A Brief Account of Malayalam Phonetics

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I give below a list of the International Phonetic Association symbols that I have requisitioned for the following concise discussion of the phonetic habits of the Malayalam language. I am fully conscious of the fact that just as no two persons can utter the same sound exactly alike, no two languages also can have exactly similar sounds; yet after a careful examination of the IPA. script, I have attempted in this essay to make as close an adaptation of this script as possible to the sounds of the Malayalam language. The symbols given below represent the sounds occurring in the pronunciation of the people of the Cochin State, which, situated as it is right in the central portion of Malabar or the Malayalam-speaking land, has in a great degree preserved the true Malayalam sounds free from the contamination of the Kaṇṇaḍa or Kanarese influence in the north and of Tamil in the south.

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Sanskrit symbols representing the sounds of vocalic [r̩] and [l̩] (or [rɯ] and [lɯ]) have also been incorporated in the Malayalam alphabet, though used only in Sanskrit borrowings.

The Malayalam language is spoken by nearly eight millions of people occupying that tract of the West Coast which is called Malabar, between Gōkarṇam and Cape Comorin. The fact that this strip of land, bounded on the east by the Western Ghats and on the west by the Arabian Sea, forms a geographical entity by itself, has, besides leading to the conservation in this land of strange customs and habits of life, reacted on the language of the people and resulted in the creation and development of a new and independent language differing in many respects from the parent Dravidian stock. Though it was the same political government that in ancient times ruled over Malabar and some of the Eastern Tamil districts, the geographical situation of Malabar prevented an uninterrupted intercourse between the peoples of Malabar and the peoples of the Tamil ​districts of the East Coast. The language spoken in Malabar, therefore, must even at a very early time have developed the tendency to disintegration from the Tamil branch of main Dravidian stock to which it belongs. There is excellent evidence to show that this tendency very rapidly matured about the ninth century A.D., and culminated in the formation of a language which, though it bore a great relationship to the Tamil, became sufficiently altered to deserve the name of an independent language. The Tamil language that was used and spoken in those days had two forms, of which one was called the [vʌrʌmoɹ̣i] or written language used in books, and the other [vɑ:moɹ̣i] or the colloquial employed in ordinary use. It was from this [vɑ:moɹ̣i], or [koḍɯntʌmiɹ̣ɯ] as it was also called, that the Malayalam language developed. The basic structure of the new language that thus grew up in the West Coast remained essentially Dravidian, but at the same time the influence of Sanskrit and of Aryan civilisation as introduced by the Nambudiri colonists enriched the language with fresh Aryan ideas and, what was more, with a copious Sanskrit vocabulary. There are not wanting reasons for us to think that the Aryans largely colonised the West Coast even before they settled in large numbers in the Tamil districts. Sanskrit learning and literature took firm root in Malabar from the earliest times, and as centuries passed, its influence increased to the point of complete dominance. While infant Malayalam with no literature and ideals of her own thus allowed herself to be dominated by Sanskrit, her elder sister Tamil with her vast literary treasures and intellectual ideas was able successfully to resist the advances and the inroads of Sanskrit to a greater degree. The phenomenal popularity of Sanskrit in Malabar about 1000 A. D. infatuated the pedants even to the ridiculous extent of leading them to Sanskritise the grammatical forms of Malayalam, and to invent an artificial language called [mʌṇiprʌʋɑˑḷəm]—an incongruous jumble of Malayalam roots and Sanskrit inflexional endings. This aberration, like many another linguistic artificiality and Schwarmerei, had only an impermanent existence and soon died a natural death. Only the book-language or the [grənthəbɦɑˑʃ̣ɑˑ] was influenced by this new innovation, while the spoken language or the [nɑ:ṭoˑti bɦɑ:ʃ̣a] completely escaped the undesirable domination of this glorified pedantry. Thereafter, however great might have been the influence of Sanskrit over Malayalam, especially in the direction of enriching its vocabulary, the fundamental structure of the language as evidenced by the grammatical forms and endings remained essentially Dravidian. With the appearance in Malabar of a great literary genius, Thunchath Ezhuthachan [tunc͡ʃʌttə eɹ̣uttʌc͡ʃən], there arose ​a new style of speaking and writing which combined in itself the sonorous grace of the Sanskrit language and the natural simplicity of the Dravidian speech. The newly-developed language, however, suffered an irreparable loss in that it lost its power of forming fresh compounds to express new ideas, and consequently had in later times to draw freely upon Sanskrit vocabulary to make up this deficiency.

Till the time of Thunchath Ezhuthachan, the script used in Malabar was only a copy of the Tamil one, and the Malayalam alphabet contained only the Tamil symbols. The deficiency of the Tamil alphabet in sounds as well as in symbols is noteworthy. The glottal fricative [h] was absent in ancient Tamil, and was is only to be expected, the aspirates [kh], [ɡɦ], [c͡ʃh], [ɟ͡ʒɦ], [ṭh], [ḍɦ], [th], [dɦ], [ph], [bɦ] were also absent. Again, separate symbols did not exist for the voiced sounds [ɡ], [ɟ͡ʒ], [ḍ], [d], [b], although the sounds themselves should be considered to have existed in ancient times and to have been indicated in writing by the symbols of the corresponding breathed ones. The original Malayalam alphabet which had only been a close copy of the Tamil one, was thoroughly revised about the time of Thunchath Ezhuthachan, and new symbols were borrowed or made for the representation of all Sanskrit sounds. The Dravidian sounds [r], [ɹ̣], [ḷ], [t], and [n], which do not occur in Sanskrit, retained their place in Malayalam.

Thus the Malayalam alphabet includes the symbols for the old (Tamil) or Dravidian sounds and those of the Sanskrit. According to the orthodox classification, the alphabet consists of fifty-three letters, but the actual number of "phonemes" existing in the language is only thirty-seven.

The time-honoured classification of sounds adopted from Sanskrit phonetics by Malayalam scholars is subject to various defects inasmuch as it does not take into account the new developments of vowel sounds in Malayalam and omits to make provision for the changed values of certain consonant sounds also.

I shall now proceed to discuss some of the phonetic qualities of the Malayalam sounds.

1. (i) [ʌ]. This sounds, symbolised by the first letter of the Malayalam alphabet, is erroneously supposed to be the equivalent of Indo-Aryan or Sanskrit [ɑ]. The Malayalam sound is a less open one, and is exactly like the vowel sound in the English word much when deliberately uttered. [ʌ] is the value to be given to the Malayalam symbol for this ​sound when it occurs initially or medially in stressed syllables (whether the stress is a primary one or a secondary one).

(ii) In unaccented syllables, [ʌ] verges on [ə]: e.g., [ʌnʌntənɑˑrɑˑjəṇən] Ananta-nārāyaṇan, a proper name.

(ii) When this sound forms a syllable with a preceding voiced plosive, or [j], [r], [r], [l] or [ḷ], then the sound changes into [ə], and sometimes into a full [e]: e.g.,

[ɟ͡ʒenəm] people; [bendɦu] friend; [reʋi] suu; [leta] branch; [jeɟ͡ʒəmɑˑnən] master; [jentrəm] machine; [ɟ͡ʒeləm] water; [gembɦirəm] majestic; [ɡeŋŋa] the Ganges. In all the above instances the [e] of the first syllable is developed from [ʌ]. Also in [mɑˑḷeʋika] Mālavikā, a proper name, and [kʌleɦəm] dispute, the [e] of the second syllable is developed from [ʌ].

(iii) When the sound is associated in any way with the bilabial [m], it may sometimes, in the speech of certain people, change into a kind of [ɔ], as in the following instances: [kʌʃ̣ṭɔm] misery; [nɔm] we; [pɔʋɔnɔm] wind. This change, however, is not so important or widespread as the previous one.

(iv) When [ʌ] occurs finally, it has always a more open value: I think that this sound may be represented by [a], as the completely open character of the back sound [ɑ] is never attained; [ʌmma] mother; [ɑːʃa] hope; [poːka] to go.

(v) In association with [j], the [ʌ] becomes [ə] or [e] even when the [j] may be a compound with some other consonant: e.g., [vjʌsʌnʌm] sorrow becomes [vəzənəm]; so also [prɑˑpjem] oblainable; [sʌtjəm] truth; {{[ʋʌljə]}} big.

(vi) The pure sound [ʌ] cannot be lengthened without disturbing its quality. The Malayali invariably uses the [ɑː] when he wants to lengthen [ʌ]. It was probably this fact that created the confusion that [ʌ] was the short sound of [ɑː].

