The writing is so pretty. But so complicated. How about a couple of easy words. The Duolingo course was not yet available in January 2021 so I looked at Memrise. Tamil has specific singular words for older brother and other concepts where English uses two words, but I wanted to remember just the most basic words which are used most often.
English - Tamil
mother - amma
father - appa
you - nee
Tamil - English
amma - mother
appa - father
nee - you
The words for mother and father are similar to so many other languages.
English - mum/mummy. American - Mom/mammy . Pop. Latin - mater. pater. Hebrew ima - mother. Papa. Mama.
Nee for you is the same as Mandarin Chinese, where a popular greeting is ni hao, literally you good.
Useful Websites
https://app.memrise.com/course/80049/100-tamil-words/1/
Useful book
Foreign Workers and Domestic helpers Language guide, published by Mighty Minds. Sold in Singapore at Mustapha's department store near Little India, and in Popular Bookshop which has several branches including one near the National Library.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, teacher of English and other languages, language evaluator at toastmasters International. Workshops on the English language and business English..
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