Tholkappium - verses 1-22

தொல்காப்பியம்

Tholkappium – The Ancient Text

எழுத்ததிகாரம் 

Ezhuththathikaaram – Volume  on Letters

Ezhuththathikaaram consists of nine Chapters. They are

1.      நூல் மரபு Nool Marabu [The Tradition of Letters]

2.      மொழி மரபு Mozhi Marabu [The Tradition of words. ‘Mozhi’ refers to words and not always ‘language.’]

3.      பிறப்பு இயல் Pirappu Eyal [The Chapter on origin of sounds from the human body]

4.      புணர் இயல் Punar Eyal [The Chapter on assimilation of letters]

5.      தொகை இயல் Thogai Marabu [The Tradition of discussing missed matters in the earlier chapters]

6.      உருபு இயல் Urubu Eyal [The Chapter on declension]

7.      உயிர் மயங்கு இயல் Uyir Mayangu Eyal [The Chapter on assimilation of vowels with vowels]

8.      புள்ளி மயங்கு இயல் Pulli Mayangu Eyal [The Chapter on assimilation of consonants with consonants]

9.      குற்றியலுகர புணர் இயல் Kutriyalukara Punar Eyal [The Chapter on shortened ‘u’ assimilation with other words]

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Chapter I

நூல் மரபு 

Nool Marabu – The Tradition of the Letters

‘Nool’ normally refers to a book. But here it does not refer to the tradition of the book; instead it refers to the tradition of letters.

1. முதல் எழுத்துக்கள் 

எழுத்தெனப்படுப் படுப 

அகர முதல னகர விறுவாய் 

முப்பஃ தென்ப 

சார்ந்து வரல் மரபின் மூன்றாய் கடையே 

Muthal Ezhuththukkal – The First Letters

 Ezhuththenap paduba

 Akara mudhala nakara viruvaai

 Muppa thenba

 Saarnthu viral marabin muunrang kadaiyee

Letters are those beginning from

‘a’ to ‘n’ in the end

They are thirty in number, it is said

Without the three ‘associate’ ones.

Commentary

Tamil letters are divided into two types: Uyir [life] and Mei [body]. Uyir consists of twelve letters and Mei consists of eighteen letters. There are three Sarbu [associate] letters.

The translation of ‘Uyir’ as ‘Life’ is a controversy. The word can also be translated as the spirit which lives in a body.

Tholkappiar uses a detached, scholarly tone throughout his treatise on Tamil grammar. He never claims to have ‘found’ out the rules. The rules have been in existence for a long time and hence he says ‘Muppa thenba’ or ‘muppathu enba’ that is, ‘it is said thirty.’ There no autocratic finality in his tone and we note a high sense of objectivity, scientific precision and a consciousness that keeps a high alert on claims. He does not want to prescribe rules, instead points out mildly ‘this is what has been practiced’ by the deft reference to scholars or social practices.

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2. சார்பு எழுத்துக்கள் 

அவை தாம் 

குற்றிய லிகரம் குற்றிய லுகரம் 

ஆய்தம் என்ற 

முப்பால் புள்ளியும் எழுத்து ஓர்  அன்ன 

அவை யாவையெனில் 

குறுகிய இகரம், குறுகிய உகரம் 

மூன்று புள்ளி ஆய்தம் 

குறுகிய இகர உகரங்களும் 

வரி வடிவத்தையே பெறும் 

Saarbu Ezhuththukkal – Associate Letters

Avai thaam

Kutriya likaram, kutriya lukaram

Aaytham entra

Muppaal pulliyum ezhuththu oor annae

The associate letters are:

Shortened ‘e’ sound

Shortened ‘u’ sound

Three pointed aaidham

Shortened ‘e’ and ‘u’

And normal ‘e’ and ‘u.’

These have the same form

Commentary

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3. குறில் எழுத்துக்கள் 

அவற்றுள் 

அ  இ  உ 

எ  ஒ  வென்னு மப்பா லைந்தும் 

ஓர்  அளபு இசைக்கும்  குற்றெழுத்தென்ப 

உயிர் எழுத்துக்களில் 

அ, இ, உ, எ, ஒ  என்னும் ஐந்து   எழுத்துக்களும்

ஒரு மாத்திரை அளவு ஒலிக்கும் 

குற்று  [குறில்] எழுத்துக்கள் எனப்படும்.