(vii) [a], as indicated above, represents the sound-value of a final [ʌ]. Many Sanskrit words ending in [ɑː] are shortened in Malayalam into [a], e.g., [prəbɦa] splendour; [ɡeŋŋa] the Ganges; [ɑ:ʃa] hope; [kʌla] art. In Tamil these Sanskrit words are naturalised with an [əi] or [ej] ending, as final long vowels and even final [ʌ] are not favoured in Tamil. This tendency has been inherited by Malayalam in a much less intense form, and this is what probably accounts for the shortening of final [ɑː] of Sanskrit words when they are naturalised in Malayalam.

​2. [ə]. This is a very common sound in Malayalam.

(i) It occurs finally in many nouns which in the original Old Tamil language ended in [u] sound: e.g., [kɑːṭə] forest; [pɑːṭṭə] song; [kɑːppə] bangle; [kʌṇṇə] eye. The equivalent of this primitive [u] in modern Tamil is [ɯ]: Kaṇṇaḍa has an [e], and Telugu seems to retain the old final [u] itself.

In can be stated as a general rule that no native Malayalam word can be "hal-anta", that is to say, can end in a consonant. The only exceptions are furnished by those words which end in consonants known in Malayalam as [c͡ʃillukʌḷ] chips or branches, i.e. [n], [ṇ], [j], [r], [r], [l], [ḷ], [ɹ̣], [m]. When these consonants occur at the end of words, they can stand alone without the help of any vowel, e.g., [mɑːn] deer; [peṇ] girl; [nej] ghee; [kʌjər] rope; [peːr] name; [pɑːl] milk. But all these consonants can also alternatively take an [ə]}} sound to support them, and the words given above may also be pronounced as [mɑˑnə], [peṇṇə]}}, [nejjə] [kʌjərə] etc.

It is this peculiarity of the Dravidian languages that has led many Malayalam scholars to entertain the belief that consonants cannot be sounded without the help of vowels.

The genius of the Dravidian languages is so strongly averse to "hal-anta" endings that even borrowed foreign words ending in a consonant naturalise themselves in these languages with the addition of a characteristic vowel at the end. Such words are made "svarânta" in Malayalam with [ə], in Tamil with [ɯ], in Telugu with a full [u], and in Kanarese with an [e]. e.g., Malayalam [ko:rṭə] for court; [skhu:ḷə] for school; [æˑkṭə] act; [sɑːrə] sir; [sle:ttə] slate; [ʋɑ:kkə] from Sanskrit [vɑ:k] speech.

When Malayalam words are used in English, sometimes the reverse process is visible—[tʌrʌʋɑ:ḍə] family used in English becomes [θɑːvəd], [tʰɑ:wæd] = Tharvad, Tarwad.

(ii) the [ə] sound is common at the end of past participles in Malayalam, e.g., [kʌṇṭə] having seen; [vʌnnə] having come. The symbol that stands for this sound [ə] was, till a very recent date, the same as for [u], so that confusion would arise easily, but of late a happy innovation has been introduced, and a special symbol has been found out to distinguish the [ə] sound from a full [u] which occurs in many past tense forms—[kʌṇṭu] saw, but [kʌṇṭə] having seen. The [ə] in the past participle is of course only a weakened form of the past inflexional ending [u].

​(iii) [ə] also occurs as the weakened form of [a] or [ʌ] in unaccented syllables, e.g., [vʌɹ̣ijɑˑttrəkkɑˑrən] traveller; {{ipa|[bɦɑˑɡəʋətər] songster.

All Malayalam grammarians regard this [ə] not as a full sound having one full "mātrā" or mora, but only as a half-sound.

3. (i) [i] and [i:]: the short sound is never so short in Malayalam as in English "bit" or "pit."

(ii) When the short sound is followed by a consonant of the [t] or [ṭ] series, or by [l] or [ḷ], [ʃ], [r] or [r] and a back vowel, then the [i] changes, especially in the colloquial, into the easier [e]: e.g., [vila] > [vela] price; [iṭʌm] > [eṭəm] place; [pirʌḷuka] > [perʌḷuka] to be smeared; [vitʌkkjuka] > [vetəkkʲuka] to sow.

When the immediately succeeding consonant is not followed by a short back vowel (usually [ʌ]), then the change does not take place, e.g., [irikkʲuxa] to sit.

Evidently this change is only the result of the tendency to harmonise and smoothen the utterance of dissimilar or antagonistic sounds.

This change is very frequent in the colloquial, and is not absent in the literary language also, though, in writing, the symbol does not represent [e] but only [i].

(iii) Conjunct consonants with "-y- subscript," i.e. a following [j], are broken up in the colloquial into [i] and [ʌ]: e.g., [bɦɑ:ɡjəm] > [bɦɑˑɡːiʌm] fortune.

This change, however, hardly occurs in the language spoken by the literate classes who claim—and to a certain extent rightly too—to be able to pronounce Sanskrit conjunct consonants with greater "purity" than the people of other provinces of India.

4. [e] and [e:]. (i) The off-glide [i], usual in the English words "late" or "made," does not appear in Malayalam words. Malayali speakers of English do not at all note the presence of this off-glide, and pronounce "late," "made" [leit], [meid] etc. as [le:ṭ, me:ḍ].

(ii) [e:] has in certain words a tendency to become the more open [ɛ] as in English "there"; e.g., [pɛˑpʌṭṭi] mad dog; [pɛrə] name; [kɛˑsə] case. Purists would regard this [ɛ] as a corruption, notwithstanding the fact that it is very frequently heard even in the speech of educated persons.

5. [æ]. In literary language, this sound occurs in [ɲæˑn] I (the first person singular), [ɲæṇtə] crab; [ɲæˑttəʋeˑla] a season; [ɲæˑjerɑˑɹ̣c͡ʃa] ​Sunday; [ɲjæjəm] justice. It will be seen from these instances that the front nasal [ɲ] easily gives rise to [æ].

In the colloquial, [ɑ:] sometimes becomes [æ] by the "fronting" influence of certain consonants e.g.,: [sɑ:jəŋkɑˑləm] > [sæjəŋkɑˑləm] evening.

6. [u] and [u:]. (i) Here again, the Malayalam short sound is never so short as the English vowel in "put".

(ii) Euphonic convenience sometimes turns the short [u] into an [o], as in the following instances: [urʌkkʲuka]>[orəkkʲuka] to be stranded. [urʌkkʲuka]>[orəkkʲuka] to be stranded.[uṭʌjuka]>[oṭəjuka] to break. This change occurs under the same circumstances as those in which [i] changes into [e].

(iii) Conjunct consonants compounded with [v] or [ʋ] have a tendency, in the colloquial, to vocalise the [v] or [ʋ] into [u]: e.g., [ʌʃvʌm]>[ʌʃʃuʌm] horse. This change, however, affects only the colloquial of the illiterate masses.

7. [ɯ]: (i) a very common sound in Tamil which corresponds to Malayalam [ə] at the end of certain words. Even in Malayalam, [ɯ] is the sound used by the illiterate classes in the place of [ə] at the end of words; e.g. [kɑ:ṭɯ] forest; [pɑ:ṭṭɯ] song etc.

This sound is described as an [u] sound "with the lips spread out"; in Tamil and in dialectal Malayalam, however, the lips are not spread out to a great extent.

(ii) The Dravidian tendency of introducing some short vowel after every consonant is evident in the pronunciation of the English words "little", "broken" [litɫ], [broukn̩] etc., in which the Tamilian and the Malayali introduce a short [ᵚ] sound and utter the words as [liṭṭɯl] and [bro:kᵚn].

(iii) In pronouncing conjunct consonants where the first component is a plosive, most Tamilians and some Malayalis introduce a short [ᵚ] sound after the explosion of the plosive element: e.g. [kḷipᵚtəm] exact; [rətᵚnəm] gem.

Sanskrit-knowing scholars pronounce the conjunct consonants together without introducing any such short vowel.

8. [o] and [o:]. (i) The short and the long sounds have separate symbols in Malayalam. These sounds never develop an off-glide as in the ​English word "note" or "boat" [nout, bout]. Examples: [kompə] branch; [po:kum] will go.

(ii) [o] results from [u] as shown in (6) above.

9. [ɔ]. This sound occurs in the dialectal speech of certain classes of people in words like [nɔm] we; [ʃʌʋɔm] dead body; North Malabar [ʋɔˑn] < [ʌʋən] he.

10. [ɑː]. (i) [ɑː] is the value of all Malayalam long symbols in accented syllables; in unaccented syllables the sound may be reduced to the half-long sound [ɑˑ], or short [ɑ], or even [ə]: e.g., [pṛʌdɦɑːnəmɑllətta] not important; [ɑːʃɑːri]>[ɑˑʃəri] carpenter (colloquial).

