The Tamil clitics

Inclusion
As we have seen உம் can be used to conjoin a number of nouns together. When added to a single noun, it has the meaning of 'inclusion' and can be translated as 'also.'

நானும் வருவேன். 'I will also come.'

The clitic கூட can also be used in the same way. It differs from உம் in that it connotes an element of surprise or unexpectedness. It can be translated as 'also' or 'even.'

ஜானுக்கு கூட தெரியவில்லை. 'Even John didn't know.'

இரண்டு பேருக்கும் சாப்பிடவேண்டும். 'Both of them want to eat.'
மூன்று நாய்க்கும் உடம்பு சரி இல்லை. 'All three dogs are sick.

'At least'
When ஆவது is attached to a noun in isolation (i.e. there are no more ஆவது in the sentence) that is not a number, it has the meaning of 'at least.'

அவளாவது வேலை செய்வாள். 'At least she does work.'

பார்கவாவது வருங்கள். 'Come at least to see.'

Doubt
The clitic ஓ can be used in a number of ways, all of which have the meaning of doubt, ambiguity, or uncertainty. It can often be used in place of the interoggative ஆ but with the meaning of doubt or uncertainty.

நாளைக்கு முருகன் குப்பிடுகிறாரா? 'Will Murugan call tomorrow?'
நாளைக்கு முருகன் குப்பிடுகிறாரோ? 'I doubt Murugan will call tomorrow' or 'Murugan might call tomorrow.'

அவர் வருவாரோ 'I wonder if he will come.'

Emphasis The clitics ஏ is used to add emphasis to the word that it is attached to. It can be attached to nouns, adverbs, and verbs. In English the function of ஏ and the other emphasis markers are often done via word stress. In Tamil, this is often taken care of by a clitic.

நான் இப்பொவே வேலை செய்கிறேன். 'I am doing work right now.'
நானே வேலை செய்கிறேன். 'I myself am doing/will do work.'
நான் செய்கிறேனே. 'I will do it.' or 'I am doing work.'

இன்னொரு தடவை போகவே போகமாட்டேன்! 'I will never go there even one more time!'
அவர் பேசிக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறார். 'He is always speaking.'

As a general rule, when ஏ is added to a constituent, it has the function of making that word/phrase the salient part of the sentence, modifying or exaggerating the.htmlect that that word adds to the sentence meaning (whether that be the action, the agent of action, the time frame of the action, etc.). The clitic தான் is also used to give emphasis to the word or phrase that it attaches to. It has a slightly different meaning, however. Whereas ஏ adds emphasis to a single element in a larger set (i.e. this one rather than the others), தான் tends to emphasize the uniqueness of what it modifies (i.e., this one and no others) with respect to some presupposed set.

இப்படியே ஓடுகிறது. 'It drives just like this (and not that way).'
இப்படிதான் ஓடுகிறது. 'It only drives like this (and in no other way).'

A: நான்தான் வருவேன். இன்னும் வருவீர்களா? 'I too am coming. Are you still coming?'
B:வருவேனே!. 'Of course I am coming!'

A final clitic worth mentioning is மட்டும் (from the verb மட்டு, 'limit'), which can be translated as 'only':

அவர் அவளுக்கு மட்டும் பணம் கொடுக்கிறார். 'He will give money only to her.'
நாளைக்குமட்டும் வருகின்றன. 'Only tomorrow will they (neuter) come.'

Children Games and the Use of Language

There are numerous games that are played traditionally by Tamil kids. They are usually transmitted through the generations orally. Some of them are even seriously played by adults in tournaments, national competitions etc., while some are played only by kids.

The game called கபடி கபடி is recognized as a national game in Tamil Nadu. It involves controlling one's breath and saying கபடி கபடி aloud continuously while crossing the opponents' boundary line. If the opposite group members catch the person before returning back to his groups boundary, that person is thrown out of the game. But, if the person that holds the breath touches one or more members of the opposite team and returns to his own area holding the breath, the persons whom he touched are out of the game. The game continues until everyone is out from one of the teams. The words கபடி கபடி do not have any meaning, but are used as part of this game traditionally. சடு குடு சடு குடு is the other phrase that is used instead of கபடி கபடி. In some regions, there is also a custom of beginning with the following song and repeat the last word to hold the breath.

நான்தாண்டா ஒங்கப்பன் நல்ல முத்துப் பேரன், வெள்ளிப் பிறம்பெடுத்து விளையாட வறேன்டா வறேன்டா 'I am your father, grandson of Nalla Muthu. Holding a silver rod, I am coming to play/fight with you.'

The word வறேன்டா 'I am coming (you guy)' is repeated to hold the breath in the opponents' boundary.

ஜல்லிக்கட்டு is a bull fight game which has not yet been banned by the government. This game is especially played by adults during the பொங்கல் festival during the month of harvest month தை (January-February). The word கட்டு means 'subjugate', and the word ஜல்லி probably meant 'bull' in old Tamil, but is not used in this sense anymore.

கண்ணாமூச்சி விளையாட்டு: ('game of the blindfold') This is a children's game which involves blindfolding one child with a piece of cloth while that child has to catch/touch the other kids. The child who is touched will then take the turn to be blind-folded. Again, the word கண் means 'eye' but the other part of this word மூச்சி must have been a slang form of the word முடிச்சி 'tying' or மூடு 'close'.

ஒரு குடம் தண்ணீர் ஊற்றி (sp. உத்தி) ஒரு பூ பூத்தது ('with one pot of water one flower bloomed'): This is a counting game involving a rhyming song that starts with the phrases ஒரு குடம் 'one pot' and ஒரு பூ 'one flower', adding one number at a time. A group of children forming a row by holding each other's hands should circle around two other kids who would be holding their hands above their heads forming an arch. The children who are singing this song should cross the arch fast while circling around. If the other kids catch two of the members of the circling kids, those kids will have to form the arch.

நண்டு வருது நரி வருது ('a grab is coming; a fox is coming') This game, which is played by an adult with a child, is usually meant for amusing a crying child by tickling with two fingers on one of the hands of the child. The adult would move the fingers through, say at the end நண்டு புடிச்சிக்கிட்டுதாம் 'the grab finally caught you', and hug the child.