Table Of Content

AN INTENSIVE COURSE IN MALAY ALAM CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF INDIAN LANGUAGES INTENSIVE COURSE SERIES No. 4. General Editor M. S. THIRUMALAJ CIIL Intensive Course Series-4 AN INTENSIVE COURSE IN MALAYALAM B. SYAMALA KUMARI CENTRAL INSTITUfE OF INDIAN LANGUAGES MANASAGANGOTRl, 1\'lYSORE-570006 First Published November 19 81 Kartika 1903 Reprint : September 1996 Bhadra 1918 © Central Institute ot Indian Languages, Mysore, 1981 No part of this book should be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Publisher. Price : Rs. 240/- Published by Dr. Francis Ekka, Director, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore Printed by Sri S. B. Biswas, Manager, CIIL Printing Press, CIIL Campus, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570 006. Production : K. Srinivasacharya FORE,VORD The Central Institute of fndian Languages was set up on the 17th July~ l969 with a view to assisting and co-ordina1ing the development of Indian languages. r he Institute was charged with the responsibility of serving as a nucleus to bring together all the research and literary out-put from the various lingui~tk stream5 ro a common head and narrnwing the gap between basic research and dt~vdopmental research in the fidd" of language~ and linguistics in lndi~. The lnstitut~ and its tlvc Regional Language C~ntres are thus engaged in research and teachi11g. which l::ad to. the publk:ation of a wide-ranging variety of matt!rials. Preparation of matt:rinls dcsignt;d for teaching/learning at or different lcvcb and suited to specific nt:..:d~ i~ one the major areas of interest or the InstilUte. Basic rcs<earch relating the acquisi£ion of language and t;) study of ianguage in its rnanifold p:-;;ycho-sm:ial rclatioru constitute another hroad range of its interest. The publkati()ns will include materials produced ·by the member~ of the staff of the Central I nstituk of Jn dian Languages and its Regional Language Centres and as~;ociated sL:hoiars from Universities and I n~titutions, both Indian and fL)n~ign. The Central Institute of Indian languagts has ir1iiiated a Basic Course Series in major Lndian languages to pr. .. n•ide suitable and comprehensive material for learning and teaching the language concerned for Indians. In a language reaching sit11ation~ th<! teacher is exp~cted to combine the roles of a psycho linguist, :-~ocio-JinguisL Hnguist, language pedagogue, a creator of materials, a literary critic and a testing and ~~valuation .-::xperL Most of his (.~ompctences are naturally reflected in the mat~rials. wbic.h simultaneously are graded from simpk tn -.:omplex, known to the unknown and contrived to the natural. This is a v~ry difficult task. After research and experimentation we have come out with more q u\!stions than answers at ea...:h stage of the material. For c.xample, how basi~: is basic ? What is grading ? In what way can linguistic and cultural matter hi.? graded ? Is q ue~tion, with which most learning begins, simpler than statement ? How does one move from a purely language hased competence to creating litrerary ~ensibilities ? How does one build into the: material conceptual pros~ '! How an: kssons Lo be presented 1 vi Shouid the translated discourse structure be made to look similar to the origi nal discourse structure ? Questions such as these have been answered. diffe rently by different teachers and researchers. This search is a continuing phenomenon. Therefore9 these materials r~present our unfinished education in this area. An Intensive, Course in Malayalam 11. The format for the basic course is the result of a consensus arrived at .by the lecturers and principals of the five Regional Language Centres of the Insti tute engaged in the!teaching of major Indian languages. This is the product of almost eight years of teaching and research. This format is fiexible and has left much scope for individual authors to innovate. If these courses help the desirous to lean,t and stimulate those interested in applied linguistics, with special reference to the teaching of Indian languages as second/foreign languages, then the Institute would feel rewarded. I congratulate the teachers, the trainees, the supervisors and the press and publication people who have brought out the publication in a creditable manner. DBBI PRASANNA PA.TTANAYAX. Director EDITOR'S NOTE Malayalam is the languag~ of Kerala. 