(ii) Foreign words with [ɔ], as English "hospital" [hɔspitəl], and "college" [kʰɔlidʒ] are made into [ɑːspʌtri] and [kɑːḷeˑɟ͡ʒ] or [koːḷeˑɟ͡ʒ] in Malayalam.

The European seems to be guilty of exactly the opposite tendency for a place name like [pʌrʌʃubɦɑːɡəm] in Madras has been converted by him into [pəˑsvəkəm].

Those found in the alphabet are only [ʌi] and [ʌu], but there are many others occurring in the literary language and in the colloquial: e.g.,
[oi]: [poi] went;
[ei]: [nei] ghee;
[uo]: [puo] will (you, he or I) go?;
[iʌ]: [ʋʌliʌ] big;
[ie]: [niei] you indeed!
[ɑɑi]: [tai] mother;
[io]: [poio] did [he, you or I] go?
The diphthongal character of these combinations is ignored in the literary language where these vowel groups are mostly pronounced as two distinct syllables.

The words [poi], [nei], [puo] and [ʋʌliʌ] are respectively written as [poˑji], [nejja], [puˑʋo] and [ʋʌlijʌ], and when these words are deliberately pronounced, all the sounds are fully uttered.

As already mentioned, the parent Malayalam alphabet, or [ʋʌṭṭeɹ̣uttə] as it was called, was only a reproduction of the Tamil script, and so it contained no symbol for [ɦ] or for the aspirates. The symbols for these were only subsequently formed.

​1. [k] (i) This is a true velar plosive, and fully maintains its character when it occurs in the accented syllable of the word or when it is doubted.

(ii) In unaccented syllables, it may be reduced to the fricative [x], as in [pʌrʌjuxa] to say or [nʌṭəkkuxa] to walk.

(iii) It may sometimes even disappear in unaccented syllables: e.g.,
[pʌkuti] half>[pʌxuti]>[pɑˑti];
[mʌkən] son>[mʌxən]>[mɔhən]>[moːn] (colloquial);
[poːkum] will go>[poˑum]>[poˑm]>[puːm];
[ʋʌrikʌjilla] will not come>[ʋʌruʋilla] or [ʋʌrilla];
[ʋʌnnəkoḷḷuˑ] you may come>[ʋʌnnoːḷu].

(iv) Sometimes by the side of voiced sounds, the [k] may become voiced into [ɡ] or [ǥ];
[bɦəkən] name of a giant>[bɦəɡən].

(v) English words with final [k] are naturalised in Malayalam with the [k] doubled and with the addition of a supporting vowel [ə], e.g., book>[bukkə], etc.

(vi) [k] has a more palatal value when it comes in association with palatal vowels: e.g.,
[irikkʲuka] to sit; [mʌrəʲkkuka] to cover.

2. [kh] is not an original Dravidian sound. The educated classes accurately pronounce this and other aspirates, but the uneducated peopl hardly make any distinction between [k] and [kh] or between [ɡ] and [ɡɦ]: e.g.,
[ʋikhjɑˑtəm] celebrated > colloquial [ʋikkjɑˑtəm];
cf. [bɦɑːɡjəm] luck > Tamil [pɑːkkjəm];

3. and 4. [ɡ] and [ɡɦ]. These sometimes change into [k] ine tadbhavas or modified Sanskrit words and in certain colloquial corruptions: e.g.,
[ɡoˑʋindən] a personal name > colloquially [koːntu];
[ɡɦʌnəm] heaviness > [kʌnəm];
[ɡoa mɑːmpʌɹ̣əm] Goa mangoes > [koːmɑˑmbəɹ̣əm].

5. [ṭ] is a true cerebral or retroflex sound in Malayalam, as in other Dravidian languages. [ṭ] does not occur initially. Examples:
[kɑːṭə] forest; [kəṭṭə] knot; [pɑːṭɔ] to sing; [pʌṭṭə] silk.

6. [ṭh] occurs in Sanskrit words, but is rarely pronounced accurately as an aspirate by the uneducated: e.g.,
[mʌṭhəm] house > [mʌṭəm], also [mʌḍəm].

​7 and 8. [ḍ] and [ḍɦ] occur only in Sanskrit words.
[ḍ] sometimes changes into [ḷ] in Malayalam: e.g.,
[sʌmrɑˑḍ] king > [sʌmrɑˑḷ];
[ɡuḍikɑ] pill > [ɡuḷika].
[ḍ] changes a following [ʌ] into [e], e.g.,
[ḍʌmbɦəm] pride > [ḍembɦəm].

9. [t] (i) This is a slightly more forward sound than the sound in English "enter", but does not approach the interdental [t]. It can therefore be described as an alveolar sound. The manner of articulation is also different from that of the dental [t], for the blade of the tongue is not spread out as for [t]. This sound never occurs initially or singly (except when it forms a conjunct consonant with [n]): e.g.,
Mal. [ente] my; [kɑːttə] wind; [ʋittə] having sold; cf. Tamil [c͡ʃentrɯ] having gone.

(ii) The genitive ending of certain nouns, and the past participle endings of certain verbs are formed with [ttə].

(iii) This sound is gradually disappearing from Tamil, while in Malayalam it may be said still to hold its own, as shown above. But colloquially, sometimes [tt] appears instead of [tt], although purists correctly utter the [tt].
[ellɑːttilum] in all > colloquial [ellɑˑttilum].

(iv) The symbol for this sound in Malayalam is a double [r]; the reasons for the adoption of this symbol are rather complex, and a discussion of these reasons does not fall within the purview of this short sketch.

The following is a short poetic passage where [tt] occurs in profusion:
[kɑːttum mʌɹ̣əjum ʋeilum mʌɲɲum
eːttuŋkoṇṭuṭʌnɑːtʌlinoːṭe
eːttʌmurʌkkəm mɑːtti pʌric͡ʃotu
noːttukiṭənnuṭəneːttəmirənnum......]
The jewel that I have won after suffering the hardships of Wind, Rain, Sun, and Dew, after suffering the greatest amount of sleepless anxiety and hunger...

10 and 11. [t] and [th]. (i) [t] is a pure dental plosive and not a fricative like English th as in "thin" [θ]. Many speakers of Tamil and Malayalam quite wrongly use th as the equivalent of [t] in writing names and words of their own language in English letters.

(ii) In the colloquial of the masses, the aspirates are not correctly pronounced, and voiced and breathed sounds are freely interchanged.
[c͡ʃoˑdicc͡ʃ] asked > colloquial [c͡ʃoˑticc͡ʃu]; [kʌtha] story > [kʌta].

​(ii) Intervocal [t] in unaccented syllables sometimes becomes a fricative [θ], e.g., [ʋɑˑtil] door > [ʋɑˑθil].

English [θ] and [ð] are represented in Malayalam by [t] and [d].

Sanskrit final [t] is rendered in Malayalam by [l] instead of [t]: e.g., Skt. [ɦɑṭhɑːt] immediately > [ɦʌṭhɑˑl].

(iv) Sanskrit [t] or [d] in conjunct consonants [ts] or [dm] are naturalised in Malayalam as [l]; Skt. [vɑtseː] dear > [ʋʌlse], [pɑdma] lotus > [pʌlma] and sometimes [pʌlpʌ].

12. and 13. [d] and [dɦ].

These sounds change an immediately following [ʌ] into [ə] or [e], as already shown above: e.g.,
[dʌja] pity > [deja].
[ɑ:dʌrəʋə] kindness > [ɑ:dərəʋə].
[dɦʌnikən] rich man > [dɦənikən].
[dʌmʌjʌnti:] Damayantī, a proper name > [deməjənti].

14. 15. 16. 17. [c͡ʃ], [c͡ʃh], [ɟ͡ʒ], [ɟ͡ʒɦ]. (i) Orthodox grammarians classify these sounds as plosives, but they partake more of the spirant or continuant values of the affricates than of the exploding nature of plosives.

(ii) In Tamil [c͡ʃ] has only the value of a pure fricative [ʃ]: e.g., [tricc͡ʃu:r] Trichur > Tamil [tiriʃʃu:r] [c͡ʃentɑˑmərəi] red lotus > [ʃentɑˑmərəi].

(iii) Initially, the single symbol has always the value of [c͡ʃ] but, otherwise the [c͡ʃ] easily becomes [ʃ]: e.g.,
[ʋic͡ʃɑˑrikkʲuka] to think > [ʋiʃɑˑrikkʲuka].

(iv) A double sound [cc͡ʃ] is a pure affricate where the palatal plosive element is conspicuous, though there is no actual explosion.

