On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 11:18 AM, Sumant Srivathsan <[email protected]>wrote:
> > > > Not at all. Tamizh does not have distinct characters for 'F', 'P' and 'B'. > Ditto for 'C=K' and 'G'. > > The result is that பிக் can be read as any combination of these sets of > letters. When I first drove past the Big Bazaar on Kodambakkam High Road, I > did a double-take, because I was convinced that they'd put up a banner for > Pig Bazaar. Modern Tamizh has a two-character combination that identifies > 'F' distinctly, so 'fig' would be ஃபிக். > Yes, this lack of distinct consonants results in the writing of " puff" as "பப்" in Tamizh...and then it is written back in English as "pup"! So in Chennai we may not have hot dogs, but we have veg pups.....and I now routinely refer to my husband as Mogun. Deepa (or Deeba, as the case may be.)
