Enter, Tanglish

Tanglish is commonly used among friends. Photo: K.R. Deepak

“What yaa ?”, “Nothing yaa.. too much veyil here, so I'm gonna go inside the canteen”, “okay but please come to the class on time or else you will maatify with the lecturer !” These sentences form an integral part of my daily conversations with my friends.

Confusion

And its not just me, “Tanglish” as we know it, is something almost every teenager in Chennai uses.

So what is wrong with it, you ask? Well, nothing, except that within a few months of speaking Tanglish, you will not remember either English or Tamil! Trust me...it happened to me.

Innovation?

The other day I was having an absolutely sane conversation with my Mum…at least it began that way, at one point I was fumbling for the right word and so to avoid embarrassment (or so I thought) I used the Tamil word and added a “fy” in the end. My mum literally fell off her chair! She couldn't believe I was actually saying such things. “Murdering the language” she calls it. My friends have termed it “

Ore stuck the English”. Yeah, so that day I realised that very soon I would probably start using Tanglish for formal occasions too if I didn't stop the habit soon. To all the fellow Tanglish speakers out there – Get a hold now and don't “stuck the English”!

Hiranmayi is a I Year, BA.BL(Hons) student at School of Excellence in Law