(v) All the affricates, like the pure fricatives, change an immediately following [ʌ] into [ə] or [e]: e.g., [pʌŋkʌɟ͡ʒʌm] lotus > [pʌŋkəɟ͡ʒəm];[c͡ʃʌŋŋɑˑti] friend > [c͡ʃeŋŋɑˑti]; [pʌŋkʌɟ͡ʒʌm] lotus > [pʌŋkəɟ͡ʒəm];[ɟ͡ʒʌjʌm] victory > [ɟ͡ʒejəm]; [pʌŋkʌɟ͡ʒʌm] lotus > [pʌŋkəɟ͡ʒəm];

18. [ŋ]. (i) This nasal does not occur initially or singly. It is always found doubled, or in combination with [k], e.g., [ʋɑ:ŋŋuka] to receive; [ʋeŋkʌləm] vessel.

​(ii) The tendency to nasalisation is one of those characteristics which distinguish Malayalam from Tamil; this tendency is very prominent in the sounds of both Sanskrit and native words: e.g.,
Tamil [ʋɑˑŋɡɯ] receive > Malayalam [ʋɑˑŋŋə];
Sanskrit [ɑŋɡɑm] limb > Malayalam [ʌŋŋəm]. In writing, the Sanskrit spelling is preserved.

(iii) The plural ending [kʌḷ], when it combines with the "anusvāra"=final [m] of a noun, becomes [ŋŋʌḷ]; [mʌrʌm] trees+[kʌḷ] > [mʌrʌŋŋəḷ] trees; Tamil [peṇ] girl+[kʌḷ] > Tamil [peŋɡʌḷ], but Malayalam [peŋŋəḷ].

(iv) In association with palatal vowels, the value of [ŋŋ] is "fronted" a little and a small glide [ʲ] comes in between: e.g., [pʌʲŋŋa] areca-nut; [ʋʌɹ̣utənəʲŋŋa] brinjals.

19. [ɲ]. This is another nasal which is very prominent in Malayalam. This sound is absent in Tamil except when combined with [c͡ʃ], as in [kʌɲc͡ʃi] gruel. It is the prominence of this sound in Malayalam that makes Tamilians say [tʌmiɹ̣ɯ muːkkɑˑle pʌreɲc͡ʃɑˑl mʌləjɑˑḷəmɑˑkum] Tamil uttered through the nose becomes Malayalam.

(ii) Tamil initial [n] occurs as [ɲ] in Malayalam: Tamil [nɑːn] I > Malayalam [ɲæˑn].
Tamil [næˑttikkəɹ̣əme] = Mal. [ɲæˑjerɑˑɹ̣c͡ʃa] Sunday.

A passage with many [ɲ] sounds:
[tʌŋŋʌliŋŋəne joroː ʋɑːkkukəḷ ʌŋŋu pʌrəɲɲu nirəɲɲæˑn pʌṭʌjiṭətiŋŋi jiṭəɲɲu nʌṭənnu tuṭəŋŋi......].
The army collected itself in the midst of this mutual talk; and thick in crowded members, began to march along.

20. The cerebral [ṇ], the usual retroflex sound, does not call for any special remarks.

21. [n]. (i) This is a peculiar dental nasal in Malayalam and is the proper nasal representative of the [t] series.

(ii) Though there is a special symbol for [n] in Tamil, the accurate sound is not given to it; it is pronounced in the same way as [n]. In Malayalam, the sounds exist separately but, the same symbol is used both for [n] and [n], so that very often confusion arises as to the character of the sound to be given to the symbol: e.g.,
[ninnɑːnʌnəm nʌnnə nʌnəɲɲə tuṭʌŋŋi] your face well to become wet began.

(iii) [n] appears singly only at the beginning of words, and consequently whenever the symbol appears at the beginning of words, the sound [n] is alone given to it.

​[nɑˑja] dog; [nʌrəkəm] hell. Tamilians are ridiculed for mispronouncing [n] as [n].

(iv) In other positions of the sentence than the beginning of words, the sound is always doubled: e.g., [ʋʌnnu] came; [pʌnni] pig.

But not in all cases, e.g., in [ninnute] your: [kʌnni] month; [tinmɑˑn] for eating, the medial sounds here are [nn] or [n]

(v) As a general rule it can be stated that [nn] is always the sound which represents the Tamil group [nd]: e.g., Tamil [ʋʌndɑːn] he came = [ʋʌnnu].

(vi) In the colloquial [n] changes sometimes into [ṇ]: e.g.,
e.g., [ʋʌrunnu] comes > [ʋʌrṇu] > [ʋʌṇṇu].
[ennɑːrjəputrən ʋʌnəttinnu poːjɑˑl
pinnə puriˑʋɑːsəm entinnu ʋeːntiˑ
ninnoṭu kuːṭiṭṭə poːrunnu ɲæˑnum
ennɑːl mʌnoˑɟ͡ʒɲæˑŋŋi (ʋʌidehi tɑˑnum)]
If my lord (Rāma) goes to the forest, of what use is town life for me? I am also coming with you, my lord, said the beautiful Vaidehi (Sītā).

22. [n]. (i) is an alveolar sound, and should be distinguished from [n] as indicated above.

(ii) [n] does not occur initially in Malayalam.

Even Sanskrit initial [n] becomes [n] in Malayalam, as in [nɑːdəm] sound.

(iii) Along with cerebral sounds like [ṭ], the [n] into [ṇ]: e.g., [kʌṇṭhəm] neck.

23. [m] occurs initially, medially and finally: e.g., [mɑːŋŋa] mango, [timirəm] eye-disease; [mʌrʌm] tree. This sound being one of the [c͡ʃillukəḷ] referred to above (p. 7), it can occur at the end of a word without the support of any vowel.

(ii) Intervocal [m] is very unstable in the colloquial, and changes into [ʋ], or sometimes disappears: e.g.,
[pʌrʌjɑˑmo] can (he you or I) say > [pʌrʌjɑˑʋo] > [pʌrəjoˑ]
[pʌrʌjumɑˑjirunnu] would have said > [pʌrejɑːrnnu].

Compare Telugu [ʌʋənu] = [ɑˑmɑˑ] yes (Tamil)

(iii) Sometimes [ʋ] gives place to [m]: e.g.,
[ɑˑʋiṇi ʌʋuṭṭəm] a day in Avini month > [ɑˑminiɑːʋuṭṭəm].

​24. (i) [j] is an alvolar fricative, and is fully sounded in correct speech, though in the colloquial dialects of some classes of people, it breaks up into [i] + [ʌ].

(ii) This sound belongs to the class of [c͡ʃillukəḷ], and can stand alone at the ends of words: e.g., [kɑːj] fruit; [pɑ:j] mat.

(iii) The strong palatal character of this consonant enables it to change an immediately succeeding [ʌ] into [ə] or [e]: e.g.,
[jʌɟ͡ʒəmɑˑnən] master > [jeɟ͡ʒəmɑˑnən] or [jəɟ͡ʒəmɑˑnən];
[jʌʃəssə] fame > [jeʃəssə] or [jəʃəssə];
[pɑːjʌsʌm] rice-milk > [pɑːjəsəm];
[mʌtijɑˑja] sufficient > [mʌtijæˑjə]

(iv) [j] and [ʃ] are sometimes interchangeable: e.g.,
[ʋijərpə] sweat > [ʋiʃərpə].

Cf. Tamil sing. [pʌjəl] boy>Tamil pl. [pʌʃəŋkəḷ] boys; Tamil [ʋɑːʃikkə] to read = Mal. [ʋɑjikkuka]; Tamil [kʌʃʌppɯ] bitter=Mal. [kʌjppə].

(v) [j] appears as a glide to fill up the hiatus between two words: e.g.,
[ʋʌnna] + [ɑːḷ] > [ʋʌnnʌjɑˑ] the man who is come.

(iv) Sanskrit conjunct consonants with [j] as the second component are correctly pronounced by the educated classes, but in the colloquial of the illiterate classes, corruptions arise: e.g.,

Skt. [sɑndɦjɑ:] night > [sʌndɦja] > [sʌndɦi], or even [ʌnti] in the colloquial;
[sʌdja] feast > [sʌddi].

25, 26. [r] and [r]. (i) Both these sounds belong to the class of [c͡ʃillukʌḷ], and can stand alone at the ends of words: e.g., [moːr] buttermilk; [tɑir] curds.

(ii) [r] is an alveolar sound, while [r] is a cerebral: and this cerebral [r] is quite different from the so-called cerebral 'ṛ' of Northern India, which is a 'flapped' sound.

(iii) Initial [r] is a sound produced with one or two taps of the tongue against the teeth-ridge, but medial and final [r] is only a flap. [r] is a true retroflex sound and is slightly trilled.

