Madras Bashai

Madras bashai (also known as Madras Tamil and informally as Tanglish) is a language spoken in the city of Chennai, India. It is a loose polyglot blend of Tamil and English, with some loan words from Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. The term literally means "Madras language" in Tamil.

Classification

What Madras bashai is not

• Madras bashai is not a classified as a dialect of the Tamil language by Ethnologue.
• Madras bashai is certainly not a dialect of the English language. It also cannot be classified as Engrish becuase it is not the result of an unsuccessful attempt to speak correct English, as no attempt is even made to conform to rules of English grammar.

What Madras bashai is

Madras bashai is an extreme instance of diglossia in the Tamil language. It may currently be an early stage of a pidgin language.

Aspects

Words and phrases

The following are some common words and phrases in Madras bashai.

Word	Meaning	Notes
Allo	Hey, there...	English, Used to draw attention, from the English "Hello".
Arai-Loosu	Half-crazy. See "Loosu"	Tamil arai (half) + English loosu (loose, as in "not tight").
Bejaar	Painful, troublesome.	Probably Hindi, roots uncertain.
Beku	Imbecile.	Etymology unknown.
Bemani	That which makes one ashamed, that which has no shame.	Hindi bemani (shameless).
Buddi	Someone who wears glasses. Derogatory. Also see "Soda Buddi".	Probably as a reference to the thickness of glass "Soda" bottles.
Dhool	A superlative, as in "well done!" or "kick ass!".	Hindi dhool (dust), referring to the dust cloud after a good ass-kicking.
Dil	Chutzpah or Guts, as in "Do you have the guts to step outside and fight like a man?!"	Hindi dil (heart).
Duddu	Money.	Kannada duddu (money).
Figaru	Attractive woman.	English "figure", as in "She's got a good figure".
Gaaji	Turn to play, often used to indicate one's turn to bat in cricket, as in "It's my gaaji now."	Etymology unknown.
Gaali	Finished, as in "He's finished!".	Hindi khali meaning "empty" or "finished". Originally from Arabic.
Gaana Paattu	A subgenre of Tamil film music.	Hindi gaana (song) + Tamil paattu (song).
Galata	1. Fracas, brouhaha. 2. Chaos. 3. Celebration	Unknown, but possibly from Turkey. Galata was a suburb of Istanbul known for its nightlife. Or possibly from the english "gala"
Galiju	Dirty	Hindi, meaning dirty
Gelichan	He Won	Telugu, gelupu meaning victory
Goodhal	Trickery. Usually derogatory, as in "He resorted to trickery to win that business deal."	Unknown.
Jaga	To Escape from a situation. Used as "Jaga Vaanguradu"	Hindi jagah (space, room), used in the sense of "getting room to escape".
Joadreppai	Cobbler.	Unknown, but possibly from Hindi joota (shoe) and English "repair".
Jollu	To ogle attractive women.	Tamil jollu (saliva, salivation). Implies a longer duration than mere lookku vittufication.
Joot	To get started. Also to escape.	Etymology unknown. Pronounced exactly like the English "jute".
KD	Petty crook.	English. Old Chennai police abbreviation for "known defaulter".
Kabodhi	Literally, a blind person. A common insult directed at careless drivers, as in "watch where you're going!". Often used in conjunction with "Kuruttu", as in "Kuruttu Kabodhi!".	Etymology unknown. Possibly from Sanskrit
Kaidae	Donkey.	Tamil kazhudai (donkey).
Kaiyendhi Bhavan	Roadside food vendor, equivalent to a hotdog stand in the US.	Tamil for "hand-to-mouth restaurant". Not necessarily pejorative. Compare "Muniyandi Vilas".
Kalakaradhu	To impress with one's performance.	Tamil, literally "to mix", "to stir".
Kamnaati	Illegitimate offspring.	Etymology unknown.
Kasmaalam	Synonymous with "idiot".	Possibly from Sanskrit kash malam (black hair). Comparing someone with hair is considered rude in Tamil culture.
Kenai	Fool.	Tamil.
Kozha adi sandai	Major catfight.	Tamil for "water pump fight", fighting over who gets how much water and in what order.
Kundhu	Sit down.	Etymology unknown.
Kuruttu	Blind. See "Kabodhi" for usage.	Tamil.
Leevu	Holiday.	From English "leave", as in "leave of absence".
Lollu	Anything unpleasant.	Tamil for the sound made by a dog (analogous to "bow wow" in English). Probably a neologism from the Tamil movie Perusu, starring Sathyaraj and Bhagyaraj.
Lollu party	Unpleasant person, especially one's boss at work.
Lookku vudaradhu	To check someone out, especially if it's an attractive person.	English "look" and Tamil vudaradhu (to let off, to flash). Implies a much shorter duration than jollu vittufication or sight adichification.
Loosu	Crazy.	From English "loose". Also see "Arai-Loosu".
Machi	Synonymous with "dude", used in a positive sense.	Etymology unknown. Implies familiarity, cannot be used with strangers.
Mama velai	Pimping, both literally and figuratively.	Tamil, literally "uncle job".
Mary	Female version of Peter.
Military hotel	Restaurant that serves non-vegetarian food.	The armed forces are thought to have fewer vegetarians than the general population.
Mineema	Female equivalent of "Muniyandi".	Etymology unknown.
Muniyandi	Economically backward male, implying a degree of unsophistication and uncouthness.	Etymology unknown.
Muniyandi Vilas	Low grade restaurant.	Pejorative. Compare "Kaiyendhi Bhavan".
Naina	A negative version of "dude", used to imply criticism..	Probably a corrupted version of Telugu Nana (father). Can be used with strangers, especially when driving.
Neat-a-po	Head straight on down	From English "neat" and Tamil po (to go), as in "Head straight on down this road..."
OB adikaradhu	To waste time.	Etymology unknown. OB is pronounced as the individual letters O and B.
OC	Free, at no cost.	Etymology unknown, maybe from "Zero Cost" (0 Cost).
Outte	Same as "Gaali".	English "out", used in the context of cricket or other sports.
Paal mararadhu	To switch camps, to betray a confidence.	Tamil, literally "to change milk"
Peter	Male of Tamil origin who speaks English in preference to the Tamil language even with other Tamil speakers, especially if his intention is to impress.	Also Peter party. Also used to label those who consider Tamil infra dig, or those who speak it with a fake Western accent.
Phosphata	Same as "Sulphata".	Pronounced "phosphate aa". Uncertain origins.
Poramboku	Orphaned, abandoned.	Tamil. Used as a verbal abuse against bad drivers.
Rowdy	Ruffian.	Means the same in English, but used much more commonly in India.
Rowdy-sheet	The rap sheet of a rowdy known to the police.
Rowdy-sheeter	A rowdy who has a rowdy-sheet.
Saavugraaki	Verbal abuse against bad drivers.	Possibly from Tamil saavu (death) and graaki (buyer) giving "customer of Death".
Sight adikaradhu	Same as "Jollu".	English sight and Tamil adikaradhu (to beat).
Sokkakira	Looking good/beautiful.	Probably Hindi, roots uncertain.
Sulphata	Cheap, strong liquor that may contain methanol.	Pronounced "sulphate aa". Uncertain origins. Asking someone if they've had sulphata implies that they are severely uncoordinated.
Voodu	House.	Tamil veedu (house).	merusal	feared	unknown etymology
Vootle solltiya?	Used against extremely unsafe drivers.	Tamil literally "Have you told [people] at home?". Connotes "Did you take leave of your loved ones when you left home?", and implies that the other person may not make it home alive.

