Study in Tamil lexicography

THESE TWO volumes contain lexicographical notes on words and combinations of words with comments on their usage offered by a teacher of Tamil of ripe experience. The first volume deals with selected collocations of words and phrases loosely falling under associated semantic areas like body parts, clothings, environment, food-items and other things along with their usages.

The second volume is divided into four sections. The first one continues the discussion on collocations with notes on their usage, detailing some groups of compounds with common second members and duplicatives. The second section details 215 proverbs and expressions in the nature of proverbs, giving brief explanations of each of them. The third section lists 86 related pairs of words, regardable as emphatic cumulative expressions like "Pattum kuthum" (song and dance), "tolum tasaiyum" (skin and flesh) and also 64 expressions containing opposite words, like "iravum pakalum" (night and day), "vetriyum tolviyum" (victory and defeat). The fourth section lists 183 names, mostly of Sanskrit origin, given to men and women in the Tamil region with their Tamil meanings.

It is noteworthy that the exposition of word-meanings and correct usages as against prevalent ones, has a conversational flavour enlivened by humour and narration of anecdotes connected with some words.

It is gratifying to note that the author in his preface to the second volume says he esteems views and explanations other than what he has offered in the book. He also accepts the propriety of using loan words (if necessary with changes) where Tamil happens to have gaps in vocabulary.

The derivation of some monosyllabic roots like Vaazh (to live), muyal (try) and aadu (dance/ play) which the author suggests, is of doubtful validity. Plantain trees living through generations, hares running fast and goats dancing or leaping, do not seem appropriate sources for the coinages of words by analogy with their actions. The phrase pati-taandaappattini (chaste woman not crossing her doorstep), rejected by this work in favour of pazhithaankaappattini (chaste woman not bearing blame), deserves recognition in the vocabulary as preserving an old cultural feature when women of high-born families living in mansions and palaces were confined to harems and never went out of them. It contains an element of exaggeration of their seclusion. The etymology of some words like "aaciriyar" as "aacutiriyar", arukatai as aruki+atu given in the book ignores their likely derivation as loans from Sanskrit.

The books will be particularly useful as lexicographical notes to students and the general public interested in Tamil language studies. An appendix in this area could have been added on this subject.

J. PARTHASARATHI

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