(iv) When [r] comes before a guttural consonant and combines with it to form a conjunct consonant, the [r] becomes [r].

If [r] is the second component in a conjunct consonant, with the first component a voiced sound, the value of [r] remains [r]: e.g.,
[ɡrɑˑməm] village; [ɡɦrɑˑṇəm] smell; [brɑˑmməṇən] Brahmin.

​When the first consonant is a breathed sound, the [r] changes into [r]: e.g.,
[prʌmɑˑṇəm] proof; [krʌndənəm] weeping; [mɑˑtrəm] only.

If [r] is the first component, [r] may become [r] or may remain unchanged: e.g.,
[derʃənəm, dər-] visit; [derbɦʌ] a kind of grass; [mɑˑrdəʋəm] soft.

(v) [r] and [r] change an immediately succeeding [ʌ] into [ə] or [e]: e.g.,
[reŋɡənɑˑtən, reŋ-] the proper name Ranga-nāthan; [rəmbɦa, rəm-] proper name Rambhā; [reʋa, rə-] ground rice; [retnəm, rə-] gem; [rebiˑndrənaˑtən, rə-] the proper name Rabindranath.

(vi) [r] or [r] never occurs initially in a native Dravidian word. This can be seen from the way in which Tamil has tried to assimilate Sanskrit words: e.g.,
Sanskrit [rɑːɟ͡ʒɑˑ] king > Tamil [ʌrʌʃən];
SanskritSkt. [rɑːtri] night > Tam. [irɑːʋə];
SanskritSkt. [loːkah] world > Tam. [uləkəm].

In unaltered Sanskrit words the [r] is retained at the beginning in both Tamil and Malayalam.

(vii) [r] sometimes disappears in the colloquial when it occurs in unaccented syllables: e.g.,
[ʋʌrunnu] comes > [ʋʌrnnu] > [ʋʌrṇu] or [ʋʌnnu];
Tamil [paːrkə] to see > [paːkkə].

27. and 28. [l] and [ḷ]. (i) [l] is an alveolar, and [ḷ] is a retroflex, sound. Both belong to the class of [c͡ʃillukəḷ]: e.g., [pɑːl] milk [ʌʋəḷ] she.

(ii) [ḷ] and [ɹ̣] are interchangeable.
[ʌppoːḷ] then > [ʌppoːɹ̣]
[ʋɑːɹ̣əppʌɹ̣əm] plantain fruit > [ʋɑːḷəppəḷəm].

(iii) [ḷ] never begins a word, whereas [l] may.

These sounds can change an immediately succeeding [ʌ] into [ə] or [e]: e.g., [lʌŋka] ceylon > [leŋka].[lʌta] leaf > [leta]; [lʌŋka] ceylon > [leŋka].

(iv) Sanskrit [ḍ] and [t] change into [ḷ] and [l] in Malayalam, when these Sanskrit sounds come at the end of words without the support of a vowel:
Skt. [sʌmrɑˑḍ] king > Mal. [sʌmrɑˑḷ];
Skt. [ɦɑṭhɑːt] immediately > [ɦʌṭhɑˑl].

​(v) When [l] and [ḷ] combine with a succeeding nasal to form a conjunct consonant, especially in compounds, the character of these sounds changes into the corresponding alveolar [n] and cerebral [ṇ] respectively:
[nel] paddy + [mʌṇi] grain > [nenmʌṇi] paddy grain;
[veḷ] paddy + [niːr] > [veṇṇiːr] ashes.

29. [v] and [ʋ]. (i) The true value of the Malayalam symbol [v] is the dento-labial fricative; but very often only the bilabial [ʋ] is uttered in actual speech.

(ii) [v] or [ʋ] occurring inter-vocally disappears: e.g.,
[ʌʋən] he in North Malabar dialect becomes [ʋəːn] > [oːn];
[poːkumo] will go > [poːkuʋoˑ] > [puˑʋoˑ] > [poː];

(iii) [ʋ] and [m] are easily interchangeable as already shown.

(iv) [v] and [ʋ] changes an immediately following [ʌ] into [ə] or [e]: e.g.,
[vʌra] line > [vera].

(v) In sounding conjunct consonants where [v] or [ʋ] forms second component, purity of pronunciation is maintained only by the educated classes; e.g., in the colloquial, we find alterations like
[guruttvəm] grace > [guruttəm] > [kuruttəm]
[viddɦittvəm] foolishness > [viddɦittvəm].

(vi) [ʋ] appears as a guttural glide in connected phrases and in sentences where the proximity of two dissimilar vowels creates a hiatus, e.g., [ʋeḷutta] + [oruʋən] fair-complexioned > [ʋeḷutta ʋoruʋən].
[ʋ] acts as a glide between back vowels, while [j] acts as a palatal glide.

30, 31, and 32. (i) [ʃ], [ʃ̣] [s] are not interchangeable but are separately and distinctly pronounced. [ʃ] is an alveolar, [ʃ̣] is a cerebral, and [s] is also an alveolar where the fore-blade of the tongue is flattened out so as to allow more air to pass through with a sharp hissing noise than when [ʃ] is uttered.

(ii) [ʃ] and even [s] sometimes become [c͡ʃ] in the colloquial: e.g., [ʃʌŋkərən] > the [c͡ʃʌŋkərən] proper name Śankaran; [sʌmʌjəm] time > [c͡ʃʌməjəm].

33. [ɹ̣]. (i) This is a sound peculiar to Tamil and Malayalam; the position of the tongue is exactly the same as for [ʃ̣] but the air is allowed to pass through without the hissing sound and, besides, the sound is a voiced one.

​(ii) As already pointed out, [ḷ] and [ɹ̣] are interchangeable.

A passage with [ɹ̣]: [miɹ̣ikəḷ ʋiṭʌrnnu ʋʌɹ̣ijilʌmərnnu ʌɹ̣ʌku kʌlʌrnnu kʌɹ̣ʌliṇə c͡ʃeːrnnu].

34. [ɦ, h]. This velar fricative, usually voiced except in aspirates and interjectional exclamations, is difficult of utterance for Tamilians, and as already mentioned, it was absent amongst the old Tamil (Dravidian) sounds. With the introduction of Sanskrit sounds in the South, symbols also were newly formed for these new sounds, but the Dravidians admitted these sounds only after a struggle, for we see that the early Tadbhavas in Tamil from Sanskrit words containing [ɦ], all avoid this fricative and retain only the accompanying vowel or consonant sound: e.g.,

(ii) In Modern Malayalam also, the [ɦ] is very unstable in the following instances:—

Sanskrit words with [ɦ], however, are clearly and accurately pronounced by scholars,

(iii) [ɦ] results from the corruption of [k] through the fricative [x]: e.g., [mʌkən] son > [mʌxən] > [mʌɦən].

(iv) In conjunct consonants [ɦm] and [ɦn], the aspirate [ɦ] is sounded, if at all, only after [m] and [n], e.g., as [mɦ] and [nɦ]; but very often even in very correct speech, the [ɦ] may not be heard at all: e.g.,

[ɦḷ] is uttered correctly in [ɑːɦḷɑːdəm] joy.

The unvoiced [h], as in English hat, happy, is found in Malayalam only in the unvoiced aspirates [kh, c͡ʃh, ṭh, th, ph].

In the orthodox Malayalam alphabet, [kʃ̣], [rɯ], [lɯ] are also included; but [kʃ̣] is a conjunct consonant, while [lɯ] and [rɯ] (actually only the sonants [ṛ] and [ḷ]) do not occur as such in Malayalam except in Sanskrit words. Thus—

[rɯ] and [lɯ] may be pronounced as [ri] and [li], or [ir] and [il], or as [ər] and [əl]:

​

These occur only in Sanskrit words current in Malayalam. It is a boast amongst the Malayalis that they can pronounce words with conjunct consonants more accurately than the people of other parts of India. This boast is not entirely without justification, for those peculiarities of sound characteristic of the utterance of conjunct consonants in the Prakritic languages of North India, like Bengali, Hindī, etc., are conspicuous by their absence in Malayalam. But nevertheless "impure" pronunciation of conjunct consonants does occur in the language. Thus—

Skt. [ɲɡ] [nḍ] [nḍ] [ɟ͡ʒɲɑˑ] [mb] [dm] [vjɑː] [tjɑː]

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Mal. [ŋŋ] [nn] [ṇṇ] [ɟ͡ʒɲæˑ] [mm] [lm] [ve] [tjə]

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Example. [bɦʌŋɡi] > [bɦʌŋŋi] beauty. [ɡoːʋindən] > [ɡoːʋinnən] Gōvinda; [mʌṇḍʌpʌm] > [mʌṇṇəpəm] honse; [ɟ͡ʒɲæːnʌm] > [ɟ͡ʒɲæˑnəm]; [ʌmba] > [ʌmma] mother; [pʌdma] > [pʌlma] lotus; [vjʌsʌnəm] > [vesənəm] sorrow; [sʌtjʌm] > [sʌttjəm] truth.

