESSON TWO GRAMMAR NOTES

2.1. The Locative Case of Nouns In English, location is expressed by phrases made up of a noun and a preposition. The

noun denotes the place, while the preposition that proceeds it indicates location and/ or direction relative to the place:

we say "in the house," "on the street," "at home," etc. In

Malayalam the various realtionships between each noun and the other elements in the sentence are commonly expressed by endings attached to the nouns. These endings, technically called

20

Lesson Two

"case markers," serve the same function as our English prepositions.

Location is shown in

Malayalam by attaching the ending -g:Q CITTl (meaning "in," "on," "at," etc. with a singular noun, and sometimes "among" with a plural noun). A list of nouns in their locative forms appears in Reading Practice A of this lesson.

2.2 Spelling Changes in Adding Vowel-Initial Suffixes No suffix in Malayalam may stand alone; it must always be attached to a word, the one exception being when they are set off artificially (as in these lessons), in order to explain them to foreigners. endings.

Certain rules of Malayalam spelling must be observed when adding these

These conventions are summarized below.

They are few in number, fairly

straightforward, and applicable to all cases in which a vowel-initial element is joined to the preceding element. These include the addition of other vowel-initial suffixes to nouns, as well as the frequent practice of writing common combinations of words together as a single unit. These very basic spelling conventions will become second-nature as students are exposed to more and more written Malayalam, but at this time, an explanation of the system will be useful. The most basic rule of Malayalam script is that all non-initial vowels within a graphic word, i.e. any unit bounded by a space on either side, must be carried by a consonant symbol. In other words, only dependent vowel symbols may appear within a graphic word. The sole exception occurs when a word begins with a vowel. When a Malayalam word ends in a consonant, therefore, the initial vowel of the ending is attached to it, so that the result is a single syllable. Witness:

CTDJCJC3UdlC01CITTl

"in Trichur," cn5&:il~1CTJ8, "in school," etc.

(Note the change from half consonants to full consonants in adding case endings to these words.) When the final element is the anusvara (- o ), this changes to

CTmD

(double

CTD) with the CLJl C"ru@cfri o v

addition of the locative, or other vowel-initial case endings. For example, ("book") becomes

CLJl cn5CTDcfriCTmD1 CITTl ("in the book").

Note that this change does not occur v

when words ending in - o are written in combination with copular verbs, such as CffiQ) 61T) . It follows from the above rule that two vowels may never occur within a graphic word without an intervening consonant. Therefore, when a Malayalam word ends in a vowel, an extra consonant must be added, serving both as a joining device and as a carrier for the initial vowel of the suffix. The consonant

CQ)

is the joining device for most vowels:

cfri G: cru CO

21

Lesson Two ("chair") becomes cfuGffi)(QCQ)lcITTl ("in /oo the chair"), 6)c:6JJ~1

("Cochin") becomes

6)c:6JJ~lwlm8 ("in/at Cochin"), and ..2.JlcfroJJG(J)J ("Chicago") becomes ..2.JlcfroJJG CJ)

J

Wl cITTl

("in/ at Chicago").

The prime exception to the above occurs when a word ends in the echo vowel represented by the crescenf appearing above and to the right of a final consonant. The echo vowel drops and is replaced by the initial vowel of the suffix or of the word being joined. This initial vowel is then written along with the last consonant of the first word. Thus we have

cmo cm ("that") becoming cmo cml cITTl ("in that") and 6TlJJ c:eITT ("notebook") becoming 6TlJJ cfroJ1 cITTl ("in the book"). Students should again refer to the list of various locative forms in Reading Practice A. Note that when a suffix or a separate word is joined to a word ending in an echo vowel, the total number of syllables is reduced by one. For example, the four syllables in

cmo cm

cmQ) 6rr) reduce to three when writing or speaking the combined form

cmo cm J 6rr).

2.3. -630 as a Marker for Yes-No Questions There are basically two types of questions in Malayalam:

information questions and

yes-no questions. Information questions contain a question word (what, who, why, when, etc.) and require an answer that provides specific information. Such information, not presently held by the questioner, is requested to fill that particular gap in the premise or proposition under whi.Ch the questioner is operating at the time. We have discussed three question words so far:

cmQ)c-5 ("who?"), o.G)mD ("what?"), and o.G)OJl@S ("where?").

Note also that the

adverb trios in this lesson's Reference List, as well as the demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in the Lesson Three Reference List, all contain a question word as their third member. These are used to request specific information not. The question word in this type of question usually appears right before the verb in Malayalam, with nothing in between. Yes-no questions, on the other hand, contain no question word as such, and expect an answer that signifies only that the proposition contained in the question is valid or not valid. For instance, the question expressed in Example 1 below might be restated, "Your home is in Chicago--is that true or not true?"

22

Lesson Two

"Is your home in Chicago?"

In English, often the only cue we have as to whether a proposition is a statement or a question is the difference between a falling or a rising intonation in speech, or the difference between a period or a question mark in writing. In Malayalam, the verbal question marker - 63:) is added.to the verb. In terms of spelling, the addition of this ending follows the rules just v

set forth in Grammar Note 2.2. The short form of cGlQ) 6TD cannot take - 63:), however. Thus, the sentence ~cm CJa co1 CQ):)? depends entirely on a rising or falling intonation to signal whether it is a question or a statement.