Usage

These words and phrases may of course be strung together. For instance:

Naina! Vootle solltiya? Saavugraaki!. By calling the other person "naina" and asking him whether he has taken leave of his loved ones, the speaker indicates that his interlocutor is driving in a very unsafe manner. The speaker uses "saavugraaki" to emphasize the point, thus asserting his superior driving skills in the situation.

A large part of Madras bashai is devoted to cursing other drivers on the road. moonjila yaan kaiya vekka yengapaathu otra beymani

Grammar

Syntax

The following examples illustrates the difference between the syntax of Madras bashai, English and Tamil:

English	Tamil	Madras bashai
Go fast! (Verb Adverb)	Vegamaa po! (Adverb Verb)	Speeda po! (EnglishNoun TamilVerb)
Go straight! (Verb Adverb)	Nera po! (Adverb Verb)	Seedhava po! (HindiAdverb TamilVerb)

Verbifying and Nounification

Many Tamil verbs are informally translated to English by taking the verb root and suffixing "ify" or "ification".

English	Tamil	Madras bashai
To read. (Infinitive)	Padikkaradhu.	To padichify.
Reading. (Gerund)	Paditthal.	Padichification.

Usage

Verbifying and nounification are used in a jocular sense, only with people one is familiar with, and only if they speak Tamil. Using these forms in formal situations or with strangers is considered very juvenile, analogous to using emoticons in a high school essay. Usage of these forms also carries the risk of getting the speaker tagged as a Peter or a Mary, even though genuine Peters and Marys don't use them.

Questions with binary answers

Questions with yes/no answers are framed by saying the statement whose truth is to be verified (using the participle if necessary) and then saying "aa" at the end with a rising inflexion like a question. If the statement already ends in an "aa" or other interfering vowel sound, then the questioning "aa" can be made "vaa" in the interest of euphonics.

English	Madras bashai
Are you ready?	Ready-aa?
Did you sleep? ("Have you slept?")	Slept-aa?
Is it OK?	OK-vaa?

Some people tend to carry the "-aa" even into full English conversations from force of habit. Eg: "Did you finish it aa?"

Cultural references

Madras bashai is used in a particular genre of music in Kollywood movies, called the gaana paattu. The relation between gaana paattu and Madras bashai is analogous to that between hip hop and hip hop slang. The typical gaana paattu is characterized by rougher lyrics and a pulsing rhythm, usually without a discernible melody. Many instances have a strong theme of poverty in their lyrics, and are eminently suited as accompanying music for the traditional dappaankuthu dance, which is usually performed in economically backward urban areas in Chennai. Gaana paattu is also popular among city college students who use it to gain street cred among their peers, irrespective of their economic status.

Examples

• Pettai rap from Kadhalan (1994)
• Laalaaku dol dappi ma from Sooriyan (1993)
• Annanagaru Andalu Ayanavaram Gopalu from Unknown (Unknown)