Madras Bashai
Madras Bashai (Tamil: மெட்ராஸ் பாஷை) is a Cockney of Tamil language spoken in the city of Chennai, India (previously known as Madras). The word bashai derives from the Sanskrit bhasha (language). Like Bambaiya Hindi used in Mumbai, Madras Bashai is a loose polyglot blend of Tamil with Indian English, Telugu and Hindustani language. Madras bashai has been largely popularized by autorickshaw drivers and fishermen from the northern parts of the city.
Madras Bashai evolved largely during the past three centuries. It grew in parallel with the growth of cosmpolitan Madras. After Madras Bashai became somewhat common in Madras, it became a source of satire for early Kollywood movies from the 1950s, in the form of puns and double entendres. Subsequent generations in Chennai identified with it and absorbed English constructs into the dialect, making it what it is today.
Due to immigration and cultural exchange, terms from Madras Bashai are also used sometimes in other cities and towns of South India.
Evolution
Madras Bashai evolved largely during the past three centuries. Madras was founded in 1640 by the British East India Company, and with its emergence as an important city in the British Empire and as the capital of Madras Presidency, contact with the western world increased and a number of English words crept into the vocabulary. Many of these words were introduced by educated, middle class Tamil migrants to the city who borrowed freely from English for their daily usage.[1] Due to the presence of a considerable population of Hindustani-speakers, especially, the Gujaratis, Marwaris and some Muslim communities, some Hindi words, too, became a part of Madras Bashai. At the turn of the 20th century, the Tamil spoken by the Brahmins of Madras city was considered to be standard spoken Tamil. Though preferences have since shifted in favor of the Central and Madurai Tamil dialects, the English words introduced during the early 20th century have been retained.[1]
Madras Bashai is generally considered a dialect of the working class like the Cockney dialect of English. Lyrics of gaana songs make heavy use of Madras Bashai.
Vocabulary
A few words unique to Madras Bashai are given below; an Internet project, urbantamil, has set out to collect urban Tamil vocabulary.[2]
| Standard Tamil | Madras bashai | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| appuram (அப்புறம்) | Appālikā,appāllē (அப்பாலிகா, அப்பாலே) | Afterwards[3] |
| anñkē (அங்கே) | Annanṇṭa (அந்தாண்ட) | There |
| iñkē (இங்கே) | Innanṇṭa (இந்தாண்ட) | Here |
| kōpam (கோபம்) | Kāndu (காண்டு) | Anger |
| Mosamana (மோசமான) | Attu (அட்டு) | Worst (Derived from Burmese word "attu" - meaning duplicate) |
| payam (பயம்), accam (அச்சம்) | mercu (மெர்சு) | Fear |
| "nandraga Illai" | "mokka" | Derived from Burmese word "macaunbu" meaning not good |
| turnāṟṟam (துர்நாற்றம்) | Gappu (கப்பு) | Bad Smell |
| taṭavai (தடவை) | Dhabā (தபா) | times |
| ēmaṟṟukiṟatu (ஏமாற்றுகிறது) | Dabaikirathu (டபாய்க்கிறது) | Swindling |
| kiṇṭal ceivatu (கிண்டல் செய்வது) | Kalāikirathu (கலாய்க்கிறது) | To tease |
| amaiti (அமைதி) | Gammu (கம்மு) | Silent, peaceful |
| makizhchi (மகிழ்ச்சி) | Gūjjālū (குஜ்ஜால்லு) | Happy |
| kāl caṭṭai (கால் சட்டை) | Nejāru (நிஜாரு) | Trouser |
| viraivil viṭṭu(விரைவில் விட்டு) | Apeetu (அபீடு) | To exit quickly/Vanish from the spot. Derived from English word abate |
- Words borrowed from other languages
| Madras bashai | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dūpākūr (டுபாக்கூர்) | Fraudster | From the English word dubash which, itself, is a derivative of the Hindusthani word "Do bhasha", usually, used to refer to interpreters and middlemen who worked for the British East India Company. As in the early 19th century, dubashes such as Avadhanum Paupiah were notorious for their corrupt practices, the term "dubash" gradually got to mean "fraud"[4] |
| Naināh (நைனா) | Father | From the Telugu word Nāyanāh[3] |
| Bēmānī (பேமானி) | Swearword; meaning unclear | Derived from the Hindusthani word Bē Imān meaning "a dishonest person" |
| Bīscōthū | Sub-standard | Derived from the English word "biscuit" |
| Kūchū (குச்சு,குந்து) | Sit down | Derived from Telugu |
| Dhūddū (துட்டு), Dappū (டப்பு) | Money | Derived from Telugu[3] |
| Galeeju (கலீஜு) | Yucky | Derived from the Telugu, Kannada word, Galeej |
| Kasmalam (கஸ்மாலம்) | Dirty | Derived from the Sanskrit word "Kasmalam" meaning dirty, discardable |
| Yegīrī (யெகிரி) | To jump | Derived from Telugu[5] |
| Bējār (பேஜாறு) | Problem | Derived from Hindusthani |
| Figure (பிகர்) | A beautiful girl | From English. Used by youngsters |
| Correct (கரெக்ட்) (as a verb) | To Impress A Girl. | From English. Used by youngsters |
| O. C. (ஓ.ஸி) | Free-of-cost | From English. During East India Company rule, official communication was stamped "O. C." meaning "On Company's service" and exempted from postage charges or stamps. The word "O. C." gradually got to mean something which was offered free-of-cost[3][6] |
Madras Bashai in film
Madras Bashai is used in many Tamil movies after the 1950s. Actors such as Chandrababu, Manorama, Loose Mohan, Thengai Srinivasan, Janagaraj, Cho Ramaswamy, Kamal Haasan are known for using it. Representative films are Maharasan, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Vasool Raja MBBS, Pammal K. Sambandam, Chennai 600028, Attakathi, Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara, Ai, Madras and Kasethan Kadavulada. Madras Bashai has also been used in songs.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vijayakrishnan, K. G. (1995). "Compound Typology in Tamil". Theoretical perspectives on word order in South Asian languages. Centre for Study of Language. pp. 263–264. ISBN 1881526496, ISBN 9781881526490.
- ↑ http://www.urbantamil.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Pillai, M. Shanmugham. Tamil Dialectology. pp. 34–36.
- ↑ Guy, Randor (June 15, 2003). "Inspiration from Madras". The Hindu.
- ↑ Randor Guy (August 31, 2010). "Jagathalaprathapan 1944". The Hindu.
- ↑ "Footprints of the Company". The Hindu. 28 August 2005.
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