Sri Lankan Tamil
Learning Sri Lankan Tamil, not the Tamil of Tamil Nadu? Practice what they speak in Jaffna and across Sri Lanka: its words, expressions and culture, alongside your teacher, class or app.
Sri Lankan and Indian Tamil, side by side
Sri Lankan Tamil says கதிரை (kathirai), borrowed from Portuguese, for a chair where Tamil Nadu says நாற்காலி, and துவாய் for a towel where Tamil Nadu says துண்டு. The app marks the words one says differently from the other.
What you find in Sri Lankan Tamil
- Stories, culture pieces and jokes written in the Tamil of Sri Lanka
- Word games with the vocabulary of Sri Lanka
- A dictionary with local senses and slang
- If you read the app in the Tamil of India, the words Sri Lankan Tamil says differently are marked
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil?
They are the same language, written in the same script, with different vocabulary and everyday expressions. Sri Lankan Tamil says கதிரை (kathirai), borrowed from Portuguese, for a chair where Tamil Nadu says நாற்காலி (naarkaali), and துவாய் (thuvaai) for a towel where Tamil Nadu says துண்டு (thundu). Multi Lingo AI keeps them as separate practice languages and marks the words one says differently from the other.
Is there an app for Sri Lankan Tamil, not Indian Tamil?
Yes. In Multi Lingo AI the Tamil of Sri Lanka is its own practice language, with stories, culture pieces, jokes and word games written for it. If you read the app in the Tamil of India, the words Sri Lankan Tamil says differently are marked.
Does it replace my Tamil course or teacher?
No. It is a practice companion for the gaps a course leaves: local words, slang and the things your teacher explained that did not quite stick.