Tanglish

Tanglish
Thanglish
தமிங்கிலம்
Pronunciationˌt̪əˈmɪŋgɪləm
RegionTamil Nadu, SE Asia, North America
EthnicityTamil
mixed TamilEnglish
  • Tanglish
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)

Tanglish (Tamil: தமிங்கிலம், pronounced [ˌt̪əˈmɪŋgɪləm]) refers to the macaronic code-mixing or code-switching of the Tamil and English languages, in the context of colloquial spoken language. In the context of colloquial written language, Tanglish refers to the transliteration of Tamil text in English, with extensive usage of English vocabulary.

The name is a portmanteau of Tamil and English, and has taken various forms over time. The earliest form is Tamilish (dating from 1972), then Tinglish (1974), Tamglish (1991), Tamlish (1993), Thanglish (1997), and Tanglish (1999).[1]

  1. ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 31-32. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam