Poetical discourse analysis of a Tamil song Ovvoru Puukkalumee

This study is an attempt to analyze the Tamil movie song ‘Ovvoru PuukkaLumee ’ meaning ‘every flower’ from the Tamil movie 'Autograph'. This song is one of the popular songs of P. Vijay, a Tamil lyricist. The texture discourse of this song will be analyzed in terms of grammatical and lexical usages found by making use of discourse analysis

Discourse features in the lyrics of the Tamil song 'Annaiyin Karuvil'

This study is an attempt to analyse the Tamil movie song, 'Annaiyin Karuvil', meaning 'mother's womb' from the Tamil movie 'Haridass'. This song is one of the popular motivational songs of a Tamil lyricist, called Annamalai. The texture discourse of this song will be analysed in terms of grammatical and lexical usages found by making use of discourse analysis

Language choice of Malaysian Tamil students in Facebook: a case study in a Malaysian university

Language is a powerful identity of an ethnic group. It is with difficulty that a minority group maintains its mother tongue in a multilingual society, particularly so when other languages such as Malay, English and Chinese have economic advantages over Tamil. Even though in Malaysia Tamil language is taught in primary schools for children aged 7 to 12 and in secondary schools for the students aged 13 to 18, only a few continue to study this language in their higher education. It is a challenge for the educators in higher education institutes to encourage and attract students to study Tamil and is equally challenging to encourage them to maintain Tamil language in their daily conversations. The main aim of this study is to identify the language used in Facebook communication among the Malaysian Tamil students in the university. Reasons for their language choice and some strategies to maintain the usage of Tamil language in social networking platform are also discussed in this paper. Students aged 22 to 24 from a university in the central region of Peninsular Malaysia which offers Tamil studies, are chosen as the participants of this study. The participants were interviewed for their language choice. The finding shows that the participants with excellent Tamil language competency, used code mixing, Romanised Tamil more than Tamil or Tamil script in Facebook communication. This study found a way to make the participants converse solely in Tamil. An altered language behaviour in cyberspace emerging out of unknown consideration, was thwarted and normal language use was restored

Communication strategies of a Malaysian politician in Tamil during the COVID-19 pandemic

The world in general was not prepared for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in December 2019, which caused massive deaths. Government officials were forced to impose drastic measures to curb the spread. The Ministry of Health relied on political leaders and government agencies to help disseminate as much health information and the government policies efficiently and effectively. As these representatives or leaders belong to different ethnicities, they are more likely to understand the life circumstances, needs, strengths, and capabilities of multicultural and vulnerable communities, and would be the best people to convey the needed information. Tamils are the third largest community in Malaysia and there is not much research done on Tamil language and communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aims to observe on how effectively Tamil language and culture influences crisis communication. Effective communication and leadership are central to the management of pandemics and to give the public assurance in order to alleviate their fears and anxiety in having to adapt to the rapidly changing societal and economic landscape. Based on the communication strategies recommended by Hyland-Wood et al (2021), the current study focuses on how a Malaysian Indian politician, Saravanan responds, engages, and communicates with his followers. Seventeen Facebook posts in Tamil on Saravanan’s page were extracted and analysed qualitatively. The strategies utilized by Saravanan showed his resolve and effectiveness in managing crisis. This study will be useful for political leaders, community representatives, and medical practitioners in seeking equitable accessibility to quality health care and well-being of the people

Hujahan 'luahan rasa' dalam akhbar berbahasa Tamil terpilih

Kajian ini memfokuskan wacana hujahan ‘luahan rasa’ yang digunakan dalam surat akhbar berbahasa Tamil untuk membincangkan isu masyarakat minoriti di negara ini. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti isu semasa melalui hujahan ‘luahan rasa’ dan membincangkan serta membandingkan persamaan dan perbezaan hujahan ‘luahan rasa’ dalam akhbar berbahasa Tamil. Analisis teks ini dijalankan secara kajian kualitatif. Data dianalisis secara deskriptif menggunakan kerangka teori van Dijk (2008a). Sebanyak lima isu semasa berkaitan masyarakat minoriti, iaitu Isu Kematian dalam Lokap, Masalah Pengajian India di Jabatan Pengajian India di Universiti Malaya,Pilihan raya, Isu Lembah Bujang dan Perayaan Thaipusam yang ditulis secara hujahan menjadi bahan kajian. Semua teks yang dipilih ditulis oleh penulis tempatan dalam empat buah akhbar Tamil tempatan, iaitu Tamil Nesan, Makkal Osai, Malaysia Nanban,dan Thinakkural. Keempat-empat akhbar ini merupakan penyebar berita utama dalam kalangan masyarakat India secara meluas di negara ini. Teks hujahan dipilih secara rawak dari September 2012 hingga Januari 2014 mengikut keperluan. Sebanyak 56 buah teks dipilih sebagai bahan kajian. Tempoh masa ini menjadi pilihan kerana 2013 ialah tahun pilihan raya, maka banyak isu berkaitan masalah minotiti ditulis secara hujahan dalam akhbar bahasa Tamil. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa walaupun tema teks sama, namun terdapat persamaan dan perbezaan dari segi penggunaan wacana oleh setiap penulis. Dapatan kajian juga menunjukkan bahawa penulis menggunakan pelbagai corak wacana seperti wacana deskriptif, wacana naratif, perbincangan dan lakuan tutur untuk menyampaikan penghujahan masing-masing. Penggunaan jenis wacana dan struktur juga berbeza berdasarkan tujuan penulis. Dalam teks hujahan ‘luahan rasa’ penulis cuba mendekati para pembaca secara subjektif, iaitu penulis behujah secara beremosi. Cara ini bertentangan dengan ciri wacana teks hujahan. Di samping itu, teks hujahan ‘luahan rasa’ juga kerap menggunakan struktur cakap pindah untuk menyatakan pendapat seseorang. Penulis juga cenderung menggunakan metafora bagi mengajak khalayak berfikir, membuat perbandingan dalam konsep budaya dan bahasa melalui gagasan yang berorientasikan keindahan bahasa. Bahasa kiasan dan metafora jarang digunakan dalam teks hujahan kerana hujahan diberikan berdasarkan bukti. Diharapkan kajian ini dapat menyumbang kepada bidang analisis wacana serta menjadi pendorong kepada para pengkaji yang ingin menerokai bidang ini dengan lebih mendalam lagi