(i) In transcribing the sounds of the Sanskrit conjunct consonants, I have proceeded on the assumption that the Indo-Aryan representative of modern Malayalam [ʌ] should have been, in the stressed syllables of words at least, [ɑ].

(ii) Accuracy of pronunciation requires that the components of conjunct consonants in Malayalam should be sounded together in one breath, as in the English words "crypt" or "breadth". Prof. Yogesh Chandra Ray remarks in his Bengali Grammar (published by the Vaṅgīya Sāhitya Pariṣad) that in Bengali certain conjunct consonants especially those with plosives as their first components) are pronounced with a peculiarity that the two components are not pronounced with a peculiarity that the two components are not pronounced together, but, as it were, with a slight break in the middle to enable the plosive to sound completely. For instance Prof. Ray says that অগ্নি (ăgni) is uttered in Bengali as অগ্-নি [oɡ-ni] and not as অ-গ্নি [o-ɡni], so that here the full explosion of the consonant is made. This difference seems to be significant, for in very lax enunciation of the conjunct sounds in the Bengali way, a short vowel might creep in between the first plosive and the consonant which follows it. In listening to a Calcutta Bengali uttering words like অগ্নি (ăgni), কাঁদ্লে (kā̃dle) or ​রত্ন (rătnă) in a lax manner, the sounds appeared to me to have the values of [oɡᵚni], [kɑ̃dᵚle] or [rɔtᵚnɔ].^[1] In Malayalam, however, no such thing is possible, and the pronunciation of the above-mentioned words is [ʌɡni], [rʌtnʌm].

(iii) It should be remembered that only Tatsamas are given accurate Sanskrit sounds; there are many Tadbhavas in Malayalam which have got rid of the conjunct consonants: e.g., [krɯʃ̣ṇən] > Tadbhava [kʌṇṇən] the name Krishna; [buddɦi] used in a good sense to mean "wisdom", > [putti] "perversity", used in a bad sense; [ʌʃuddɦəm] < [ʌittəm] pollution.

(iv) When conjunct consonants occur medially, the first component if it is a plosive, is doubled: e.g.,

The doubling of the sound is, however, not always represented in writing.

(v) Doubling of consonants occurs in various other cases, the most important among which is that of certain plosives and affricates at the beginning of the second component in certain Samāsas or compound forms: e.g.

The glides in Malayalam are [j] and [ʋ] or [v], both being used for filling up the hiatus between vowels: e.g.

These are examples of compounds or sense-groups. Even in sentence where words stand apart, these glides can come in rapid pronunciation. Sometimes the full [j] may not arise, but only [ĕ], as in the Bengali সে এল [ʃ̇eĕelo] he came.

Euphonic combinations are developed whenever two vowels or consonants come together, either within a word or when proximately standing in two different words. There is no hard and fast rule in Malayalam as to where the euphonic combination has to set in insentences, but an approximate rule may be formulated that wherever compounds of ​words convey together a definite common meaning there the laws of Sandhi can also operate.

The laws of Sandhi in Malayalam are various, and different in many respects from those of Sanskrit. A discussion of these laws is beyond the scope of this sketch.

The existence in all Dravidian of innumerable contracted forms is clear proof for the fact that dynamic stress of some character does exist in all Dravidian languages, including Malayalam. It may also be affirmed that the dynamic accent falls primarily on all root-syllables of words. Word-stress in Malayalam differs from that in North Indian languages, and in Standard Southern English, in three important respects:

1. Word-stress is not initial as in Bengali, German or English, but it invariably falls on the root-syllables of words. Secondary stress also exists in polysyllabic words, but is often denoted by pitch-variations.

2. Stress is always accompanied in Malayalam by a high pitch, and it is a moot point if dynamic stress exists in Malayalam independently of musical accent or intonation. Musical intonation in the colloquial is often strong enough to give a "timbre" to the speech as in the French language.

3. Word-stress in Malayalam is not so strong as in English, and, moreover, the existence of stress, in the literary languages, does not usually involve the slurring over of the other syllables, though very unstable consonants may change their character and long vowels may be reduced in length. In the common colloquial of the masses, elisions and contractions are more frequent than in the language of the literate classes.

Emphasis or Sentence Stress in Malayalam may be denoted either with the dynamic accent or the musical accent. It follows all the rules of the "logische Betonung" (logical stress) enunciated by Prof. Otto Behagel in his "Geschichte der deutschen Sprache". "Mechanische Betonung" is also possible in certain cases.

When a prose passage in the literary language is read out, there are distinct sense-groups forming breath-groups, but in the rapid use of the colloquial, the pauses disappear, and the sounds flow one into another, through not so swiftly as to produce what is called the French "liaison".

​sɑːdɦɑːrəṇəjɑˑj | noːkkumboˑḷ || ɦindu striːkʌḷkə || itilum ʌdɦikəm | sʋɑːtəntrjəmuṇṭə ||. ɡoːʃ̣a sʌmprədɑˑjəm || oru nijəməmɑˑjiṭṭə || nʌmbuːri striːkəḷ mɑˑtrəme— ɑːc͡ʃʌricc͡ʃəʋʌrunnuḷḷuˑ || = ordinarily Hindu women enjoy greater freedom than this; only the Nambudiri women are observing the Gosha (Purdah) system as a rule.

Correct pronunciation of Malayalam requires full length to be given to all long vowels, but in actual practice this scarcely becomes possible. Long vowels are fully enunciated in stressed syllables i.e. roots-syllables (ordinarily); but in unstressed syllables, the vowel may become half-long or completely short according as there is a pitch-distinction in the syllable or not.

In the pronunciation of Sanskrit words, scholars generally take care to observe the full length of vowels.

Special emphasis on a certain word or on any syllable of a word my lead to the lengthening of the connected vowel: e.g.,
[c͡ʃɑˑṭiː mʌɦiːndrən] There leaped the king;
[ʋʌnnuː rɑːɟ͡ʒɑˑʋə iʋiṭə] Here came the king;
in the two above sentences [c͡ʃɑˑṭiː] and [ʋʌnnuː], the two verbs, are specially emphasised, and the final vowels indicating the inflexional endings are accordingly lengthened.

This is very common in Malayalam, and is known as [dvitʋəm] or doubling. When sense-groups with grammatical affinities and with definite common meanings are formed, the first consonant in the second or the succeeding component (if any), when it is a plosive or an affricate, is doubled: e.g.,
[mɑːmpʌṛʌ] mango + [c͡ʃɑˑrə] juice < [mɑːmpʌɹ̣əcc͡ʃɑˑrə] "mango-juice"; [ɑːʃɑˑri] + [pʌṇi] > [ɑːʃɑˑrippʌṇi] carpentery.

(ii) In verbal compounds also, doubling may occur: e.g.,
[c͡ʃɑːṭi] leaping + [kʌṭʌnnu] crossed > [c͡ʃɑːṭikkʌṭʌnnu] leaped across.
[oːṭi] + [poːi] > [oːṭippoːi] ran away.

(iii) Even in the sentences where sense-proups are formed, doubling may occur: e.g.,

​If one works so hard as to break one's bones, one can eat till one's teeth are broken.

(iv) Doubling of consonants may in some cases be represented in writing, in other cases not.

(v) Doubling of the first plosive element of conjunct consonants may also occur as shown above.

Intonation is very prominent in the colloquial where the variations are many and picturesque. Malayalis cannot easily get rid of this native intonation which often affects even the English speeches of educated Malayalis.

Differences of pitch sometimes indicate differences in the feelings of the speaker; [ʋʌnnuʋoˑ] may be intoned in at least three different ways which would separately indicate a query, surprise, or satisfaction on the part of the speaker.

Assimilation of both the progressive and the regressive types exists in Malayalam. The scope of this short sketch precludes any detailed discussion of the various laws. A few examples are alone given below.
Progressive (or the first sound influencing the second):—
[kʌṇ] see + [tu] past inflexional ending > [kʌṇṭu] saw; [ʋil] sell + [tu] > [ʋittu] = sold
Regressive: [ʋʌrum] for coming + [kɑːlʌm] time > [ʋʌruŋkɑːlʌm] time for coming; [c͡ʃɑːṭum] + [toːrum] > [c͡ʃɑˑṭuntoːrum] in leaping.

