Madras Bashai
Madras Bashai is a pidgin language or a dialect of Tamil language influenced by Indian English, Telugu, Malayalam, Burmese and Hindustani spoken in the city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu; it is not mutually intelligible with any of those except for Tamil, to a certain extent. The word bashai derives from the Sanskrit word bhasha, meaning "language", which means Mozhi in Tamil.
Madras Bashai evolved largely during the past three centuries. It grew in parallel with the growth of cosmopolitan Madras. After Madras Bashai became somewhat common in Madras, it became a source of satire for early Tamil films from the 1950s, in the form of puns and double entendres. Subsequent generations in Chennai identified with it and absorbed English constructs into the dialect, making it what it is today.
Evolution
Madras Bashai evolved largely during the past three centuries. With its emergence as an important city in the British Empire when they recovered it from the French and as the capital of Madras Presidency, the contact with western world increased and a number of English words crept into the vocabulary. Many of these words were introduced by educated, middle-class Tamil migrants to the city who borrowed freely from English for their daily usage. Due to the presence of a considerable population of Telugu, Hindi and many other language-speakers, especially, the Gujaratis, Marwaris and some Muslim communities, some Hindi words, too, became a part of Madras Bashai. At the turn of the 20th century, though preferences have since shifted in favor of the Central and Madurai Tamil dialects, the English words introduced during the early 20th century have been retained.Madras Bashai is generally considered a dialect of the working class like the Cockney dialect of English. Lyrics of gaana songs make heavy use of Madras Bashai.
Vocabulary
A few words unique to Madras Bashai are given below; an Internet project, urban Tamil, has set out to collect urban Tamil vocabulary.| Standard Tamil | Madras bashai | Meaning |
| appuram | Appālikā,appāllē | Afterwards |
| anñkē | Annana | There |
| kōpam | Gaandu | Anger |
| Mosamana | Attu | Worst, derived from the Burmese term အတု - meaning 'duplicate' |
| bayam, | mersal | Fear |
| nandraga Illai | mokka | Derived from the Burmese term မကောင်းဘူး, meaning 'not good' |
| dhaṭavai | Dhabā | times- Derived from Hindustani - Dafa |
| ēmatṟukiṟatu | Dabaikirathu | Fooling |
| kial seivathu | Kalāikirathu | To tease- Derived from Malayalam - Kali aakunnu. |
| santhosham | Gūjjāallu | Happy |
| kaal saṭṭai | Nikkāru | From the English word Knickers which means shorts or Trousers |
| viraivil viṭṭu | Apeetu | To exit quickly/Vanish from the spot. Derived from English word abate |
| Nalla irukku | Sokkha irukeethu | Looking good - Derived from Urdu- Shauq- Passionate |
; Words borrowed from other languages
| Madras bashai | Meaning | Source |
| Dūbaakoor | Fraudster | From the English word dubash which, itself, is a derivative of the Hindusthani word "Do bhasha", usually, used to refer to interpreters and middlemen who worked for the British East India Company. As in the early 19th century, dubashes such as Avadhanum Paupiah were notorious for their corrupt practices, the term "dubash" gradually got to mean "fraud" |
| Nainā | Father | From the Telugu word Nāyanāh |
| Bēmānī | Swearword; meaning unclear | Derived from the Urdu word Bē Imān meaning "a dishonest person" |
| Gabbu | Bad Smell | Derived from colloquial Telugu Gobbu |
| Gammu | Silent, peaceful | Derived from colloquial Telugu gommuni |
| Bīscōthū | Sub-standard | Derived from the English word "biscuit" |
| Kūnthu | Sit down | Derived from ancient Tamil |
| Dhūddū, Dabbū | Money | Derived from Telugu |
| Galeeju | Yucky | Derived from the Urdu word, Galeez |
| Kasmalam | Dirty | Derived from the Sanskrit word "Kasmalam" meaning dirty, discardable |
| Yegīrī | To jump | Usual Tamil word |
| Bējār | Problem | Derived from Hindusthani |
| Figure | A beautiful girl | From English. Used by youngsters |
| Correct | To Impress A Girl. | From English. Used by youngsters |
| O. C. | Free-of-cost | From English. During the East India Company rule, letters posted on behalf of the East India Company did not bear postage stamps, but had the words 'On Company's Service' or 'OC' written on them. The word "O. C." gradually got to mean something which was offered free-of-cost |