Quote for the day!

ഉന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തു-
ന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്തുന്താളെയുന്തു്

(According to legend, the very first couplet in
മഞ്ജരി inspired by which കൃഷ്ണഗാഥ was written.)

Saturday, November 16, 2019

മൈയും പൈയും മായും പായും

There are no diphthongs in Malayalam. Hence when Malayalees speak English, we produce a very typical accent.

One place where this happens is how we pronounce "ai" and "ou" sounds.

In Malayalam, "ai" is pronounced something like "അയ്" with a short a. In English, it is pronounced more like "ആയ്".

For example, usually we read "my" as "മൈ". But a more accurate pronunciation is "മായ്".  Similarly, "pie" is usually pronounced as "പൈ", but a more accurate reading is "പായ്".

The situation is similar for "ou" words. We pronounce "ou" in malayalam more like "അഉ", with a short അ. But the truer pronunciation is "ആവ്". For example, "cow" is less like "കൗ" but more like "കാവ്". "Now" is less like "നൗ" but more like "നാവ്".

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