The dialects of Malayalam very not only with the districts but also with the different communities inhabiting Malabar. For instance, the colloquial employed by a Christian of the Cochin State in different from that current amongst the superior Hindu castes of the State, whose language again widely differs in sounds, into nation and forms from the dialectal Malayalam of the 'submerged' classes. No colloquial dialect of Malabar has yet attained importance or popularity sufficient to entitle it to receive recognition as a proper vehicle of literary thought. Some of the reasons that stand in the way of such a healthy consummation are (i) the large number of colloquial dialects, (ii) the multifarious ​elisions and contractions in each dialect, (ii) the lack of any uniformity whatsoever in colloquial forms, and (iv) last but not least, the want of a central unifying force as that supplied by a cultural centre or by the existence of literary excellence in any one of the dialects. So long as those influence, that have coöperated to make the Calcutta colloquial (or the West Bengal dialect) a popular literary language in Bengal, are absent in Malabar, no colloquial dialect can find itself elevated to a position of literary prominence in that part of India.

There are certain phonological peculiarities in Malayalam which mark off this language from the parent Dravidian, many of the characteristics of which are still retained by modern Tamil. A study of these might furnish us with a clue to what is called by Sweet "the basis of articulation"^[2] of Malayalam, as distinct from that of Tamil and of other modern Dravidian languages. The phonological peculiarities may be classified under the following main heads:—

1. The tendency to nasalisation is very strong in Malayalam, as a result of which [ŋ], [ɲ], [n] [ṇ] have assumed greater prominence in Malayalam than in the other Dravidian languages.

2. The development of mixed vowels in Malayalam, like [ə] is another distinguishing characteristic. The tongue is kept in a neutral position to a greater extent than in Tamil where especially the vowels are purely back vowels. The fact that Malayalam tolerates [a] at the ends of words while Tamil invariably has [ɯ] or [əi], is itself a result of this trait.

I shall now give below phonetic transcriptions of passages in Malayalam prose and poetry. The sounds given here represent the pronunciation of the natives of the Cochin State.

ʋɑːtə piṭicc͡ʃɑˑl toːlpippɑˑn ʌsɑːddɦjəmɑˑja poːlisəkɑˑrənuṇṭɑˑjirnnnu. ʌʋene kollʌttəninnum koːṭṭəjəttekkə mɑːttijʌppoˑḷ kolləm inspekṭər ​koːṭṭəjəttə inspekṭərkkə ɑːpoːliˑsəkɑˑrən bəhu sʌmərthənɑˑṇənnum ʋɑːtə ʋecc͡ʃɑˑl ʌʋene ɟ͡ʒejikkuʋɑˑn ɑrkum tʌnne prəjɑˑsəmɑˑṇənnum eɹ̣uti ʌjəcc͡ʃirunnu. oru diʋəsəm ʌʋən koːṭṭəjəm inspekṭṭərə kɑˑṇɑˑn c͡ʃennəppoˑḷ ʌddeˑɦəm ʌjɑːḷoṭə "entɑˑ iʋiṭə ʋʌnnətil pinne ʋɑːtil onnum ɟ͡ʒejicc͡ʃilleˑ?" ennə c͡ʃoːdicc͡ʃu. "ɟ͡ʒejippɑˑnonnum prəjɑˑsəmillɑˑ; pʌkʃ̣eˑ ʋeˑṇḍənnə ʋecc͡ʃə miṇṭɑˑtirunnətɑˑṇə" ennə ʌʋen uttʌrəm pʌrʌɲɲu. "ɑːkəṭṭeˑ ennoṭə ʋʌllʌtum ʋɑˑtə ʋecc͡ʃə neˑṭɑˑn (nɛˑṭɑˑn) kʌɹ̣ijumoˑ?" ennə inspekṭər c͡ʃoːdicc͡ʃu. "kʌɹ̣ijum" ennə poːlisəkɑˑrən mʌrupʌṭi pʌrəɲɲu. reṇṭuruppikə (-xə) viˑtəm vɑˑtə niʃc͡ʃəicc͡ʃə inspekṭṭərute toːḷil ninnə renṭʌɲɲuləm tɑːɹ̣e oru kʌrutta kʌla uṇṭə" ennə poːlisəkɑˑrənum, "illənnə" inspekṭṭərum vɑːdicc͡ʃu. uṭən tʌnneˑ poːlisəkɑˑrənoˑtə ɟ͡ʒəjikkeˑṇəmənna vɑːʃijinməl inspekṭər uṭuppʌricc͡ʃə ʃʌriːrəm kɑːṇicc͡ʃu. pʌrʌɲɲətə poˑle kʌla kɑːṇɑˑɲɲətinɑˑl ɑː vɑːil poːliˑsəkɑˑrənnə ɟ͡ʒejəm kiṭṭijilleŋkilum ʌtineˑkkɑˑḷ vʌlɯtɑˑja oru viːrəvɑˑdəttil ʌppoˑl tʌnne ʌjɑˑḷkə ɟ͡ʒejəm kitti. entənnɑˑl tɑˑn inspekṭṭəre onnɑˑmətɑi kɑːṇunna divəsəm ellɑːvʌruteˑjum mumpil vecc͡ʃə ʌddeˑɦəttinekkoṇtə ʌddeˑɦəttinte uḍuppə ʌɹ̣ippikkʲɑˑm" ennə pʌntrəṇṭə ruˑpa kʌrɑˑrinmel ʌjɑˑḷute c͡ʃəŋŋɑːtimɑˑroˑtə mumpə tʌnne ʌjɑˑl oru vɑːtə niʃc͡ʃəjicc͡ʃirunnu. ʌtil ɟ͡ʒəjicc͡ʃʌtə koṇtə c͡ʃəŋŋɑːtimɑˑroˑte pʌntrəṇtə ruːpa vɑːiŋŋec͡ʃə ʌtil rəṇtə ruːpa inspekṭṭərkkə koṭəttə bɑːkki pʌttɯ ruːpa ʃeˑppilittə koṇṭə poːkəjəm c͡ʃəjtu.

There was once a police constable whom it was impossible for any man to beat in any wager or bet. When he was transferred from Quilon to Kottayam, the police inspector of Quilon had written to the Kottayam inspector that this constable was an ingenious fellow and that it was difficult for anyone to beat him in a wager. One day when he went to see the Kottayam inspector, the latter asked him, "Have you not been able to win in any wager since your arrival here?" "To score a triumph in betting is not in the least difficult for me, but I was only indifferent to it for some time past," replied the constable. "All right!" said the inspector, "can you score a triumph over me?" "I can" replied the policeman. The constable then betted for a prize of two rupees that there was a big mole on the inspector's body two inches below his shoulder, which the inspector stoutly denied. Thereupon the inspector, resolved to corner the constable at once, took off his upper garments. Though the policeman had to own discomfiture in this wager, he happened to triumph in a greater wager; for he had ​already betted with his companions for a prize of twelve rupees that he would make the inspector take off his dress in the presence of all on the occasion of his first visit to him. Now that he won the prize in this wager, he received the sum from his companions, paid down two rupees to the inspector, and triumphantly walked away with the balance of ten rupees in his pocket.

1. It will be noted that complete length of vowels is preserved in all root-syllables. Half-length indicates that the syllable, though not having the primary stress, is distinguished in some way (i.e. secondarily) by means of pitch.

2. In the numeral adjective [pʌntrəṇṭə], [reṇṭə], [pʌttə] = twelve, two, ten, the last vowel in rapid reading may not sometimes be [ə], but [ɯ] or [u]; so also is the vowel in the second syllable of [koṭə(ɯ)tə] having given; [ʋʌlə(ɯ)tɑˑja] big.

3. [ʌ] at the end of Malayalam words standing singly (i.e. not combined in sense groups) has always a more open value approximating to [a]. I have indicated this in the transcription in words like [kʌla] mole, [ruːpa] rupee, [ʋʌlɯtɑːja] big, etc.

