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Speak Tamil Like a Pro: 3 Tips to Perfect Pronunciation

Writer's picture: What You Missed In Tamil ClassWhat You Missed In Tamil Class

Updated: Jan 3

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The biggest fear for diaspora Tamils is being laughed at or looked down on when speaking Tamil.


This can be really discouraging, especially when you’re trying to learn and reconnect with your roots.


Often times what differentiates a native speaker from someone who is trying to learn is their accent when speaking Tamil.


This accent I am speaking of refers to the language you are fluent in.


Some from Canada, Australia USA or the UK have an English accent when speaking Tamil, others have a French or German accent when speaking Tamil and so on.


This is nothing to fear.


In fact, this can be easily corrected—with some practice, of course.


First you need to understand the reason why you have an accent when speaking Tamil is because you are using the mouth movements of another language when attempting to speak Tamil.


What do I mean by this?


Every language has its own unique set of sounds, and we produce these sounds using different parts of our mouth. You may have noticed that certain languages rely more on the jaw, while others emphasize tongue movement or lip placement.


Tamil, for example, uses a lot of tongue contact with the roof of the mouth, requires precise tongue placement and uses the back of the throat for certain sounds.


In English for example however this is not common.


So if you’ve grown up speaking another language, especially one that doesn’t use similar mouth movements, it's natural for those habits to carry over when you speak Tamil.


So when you try to say Tamil words you may naturally focus your sounds and breathe at the front of your mouth like many English speakers do.


But here’s the good news—just as you learned the mouth movements for another language, you can train your mouth to speak Tamil accurately too! It’s all about awareness and practice.


Here are 3 practical steps to help you get there:


  1. Go through the sounds of all 247 letters in the Tamil alphabet. Take your time and pay attention to your mouth movements for each letter. You’ll start to notice and remember the subtle differences.


  2. Practice saying words out loud, nice and slow—again, while focusing on the movement of your mouth. This will help build muscle memory for correct pronunciation.


  3. Listen to Tamil speeches or audiobooks regularly. This will train your ear to hear the proper pronunciation and flow of Tamil.



Just like how you go to the gym to train your body, you will NEED to do these practises in order to train your mouth.


So do not feel shy, emphasis each sound out loud and pay attention to your tongue and breath.


With consistent practice, you’ll be able to make adjustments and speak Tamil like a pro in no time!


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