1t is spoken in all the States and Union Territories of India. Speakers of Matayaiam are fou·nd all over the world. Malayalam belongs to the Dravid~an family of lang1Jages and ha!' a highly cultivated literacy history of its own dating ba~k to 11th or 12th cen tury, A.D. \Vhil_e the native speakers of Malayalam are known for their enter pris~. and their eager acceptance of dynamic ·ideas and a universal outlook, the i.anguage h~~f ~a marked by a tremendous variety and vitality in its modern literary growth. Malayalam languuge bears a ~onvincing testimony to the development, tbe cxpre~sion and the tlowing together of both Dravidian and Ary&n traditions. And. Kerala continues to be a land of confluence of different religions and iJeQiogiJ!s. M:alayaJam language fully reflects this confluence in its t~cx.:abu]ary. \'lhHe som:t. language lea.1niug materials have he~n publisheJ in the past for the iea~ning of ~Malayalam.as a secondtfcne}_g-o language, the present work An lntens:·ve Course fn 1\rfa/ayalar:-l is di~tinct !'t;.)ffi all the above. For tl1e first time, a grammatka11y graded, and. ~umprehensive second}foreign language karntng Malayalar:t manual is a-..ailabl ' A ddih1~mte cu~nrol of the situa tions, structures. a:ad vocabulary is :J.ttcmpted effc::.'tively in_t hi·s book Since a second iang,.uig~ stl!dent would benefit gr.;atly b:: a ma~tery of the script of the language· he i:' learning: the book adopts a melho;1 of presentation which demands a previous kuowledge of :. fala)'allim scri_r>t. This knowledge can be easily gained with lhe help of books re-(~rreu to i.~:: the Introduction. While in the past Malayalam has been learned by .. gpeakers of other lan guages largeiy to a~t(!nd to their immediate I r;insaction~d needs (notable excep tions are easy to identify): in recent times, a la!·ge number of school children and others hav~ begun to learn \!lalayalam, n~.~l -rm!y to ·meet the immediate or prospective transactional needs .but also to :::-r1joy its literature, and to partici pate in and appredate its cultural and ideological milieu. Hence, the present yolume aims at having a balanced blend to meet the requirements of both 1nstrumentaJ and integrational demands. Language teachjng, h1 some sense, is an artificial activity. ft rc.quires breaking the global language into, at times, even arbitrary units. The books \'JJI in the fntensiw? Course 5ierfes nre no exception to these inevitahle consequenct~ of the model followed. This was, hmv-.:ver, horne in mind all through to keep the artificial element under control. Each language learning manual in the fntensive Course Series covets the ·basic' structures of that language used for certain identified topics of com· mon interest. Lessons are generally presented in the form of conversations. These lessons are grouped under various units. The variables for the choice of dialect through which the materials arc presented. the methods for the administration of exercises and drills in the class, and other tips for both the teacher and the learner would be found in the Introduction. It should be emphasized here that the ln!cnsil·e Course Series is an integral part of the scheme of language teaching of the Regional Lan guage Centres of the Central Institute of Indian Languages. Books in the lntermediate Course Series and the Advunced Course Series are an extension of the books published under the lntensire .Cour.fe .