ʋʌṭəkkən kɑːttum suːrjənum ʌʋər reṇṭɯpeˑrilum ʋecc͡ʃə ɑːrɑˑṇə ʌdɦik[x]əm ʃʌkti(j)uḷḷəʋənənnə tʌrkicc͡ʃə koṇḍirikkʲumboˑḷ c͡ʃuːḍuḷḷa oru kuppɑˑjəʋum iṭṭɯŋkoṇṭə oru ʋʌɹ̣ijɑːttrəkkɑˑrən ʌʋiṭə ʋʌnnu. ʌʋəril ɑːr ɑːdjəmɑˑi ʋʌɹ̣ijɑˑttrəkkɑˑrənəkkoṇṭə tʌnte kuppɑːjəm eṭuppikkunnuʋoˑ, ʌʋən mʌttəʋənəkkɑˑḷ ʌdhik[x]em ʃʌktimɑˑ nɑˑṇənnə ʋic͡ʃɑːrikkʲəppətɑˑṇə-mənnə tiːrcc͡ʃəjɑˑkki. ʋʌṭəkkəm kɑːttə ʌppoˑḷ ɑːʋunneˑṭəttoˑḷəm ʌdhik[x]əm kuppɑˑjəṭe ʋʌɹ̣ijɑːttrəkkɑˑrən deːɦʌttil ʋʌriɲɲə. ketti. oṭuʋil ʋʌṭəkkən kɑːttə ʃrəməm ʌsɑːddɦjəmənnə ʋeˑṇṭənnə ʋecc͡ʃu. pinne suːrjən c͡ʃuːtoːru[ɯ]kuːti prəkɑːʃicc͡ʃa uṭəneˑ ʋʌɹ̣ijɑːttrəkkṭˑrən tʌnte kuppɑˑjətte eṭuttʌtu(ɯ)koṇṭə ʌʋəriruʋərilum ʋecc͡ʃə suːrjənɑˑṇə ʃʌktimɑːnənnə ʋʌṭəkkən kɑːttinə sʌmmʌtikkeṇṭi ʋʌnnu.

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger of the two, when a traveller came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that whoever among them be able to make the traveller take off his cloak would be regarded as stronger than the other. The North Wind ​then blew with all his might, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his cloak around him. Finally the North Wind gave up his attempt as impossible. Then the Sun rose and shone warmly, and the traveller at once took off his cloak, and the North Wind had to acknowledge that the Sun indeed was the stronger of the two.

I. The following is a phonetic transcription of the first stanza of a Malayalam adaptation, by an eminent Malayalam poet, of the majestic National Anthem of India by Rabindranath Tagore, the জন-গণ-মন-অধিনায়ক জয় হে ভারত-ভাগ্য-বিধাতা 'jana-gaṇa-mana-adhināyaka jaya hē bhārata-bhāgya-vidhātā':
ɟ͡ʒejikkə ɟ͡ʒənəmʌnoːneˑtɑˑʋeˑ, ɟ͡ʒejikkə niˑ!
ɟ͡ʒejikkə bɦɑˑrʌtoːrʋiˑbɦɑːɡjəttin ʋidɦɑːtɑːʋe!
mʌɲɲʌṇiɲɲitum ɡiri puŋɡʌʋən tʌnnil ninnum
mʌɲɲuḷətʌrəmɑˑja mʌləjɑˑdrijil ninnum
ʌntʌriˑkʃəttejɑˑkə ʃuddɦʌmɑːkkijuŋkoṇṭə
ponti nilkunnu ninte puṇjəmɑˑm tirunɑˑməm!
niːlima telijunna kɑːlʌnniˑɟ͡ʒələttilum,
pɑ:linoṭokkum diʋjə ɟ͡ʒɑːnnʌʋiˑpʌjəssilum,
tirəmɑːləkəḷ tʌllijɑˑrkkunna kʌtʌlilum,
tirəḷunnuntə ninte puṇjəmɑˑm tirunɑˑməm.
ʌttirunɑˑmettiŋkəl ppʌɲc͡ʃɑːbum sindɦu tɑːnum
ʌttrəjumʌlla ʋʌŋɡə kʌliŋɡə c͡ʃoḷɑːdijum
sʌttʋərəmuṇərnnunin diʋjə ɡɑːthəxəḷ pɑːti-
jottorumicc͡ʃu nintcjɑˑʃissinʌrthikkʲunnu!
ɟ͡ʒejikkə sʌrʋə bɦʌʋjə dɑːtɑːʋeˑ, ɟ͡ʒejikkə niˑ!
ɟ͡ʒejikkə ɟ͡ʒənəmʌnoːneˑtɑˑʋeˑ, ɟ͡ʒejikkə niˑ!
ɟ͡ʒejikkə bɦɑˑrʌtoˑrʋiˑbɦɑːɡjəttin ʋidɦɑːtɑˑʋeˑ!

Victory to thee! Ruler of the minds of men! Victory to thee
Victory to thee! Builder of India's destiny!
On lordly snow-covered mountain crests
And in the sweet-blowing mountain-breeze,
Purifying all hearts,
Ever stands high thy hallowed name!
In the dark waters of the Yamunā river,
In the divine milk-white Gaṅgā stream,
And in the wave-stirred seas
​Thy hallowed name ever surges and rolls!
Hearing thy hallowed name, Panjāb and Sindhu,
Nay, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga, and Choḷa,
Wake up, and singing sacred songs in unison
Seek for thy blessings!
Victory to thee, Distributor of gifts! Victory to thee!
Victory to thee, Ruler of the people's minds! Victory to thee!
Victory to thee! Builder of India's destiny, Victory to thee!

II. The following passage is a translation of the poet Tagore's poem in শিশু 'Śiśu' (The Crescent Moon, in English) beginning with the lines খোকা মাকে শুধায় ডেকে 'khokā mā-kē śudhāy ḍēkē':
eŋŋunnɑːṇʌmmeˑ ɲæˑn ʋʌnnʌtu c͡ʃolǥə ni!
jeŋŋine kʌiʋʌʃəmɑːkkijənneˑ?
oːmʌne mɑˑmʌkəmoˑɦəsʌrʋəsʋənɑj niˑ mʌmʌ mɑːriloḷicc͡ʃirunnu!
mɑːmʌkə ʃʌiʌəʋə leːkhənəttiŋkələn pɑːʋəkəḷkkuḷil niˑ ʋɑːṇirunnu!
mʌṇṇu koṇṭiʃʋərəʋiɡrʌɦəm tiːrtu ɲæˑn tiṇṇʌm kʌḷicc͡ʃu ʋʌḷʌrnnə kɑːlʌm,
ennuṇṇi! ɲænʌɹ̣kɑˑrnnu rec͡ʃicc͡ʃʌtum ninnute ʋiɡrʌɦəmɑːjirunnu!

"Tell me, mother dear, whence did I come,
How didst thou possess me?"
"Darling mine, thou lay'st concealed in my heart crown of all my sweet desire!
Thou layst hidden in the dolls with which I as a baby played,
And at the time when with clay I made the image of my childhood's God,
It was thy form that I shaped with surpassing beauty dowed!"

III. The following is the transcription of a conversation in Malayalam in the very rapid style:

Below is given the literary form of the above:—
1. eʋiṭe ninnɑṇippoːḷ vʌrunnʌtə?
2. ʋiːṭṭil ninnə tʌnneˑ.
​3. ʋiʃeˑʃ̣ecc͡ʃə kɑːrjəməntɑːṇə?
4. pʌɹ̣ʌja upʌdrəʋəm tʌnneˑ.
5. kʌkʃ̣ippiṇəkkəttɑˑluḷḷa korṭṭə ʋjəʋəɦɑˑrəm tʌnne ʌlleˑ?
6. ʌllɑːte pinne entɑːnə!
7. koːrṭil ɟ͡ʒejəmɑːrgəm ʋʌllətumuṇṭoˑ?
8. ʌtokkeppoiˑ.

Educated Malayalis of Cochin state would carry on the above conversation in the following way:—

1. eʋiṭɯnnɑˑ ippoːḷ ʋʌrṇətə?
2. ʋiːṭṭinnɯ tʌnneˑ
3. viʃeˑʃ̣icc͡ʃə ʋʌlla kɑːrjəʋumuṇṭoˑ?
4. pʌɹ̣jə upədrəʋəm tʌnneˑ.
5. ʋjəʋəhɑːrəʋum kuːṭṭəʋumʌlleː?
6. ʌllɑṇṭɯ pinnejoˑ!
7. koːrṭil ʋʌlla ɡuṇəʋumuṇṭoˑ?
8. jɑːtonnuˑʋilla.

---

​

	Lip with		Teeth with	Upper Gums with			Palate			Glottal Region
	Teeth	Lip	Blade	Fore Blade	Tip	After Blade	Front	Mid- dle	Back
Plosives		p, b	t, d	s, z	t		kʲ,c	ṭ, ḍ	k, ɡ
Affricates						c͡ʃ, ɟ͡ʒ
Nasals		m		n	n	ɲ		ṇ	ŋ
Laterals					l			ḷ
Trilled					r			r
Fricatives	f,v	F,ʋ	θ,ð		ʃ,ʒ	j		ʃ̣, ɹ̣	x, ǥ	h, ɦ

	Front	Central or Mixed	Back
Close	i		ɯ, u
Half-close	e	ə	o
Half-open	ɛ, æ		ʌ, ɔ
Open		a	ɑ