The TG Phonology of Tolkaappiyar ( Part 2 )
The Linguistic Theory of Tolkaappiyar is a form of TG grammar but quite different from that of Chomsky. The Process Grammar of Tol. moves around the notions of Ilakkiyam , the texts and IlakkaNam the processes ALREADY within the language and which go to account for the grammatical COHERENCE that any normal speaker understands implicitly.
Part of this implicit understanding are the TG processes that he sees at various levels, the phonological, syntactical, semantical, the prosodic and so forth. The Uriccol are those words which have undergone SEMANTIC transformations and as such in order to get the root meaning one has to PEEL OFF (urittal, the peeling off the superficial layers) the transformations it has undergone. This line of thinking can easily be extended to form the basic principle of Etymological Science where the collection of similar etymas is just the beginning but where the real task is TO GO TO THE ROOTS of these semantic clusters by processes of de-transformation evidenced by archaic occurrences of the these words. For example we have ‘karam” meaning hands and which can be connected with Sumerian ( Su ) gar-u: to do or Su. suu : hands. This ‘suu’ itself can be related Su./Ta: suur, suul: to radiate out. The common theme is that of radiating out like rays- the hands radiating out from the body just like the rays of light radiate out from the sun.
Meanings evolve and so do the sounds that have words and sentences that are collections of words with a grammatical coherence. Thus the Process Grammar of Tol allows the looking at the Linguistic Competence of Man on an evolutionary model. And as another development of this Process Grammar is Mantrayana, the science of meaning (and objects) creations where the notion of ezuttu but as mantra-phoneme plays a crucial role as in the Mantrayana of Tirumular.
With this prelude let us come back to the TG notions implicit in Tol. that Nac. is trying his best to bring out in the passage quoted above.
We have already mentioned that Karuvi means the Generative Basis, that which serves as the basis for the transformations and Ceykai are the various kinds of transforms that have actually taken place. Now we shall inquire why they are sub-classified into Akak Karuvi, Purak Karuvi, PuRac Ceykai, Akac Ceykai and so forth.
Let us consider Nac. observation that the chapter of Nuun Marabu and PiRappiyal (phonetics) are PuRappuRak Karuvi i.e. very very distant Generative Basis. The chapter on Mozi Marabu that deals extensively with the dependent phonemes, the caarbezuttu is said to be Purak Karuvi (distant generative basis), chapter on PuNariyal that deals with the transformation processes when two independent words conjugate in a sentence is said to be Akak Karuvi and those sutras that say the phonemes of the type short ‘e’ and ‘o’ will not occur as word endings are said to be Akak Karuvi.
What additional meaning is implicit in this classification of the Generative Basis?
The essential notion is available in the Akak Karuvi and which is said to be the study of phonetic transforms the phonemes undergo when two words conjugate. The most distant are the chapters that simply either enumerate or describe the various processes underlying their production. Thus it is clear the various chapters of Ezu. have IMPLICIT ANTICIPATION or hidden intentions. Where the description do not have in mind of the transformational processes the different phonemes may undergo, then phonemes of such description are said to be the Most Distant (PuRappuRam) in the sense that there is NO ANTICIPATION of the possible transforms they may undergo. And when such transforms are explicitly spelt out as PuNariyal, then because the hidden intention is made explicit then it is said to be Akak Karuvi, the kind of descriptions that are in fact intended. We can make sense of the intermediate categories in terms of these basic notions.
Now what about the PuRpuRac Ceykai and so forth? Is there also a HIDDEN INTENTION that Nac. saw in the sutras of Tol?
Here as an instance of the Most Distant Transform he cites the sutra 140 concerned with the appearance of the semivowels in the context of word conjugations and it goes as below:
140:
ellaa mozikkum uyirvaru vaziyee
udampadu meyyin uruvukkoLal varaiyaar
and it means: for both the initial word and conjoining word, the insertion of semivowels to the vowels that occur initially will not be censored as ungrammatical.
As example we have : kiLi azakitu> kiLiyazakitu where the ‘a’ is transformed into ‘ya’ by the insertion of the new ‘y’. Here we note the semivowel is IMPORTED from the general phonological basis of the language.
As an example of the Akac Ceykai is said to be Tokai Marabu and which mentions which phonemes are replaced with what phonemes etc. An example of this will be the following sutra:
143.
ka sa ta pa mutaliya mozimeeR RoonRum
meelelzutt tiyaRkai colliya muRaiyaal
nga nja n_a ma vennum oRRaa kummee
anna marabin mozivayi naana:
This explains what phonemes are DISPLACED by what phonemes and in what kind of conjugations. For maram+ kuRitu > maraGkuRitu and where we have the ‘m’ displaced with ‘G’
But what is the difference between this and the above where there is an INSERTION of the semivowel?
While in the former there is ADDITION of the semivowels, in the latter we have DISPLACEMENT of one phoneme with another that makes the utterance more convenient. While the Most Distant Transform is one of insertion of an extraneous sound, the Most Intimate Transform is that of DISPLACEMENT of one phoneme with another.
Thus the MEASURE used in the classifications of TRANSFORMS appears to be that of insertion of additional phonemes compared to that of DISPLACEMENT where the former counts as the Most Distant while the latter the Most Intimate.
Thus Tol in his TG phonology in describing the phonemes seem to had the INTENTIONS or not at all of describing also how the phonemes suffer TRANSFORMS when words conjugate and how in such transforms we have either insertion of new phonemes along with the existing or displacement of one phoneme with another and so forth. Thus such phonemic insertions and displacements are phonological TRANSFORMATIONAL processes of the language and which constitute the IlakkaNam of the language.
ULLAGANAR
( Editing and re-paragraphing by his student )
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