Kuril Ezhuththukkal – The Shortened Letters

Avatrul

‘a’  ‘i’  ‘u’

‘e’ ‘o’ ennum appaal ainthum

Oor alabu  isaikkum kutrezhuththenpa

In uyir letters

‘a’  ‘i’  ‘u’

‘e’ ‘o’  the five

Sound for a second

Called kuril letters

Commentary

In uyir letters we have five letters - ‘a’  ‘i’  ‘u’ ‘e’ and  ‘o.’  These letters have short sounds that are expressed each in a second. They are referred to as Kuril.

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4. நெடில் எழுத்துக்கள் 

ஆ  ஈ  ஊ 

ஏ  ஐ 

ஓ  ஔ  என்னும் அப்பால் ஏழும் 

ஈரளபு  இசைக்கும் நெட்டெழுத்தென்ப 

ஆ, ஈ, ஊ, ஏ, ஐ, ஓ, ஔ  என்னும் 

ஏழு  எழுத்துக்களும் இரு மாத்திரையளவு 

ஒலிக்கும் நெடில் எழுத்துக்கள் ஆகும் 

Nedil Ezhuththukkal – The Long Letters

Aa  eii uu

Eaa ai

Oo au ennum appaal eazhum

Eeiralabu eisaikkum nettezhuththenba.

‘a’ ‘i’ ‘u’ ‘e’ ‘ai’ ‘o’ ‘au’

These seven letters

Sound for two seconds each

They are Nedil [long] letters.

Commentary

The seven long letters - ‘a’ ‘i’ ‘u’ ‘e’ ‘ai’ ‘o’ ‘au’ – are pronounced by an extension of sound. Each letter uses 2 sounds. Hence they are called long letters or Nedil.

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5. Nedil Ezhuththukkal – The Long Letters

moo  alabu  esaiththal  oor ezhuththu entreai.

Single letters do not sound for three seconds.

Commentary

In Tamil, a single letter should not be sounded longer than 2 seconds.

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6. Nedil Ezhuththukkal – The Long Letters

Neettam veandin av alabu udaiya

Kooty ezhuuuthal enmanaar pulavar.

If length is wanted the same measured sounds

To be added to writing  the scholars say.

Commentary

Interestingly, Tholkappiar has composed this verse carefully as it carries the example for a lengthened letter ‘u.’   The  word  ‘ezhuuuthal’ has a long sound – ‘zhuu’ and to add on he brings another vowel here – ‘u’ and ‘ezhuuthal’ becomes ‘ezhuuuthal.’  Now the letters sound for three seconds:  ‘zh’ + ‘uu’ + ‘u’ and in Tamil it becomes one letter – ‘zhuuu.’

Giving examples for theory within the verse is an effective strategy he uses throughout this structural discourse.

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7. Maaththirai – Measure of sound

 Kan emai nodi ena avvae maaththirai

Nunni thin unarnthoor kanda aarae.

Eyelashes blinking, fingers clicking time

Is referred to as ‘mathirai’

So say the learned scholars of yore.

Commentary

‘Maathirai’ is a word related to another word called ‘mathiram’ meaning ‘measure.’ Tamil scholars traditionally have measured sounds and have given a physical representation of batting of eyelids and clicking of fingers to explain the organization of sound structures.

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8. Uyir ezhuththukkal – Vowel Letters

Au kaara iruvaai

Pan iir ezhuththum uyir ena mozhiba.

It is said letters till

‘au’ are the 12 Uyir [vowels] letters.

Commentary

‘Tamil vowel letters are: a, ‘a’, ‘i’, ‘ii’, ‘u’, ‘uu’, ‘e’, ‘ee’, ‘ai’, ‘o’, ‘oo’ and ‘au’. In Tamil language, letters are classified into ‘life’ and ‘body’ separately called ‘uyir’ and ‘mei.’ These two forms if joined together become ‘uyirmei’ or human being. When life breath centres a body it comes alive. Similarly, when ‘uyir’ enters ‘mei’ sounds come alive and language becomes dynamic.

