The Tamizh letter 'zh' and the way it is pronounced

Kanimozhi's dad Karunanidhi called her his literary heir. She certainly is doing her bit in propagating the language, albeit involuntarily. The six times national award winning lyricist Vairamuthu beautifully described the letter with "tamizhukku zha azhagu" "தமிழுக்கு ழ அழகு" or " तमिय़ुक्कु य़ अय़गु" - which means the beauty of Tamizh language is defined by the letter or the sound 'zha'. The sound is just a special kind of 'ra' like the sound in television is a special kind of 'za' 

In the last six months more people have asked me how the name is pronounced (and hence the letter 'zh') than in the last four decades. That is largely because in the last six odd months almost everyday's new bulletin has had that name. And it has forced many people to try and get the name right. But first the correct pronunciation of the name

The name has two components - kani कनि which means fruit and mozhi मोय़ि  which means language. Hence she has been ordained as someone with a language as sweet as a fruit. 

Now about getting the pronunciation right. Especially for those who do not have this letter in their alphabet. And by the way, for all those who think all Madrasis are the same, please note that even a kannaDa or telugu speaking person will struggle with this sound - as it does not exist in their native language. Only MalayaLam and Tamizh has this sound and Marathi has a close approximation of this sound in ळ (बाळासाहेब). So how do I get the others to say this. One way is of course to listen to someone say it and learn it. You can try this link

Click here to listen to a news bulletin with the right pronunciation

Of course, you will have to wade through the headlines till you hear something like the name Kanimozhi. But an easier way is also available. Consider the words as kani+mori i.e. the first part of cunning and the first part of Moriarty. Remember how we say the letter R when we imitate a foreigner. So don't say the r in this word the Indian way. Round the 'r' instead of trilling it. Like Brits or Americans do. In fact Americans are more suitable for this example because of their rhotic accent. That means Americans will not swallow the 'r'. They will say car with the r whereas Brits because of their non-rhotic style will say ca. The r is swallowed. Nonetheless, both say 'r' in medial positions exactly the same way.  

So once again the first part of cunni-ng and the first part of Mori-arty. And lo and behold you have the pronunciation

cunni(ng)Mori(arty). 

And by the way cunning has two 'n' but while pronouncing it only one n is heard. So it is not cun-ning (कन्निंग). It is cun-ing (कनिंग)

Of course if all this is too complex, use the following approximations

कनिमोड़ि (Note the dot under the ड)

कनिमोळि

cunny-morey (keep the 'o' sound short)

Remember the 'oh' sound is short (which again does not exist in Hindi or the Naagari languages). But the versions that I hear in the non Tamizh bulletins - which are to be avoided at all costs are

कनीमोज़ी

कन्नीमोज़ी (I know we are obsessed with virginity, but this is too much)

कन्नीमोडी

कन्नीमोरी

कन्नीमोई (the blasted virgin if you take the first part in Tamizh and the second in Punjabi)

I think the error was the way it was transliterated in English. 'zh' should never have been used. Nobody except Google Transliterate understands it correctly. Probably 'r' or even double 'r' would have been better. Using the 'r' in borrow is the closest approximation.  

"But that's another story"

"लेकिन वो क़िस्सा फिर कभी"