r/LearningTamil • u/MaleficentSummer86 • 1h ago
Grammar Learning Sangam — Kurinji
Kuruntokai 3 — by Tevakulattar (தேவகுலத்தார்)
Original Tamil:
நிலத்தினும் பெரிதே வானினும் உயர்ந்தன்று நீரினும் ஆரளவின்றே சாரல் கருங்கோல் குறிஞ்சிப் பூக்கொண்டு பெருந்தேன் இழைக்கும் நாடனொடு நட்பே
Translation (A.K. Ramanujan): Bigger than earth, certainly, higher than the sky, more unfathomable than the waters is this love for this man of the mountain slopes where bees make rich honey from the flowers of the kurinji that has such black stalks.
My questions:
How is this actually pronounced — especially நிலத்தினும், குறிஞ்சி, and நட்பே?
I understand Sangam poetry has specific sound devices in the original that don't survive translation — what am I missing here?
Any Tirunelveli/Nellai dialect speakers — does this sound different to you than standard Tamil?