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9.      Mei ezhuththukkal – Consonants

Na kaara iruvaai

Pathinen ezhuththum mei ena mozhiba.

It is said letters till

‘na’ are  the 18 mei [consonants] letters.

Commentary

These 18 letters cannot function on their own. If  body is without life breath, it cannot function. Similarly, these letters cannot function without uyir letters. But, rarely, ‘uyir’ letters can function on their own. At such instances, they are called single letter words.

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10. meiyyoodu eyaiyinum uyir eyal thiriyaa

Though ‘Uyir’ joins ‘Mei’, the quality of ‘Mei’ sounds do not change.

Commentary

Though the soul reaches a different body, the soul retains its quality. According to the quality of the soul, the body functions. Similarly, according to the ‘Uyir’ letter, the ‘Mei’ letters function. Even if they are re-separated, their original qualities remain the same.

க்   [Mei]  + அ  [Uyir]   = க [Uyirmei]

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11.  meiyin alabe aria ena moliba

மெய்யின் அளபே அரை என மொழிப 

They say

The ‘mei’ letters sound

Half a second

Commentary

‘Mei’ refers to body. The dotted letters cannot function independently. They can function only if combined with uyir  letters.

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12. avviyal nilaiyum anai moontre

The other three associate letters sound half a second in this way.

Commentary

Kuttriyaligaram [short ‘i’ sounds],   Kuttriyaugaram [short ‘u’ sounds]   and Aitham [the associate letter] are referred to as the ‘other three’ here. Naturally, ‘e’ and ‘u’ have the sound for one mathirai.   But, when they sound less long, they become half a mathirai.  Like ‘mei’ letters the ‘aidham’ is also of half  mathirai.

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14. Aria alabu kurugal magaram udaithe

      Isai edan arugum theriyum kalai.

The ‘mei’ letter ‘m’ shortens its sound from half to quarter mathirai. Thia is called magara kurukkam. This change happens only when it  combines  with another sound, which is quite rare.  Example: poonm, varum vannakkan.   [Kurrukam means shortening].

Commentary

Ponm: The word ‘polum’ loses its ‘u’ in ‘lu’. It becomes ‘polm’.  The sounds ‘l’ and ‘m’ combine and produce ‘n’. It is now ‘ponm’.   Now ‘ponm’ undergoes one more change. The sound  ‘m’ loses half mathirai. Hence ‘ponm’  an example of  magara kurukkam  in an independent word.

Varum vannakkan:  The last sound in the first word [it is called as the static word or nilai mozhi] in this phrase loses half of its mathirai.  That is, ‘m’ loses half of its sound when it combines with ‘v’ in the next word. The specialty of this magara kurukkam  is that it happens only if the next word begins with ‘v’ sound  [it is called the coming word or varu mozhi].

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எழுத்துக்களின் வரி வடிவம்

The written structure of letters

14. உள் பெறு புள்ளி உருவாகும்மே 

Ul peru pulli uruvaakumme

This  verse discusses the general principle for ‘mei’  letters.  It describes the differences between ‘p’ and ‘m’.

Commentary

At the time of Tholkappiar the ‘mei’  letter ‘m’ did not have a separate form. It was written with one more dot inside the letter ‘p’.  he introduces the additional dot on the letter ‘p’ that in course of time extended into a line and became the dotted ‘m’.

This verse and the next one define the physical features of mei letters.

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15.  மெய்யின் இயற்கை புள்ளியொடு நிலையல் 

Meiyin eyarkai pulliyodu nilaiyal

The nature of mei  letters is to have a dot on the top.

Commentary

Now a days we put a dot on  all the 18  mei letters after the reforms brought by Tholkappiar.  He defines the ‘dot’ as the special feature of mei letters.  Thus Tholkappiar differentiates between mei  letters and uyir mei letters in their structures.

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16. எகர ஒகரத்து இயற்கையும் அற்றே 

Ekara okarathu eyarkaiyum atrea

The short [kuril]  uyir letters like ‘e’ and ‘o’ will have dots on top, says Tholkappiar.

Commentary

During his period, the short and long uyir letters were written in the same manner. To denote the difference, he suggests that we add the dot to all the short uyir letters. Thus these short letters will be differentiated from long letters, he argues.