•:ieries. M. S. TlllRliMi\I.AI PREFACE An !nlen~ive Cmu·se in .Nialaya/am is meant for the adult learners w!w would like to learn Malayalam as a second/foreign language. This book, in its many versions, has been tried out with several batches of learners belong ing to different mNher tongue groups, and has assumed the present shape aft~r a long process of designing and reJI!:;igning, writing and rewriting. and editing on the basis of karner rc~\ctions and responses of a varied sort. rn the preparation of thi book, J am indebt~d to a number of people whc' include my supervisors, students, colleagues and dear ones. I am most grateful to Dr. D.P. Pattanayak. Director, Central fnstitute of (ndian Lan guages, for his guidance in every step during the organisation of tbc format and content ·or this book, for the stimulating discussions ! had with him with regard to various pedagogic and linguistic strategies that underline the pre pu~ation of this book and for his constant encouragement in taking up this work and completing it. I owe a de .. !p sense or gratitude to Dr. t-.1.S. Thirumalai. Deputy Director, Central Institute of rn dian Languages. who with his unfailing pt'rsevcrance. guided me in the various stages of pr~pan•~i.)!l of this book starting from the very beginning up to the proof rt'!ading stage. But for his persuasion and timely guidance, this book would not have seen the .light of the day. I should record my profound thanks to my husband Shri K. V. Srini vasan, University of Mysorc, who from the point of view of a linguist as well as that of a second language learner of ~Aalayalam helped. me a lot with his comments and criticisms in deciding the form and content of this book. r have to specially acknowledge my several batches of Malayalam students on whom these materials were tried out and who taught me a great lot while they learned Malayalam from me .. J am also thankful to my for:ner and present colleagues of the Regiona I Language Centres and the Central Institute of fndian Languages whose opi ni~ns and comments helped me con·;idera.bly in preparing this book. Among them f would lik~ to specially mention the names of Dr. U.P. Upadhyaya, Dr. Reginald Soloman and Dr. S. Rajaram! T must now thank my teacher Dr. V. R. Prabodhachandran Nair. Pro f cssor, Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala who reviewe-d this book in its manuscript form and gave several constructive suggestions. 2--3 CIIL/M(80 I am also grateful to Dr. E. Annamalai, Deputy Director, Central J nsti tute of Indian Languages and Dr. K.V.V.L. Nara~imha Rao: Principal, Sou thern Regional Language Centre for the discussions I had with them during the preparation of this book. T also feel inoebted to my former and prcse~t colleagues of Malayalam faculty of the Centre, Dr. R. Vecra Manikanthan Pillai, Dr. (Smt.) L. Vimala, Dr. P.T. Abra~am, Dr. K. Regu and Shri Saratchandran Nair who used these materials to teach Malayalam to the learners in the Southern Regional Language Centre and enriched me with their comments. f am greatly indebted to my parents, brothers. and sister and tny teachers of Malayalam and Linguistics who always inspired and encouraged me to have a deeper insight into Malayalam language and literature. I must also thank the scholars and writers of Malayalam whom I chanced to meet and with whom I had many useful discussions relating 1o the teaching of Mala yalam to non-Malayalis, during my visits to several parts of KeraJa, while ~ccompanying my students (or their Language Environm ... nt Programmes. I immensely thank Smt. K. Vasanthy and Kum. T. Radhamoni~ former and present Malayalam typists of the Southern Regional Language Centre for copying and typing the manuscript~ of this hook several times on all occa sions of revision and fi11a1isation of the press copy. I alse thank profusely Shri T.S. Vcnkataraman, Manager of the Press ' Central Institute of Indian Languages, the Publication Unit of the fnstitute, and th·~ Government of India Prc:ss, Coimbatorc for the efforts they took in bringing this book out. I am grateful to Sri N.H. Jtagi, Central Institute of Indian Languages for designing the jacket. Most of ali, l am in great debt to my loving sisters-in-law Smt. Chaya Satyanarayan and Kuru. K.V. Ana~uya who shouldered all my responsibilities elated to my household and my three kids. wllile I was immt·r~cd in the prepa ration of this book and its ficJd testing for mQrc than cigh1 years. _• ..:;,.t .. I shall be extretncly grateful, if th<: casual readers, second language learn ers/teachers, professionallingvi~ts, matt:r:~1!~. rrcdt:cc.:-s and critics) who would read this book; send th~ir comments and criticisms along w1th suggestions for further improvement of this book. B. SYAMALA KUMARl