Note that the verb, copular or otherwise, may

sometimes be deleted so that the question marker - 63:) attaches directly to the end of a word or phrase being questioned. Witness: ~cg (ID:)? ("this one?" I "this?"), also

6) cEh:) ~1

CQ)l-

cg eJ:)? ("in Cochin?"), etc. Note that the question marker -63:) may be attached to the quotative particle v

raj)CTD. In such cases the real question being asked is, "Did you say ... ?". Witness:

"His name is Raman."

"Did you say Raman?"

2.4. Verbal Cues for the Near-Far Distinction

You can see from the demonstrative pronouns and adjectives for "this" (~ M) and "that" (CiffilM) in the Lesson One Vocabulary that Malayalam has a "near-far" distinction similar to that of English. You may note from this lesson's Reference List that the same distinction also operates in adverbs of place, time, and manner. The distinction itself needs ro explanation since it will coincide with the intuitions you have already developed through English, but Malayalam is more systematic in that the initial sound of the word marks clearly whether the word indicates the "near" or the "far" alternative.

The sound

~

means "near",

23

Lesson Two

while

cmo

signifies "far," or rather, "not near," in terms of space, time, or whatever dimension

is in focus. In Malayalam this distinction is also used witl\ third person personal pronolll1S. Thus,

though the COmmOn form Of the pronoun begins With

cmo-

I

thereby indicating that the refe,rent

is not particularly near, it also has a "near" counterpart be~g with g;Q-. These special

g;Q- forms are only used when the person referred to is an active or passive party to the conversation.

In Lesson One, therefore,

cmo ru CT8' cmo ru ()()

and

cmo G~ G ~ 0

were used to

inquire about persons in the same room, but not involved in the present conversation, whereas in Lesson Two the near form g;QOJ()Q is used because the person indicated is listening. These "near" forms are used, as you have seen, in introducing people to each other and also in formal speeches of introduction, commendation, and the like.

All other occasions take the normal

"far" forms of the pronouns.

2.5. Changing the Order of Sentence Elements for Emphasis

Some students may have noticed that the eighth sentence in Exercise Three, reproduced below as Example 4, does not exhibit the customary order of elements, i.e. Subject, Object, Verb. Whenever a speaker changes the cardinal order in a sentence in Malayalam, he or she does so in order to emphasize or draw attention to a particular element in the sentence. It is possible to v

emphasize any item in the sentence by moving the copular verb cmQ) 6TD to the position immediately after the item to be stressed. Example 1 below follows the normal order and gives no emphasis, while Example 2 emphasizes the subject, "he," and Example 3 emphasizes the object/predicate, "Raman." The discourse function of this reordering is often to close off other alternatives. Thus Example 2 says that he--not someone else one may have mistakenly thought--is Raman, and Example 3 suggests that he is Raman, rather than Bill, or whoever else one may have taken him to be. In English we usually convey this kind of emphasis by simply stressing the item when speaking. i.

cmo ru m5 co 8 rn m5 "He is Raman"

cmQ) 6TD.

Lesson Two

24

"It's he (not someone else), who is Raman." Cll J a:icr8 cmQ) m)

3.

cmo ru ITT' .

"He is Raman (and not Keshavan or whoever you thought he might be)."

Note that reordering for emphasis may occur with both types of questions. Examples 4 v

and 5 show reordered information questions with v

mru6)m rul~lc&i::i o.

n_J ca;'c: nS'.l c:tml cm1 ml Q) l mJ nm ml c6u1 6T1J ::i ffiil roB c: n_J ::i cfri 6TT) 0 am rul s l m) cfri l () ~ n_J 6TT) 0 nm s l c6ln 6TT) 0. A: am

James: A:

cm

m:i ::i ~ IJll ~ •

nm rm ::i roB c.ra~l.

6rn)

6)6) ru cBi l c: rm~ o n_l CJ rnmn ::> roB

::i CT8 c: n_J ::i cfri 6) 3

n_ll@rm&::>6TD::> o.

iJl cm1.

•

108 ..

Lesson 8

Exercises

1.

Substitute the correct form of the words provided keeping the frame sentence constant.

Model: nqim1c&1 63. mCJI!lDo ~ruc8c&1 ~b@l] . A II nqim1~ & ~ cruoo16'm ~o1 cm1 ~·" B. /1 mCJI!l26's rn3&1~1ara n.Jo18::::J1&2cm cruocB ~m). cmm1c:&1 c~o1.cmzcrn>."

3. A. Substitute the accusative of the person words in the sentence provided.

~cmoDo

~

CD6m1 ccrnuarum

~ru6'mo ~~.!l.Iam

~ru~26's

~ ~CJI!l

cruoc-8 (U)OcfhSc-8

Lesson 8

109

3. B. Substitute the addressive of the person words provided in the frame sentence.

~(lji)Q

6) ~CQ)l

~mz~CT8