The current elongated lines that are used in the long letters [ex: அ -  ஆ,  எ – ஏ,  ஒ - ஓ] were introduced by Veera Mamunivar.

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17. புள்ளி இல்லா எல்லா மெய்யும் 

உருவு உருவு ஆகி அகரமொடு உயிர்த்தலும் 

ஏனை உயிரொடு உருவு திரிந்து உயிர்த்தலும் 

ஆ  ஈர் இயல் உயிர்த்தல் ஆறே 

Pulli yillaa ellaa meiyum

Urvu uruvu aki akaromodu uyirthalum

Enai uyirodu uruvu thirunthu uyirthalum

Aa yiir yiyal uyirthal aaRe

This verse defines the forming of uyir mei letters.  The mei letters that have been removed of their dots join uyir  letters and give birth to uyir mei  sounds. This is the concept of punarchi’. It means ‘merging.’

Commentary

Nachinaarkiniyanar says that when mei and uyir merge each loses half of its sound                        [ mathirai]  and creates uyir mei. Example: mei+ uyir= uyir mei:  k  + a = ka  [க் + அ = க].

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18. மெய்யின் வழிய உயிர் தோன்று நிலையே 

Meiyin valiya uyir thoonRu nilaiyae

Commentary

This verse describes the position of mei letters in uyirmei letters.  It says mei letters originate first and hence they have to be placed first. When we split uyirmei, we naturally keep mei at first.

Example:  k  + a = ka  [க் + அ = க]

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19. வல்லெழுத்  தென்ப  கசட தபற 

Vallezhu thenba kasada thabaRa

The  six consonants ‘k, s, d, th, p, R’ are referred to as ‘vallinam’ – the strong group.

Commentary

This verse explains the Tamil consonants. They are first explained as Tamil language is dominated by these strong sounds. Their sounds are strong, and they are born from the depth of the stomach reaching out to the strong part of the body – the head. Among these letters ‘k, s d th’ are the most used consonants in the language.

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20. மெய்யெழுத்  தென்ப  ங ஞ ண  ந ம ன 

Meiyezhuth enba nga nja Na ma na

The six soft sounds ‘ng, nj, N, n,  m, n’ are referred to as ‘mellinam’ – the soft group.

Commentary

These sounds have soft sounds. The wind that produces these sounds come through the nose. Next to the strong sounds these sounds are mostly used in Tamil language. Hence Tholkappiar defines them next to the strong sounds.

Nachinaarkiniyanaar refuses to accept that sounds do not have a shape. If sounds do not have a shape or structure, they can exist on ‘nothing’. Instead they are born or created from the head, neck, chest. The wind that starts from these places dashes on the parts of the mouth like lips, teeth, tongue, nose and soft palate. Sounds are born in this clash. Hence he argues that sounds have a physical structure.

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22. இடை  எழுத்தென்ப   ய  ர  ல  வ  ழ  ள 

Yidai ezhuth thenba ya, ra, la, va, zha, La

This verse defines the category of  letters that have sounds that are neither too harsh nor too soft.

Commentary

The six medium sounds ‘y, r, l, v, zh, L’ are referred to as ‘yidaiyinam’ – the medium sounds.

These sounds are born from the part of the body that separates the head from the body – the neck.

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22.  அம் மூ வாறும்  வழங்கியல்  மருங்கின் 

மெய்  மயங்கு உடன் நிலை தெரியும் காலை 

Am moovaaRum vazhangiyal marungin

Mei mayangu udan nilai thorium kaalai

This verse explains how two mei sounds join. It also explains how they join, the rationale of the merging, the method of merging, and its classification and name.

All the 18 mei letters become words. During the process they undergo two changes or assimilation. Hence it is referred to as consonant assimilation.  Tholkappiar identifies two types of consonant assimilation. They are: mei nilai mayakkam and udan nilai mayakkam.

It is possible that such assimilations take place:  1.  when two uyir sounds merge;  2. When two mei sounds merge;  3. When two uyirmei sounds merge. 

Assimilation of sounds is referred to as ‘saiyogam’ in Sanskrit.

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