Introduce yourself in Malayalam! Malayalam Beginner Lesson 1

[@aparnaa.j.8785]

Hi Eliza. Malayalam speaker here. You may be aware of what I am about to say but just in case you don't, I thought I would share. Really appreciate the channel considering the lack of resources for learning Malayalam. Anyway, you described the three 'n' sounds here i.e. ന, ണ and ഞ. But the ന has two pronunciations, the dental and the alveolar. The old script had a separate alphabet for the the alveolar sound but has now become obsolete. While in most cases differentiating between the two does not change the meaning of a word, however the word തിന്നൂ (thinnu) changes meaning according whether you use the dental or the alveolar. With the dental ന sound it becomes the simple past for the verb തിന്നുക. On the other hand with the alveolar ന, it would become the imperative form of the same verb where the conjugation implies that you are ordering someone to eat (albeit with respect). I have not been able to find any other example where mixing up the alveolar and the dental ന sounds alters the meaning. However words like നന്നായി, നമസ്കാരം and നീ all use the dental ന while the word മനം, വാനം and മനസ്സ് all use the alveolar ന. PS: N in English is alveolar.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thank you so much for clarifying this. I will be sure to include this detail in my upcoming video on pronunciation. Generally i like to give basic information in these lessons, then go into more detail on specific videos :)

[@banklootful]

Implied in Malayalam..The language (Tamil too) would use dental ந at the start to differentiate from alveolar ன

[@cherrybombb2306]

Hi Eli! I’m a malayalee girl who didn’t grow up in India, so I lost the language. I’m a bit scared to learn at home bc of fear of judgement, so I really appreciate your videos. Lots of love

[@vijaynair6161]

I can relate to that cos I am 3rd gen in Malaysia. Unable to speak

[@mangosushii_.]

Learning Malayalam to chat with my long distance friend ❤

[@akshayakawle4655]

I really love your channel. Married to a malayalee. It's been 8 years and we've known each other for the past 16 years. He cannot speak that well. I'm finally learning and your videos are so very helpful. Thank you so much

[@TheSadMas]

I have been with my malayalee partner for 6 years and only now getting started with learning the laungage. I am really looking forward to learn more! Eliza makes it both interesting and meaningful

[@droc9988]

I started to learn Malayalam yesterday. I really like a girl, and even though she speaks perfect English, I want to learn at least some of her native language. Thanks!

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Best of luck!

[@LMARYJ]

Please make more videos! I’m malayali but I don’t speak fluently and my 2023 goal is to get better❤ your videos are great

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Will do! Being pregnant is a bit of an energy sap, but I intend to keep making them slowly!

[@pallavisharma8309]

@@Learn-Malayalam lot's of love to you and baby.. thanks for your videos. Looking forward to more..

[@TheNineone-um7rq]

Wow. This is just superb! Awesome teaching skill. Clear explanation. I doubt even a native could have so fluently expected this in English the way you did. Keep it up

[@sham.saravai]

I was considering to learn malayalam but was not prepared to be taught in English......you just made it so much easier !!!!!!! Thank youuuuu

[@poonpanitrachelcyril2029]

We're living in USA. My mallu husband doesn't teach our daughter Malayalam a bit. Thank you for your class!! My 5yo daughter can now learn her dad's language. She's very comfortable sitting down and listen to your teaching. (she usually doesn't pay much attention if her relatives call her and speak Malayalam to her) I know only how to ask for food and how to chase people away in Malayalam. 😂

[@santhoshkumarkodhandaraman8777]

I'm a tamil guy. Found really helpful in learning malyalam. Thank you Elikutty😊

[@simplysefh]

Elikkutyy😂😂

[@sanobermemon2715]

Thanks for the lessons. I am married to a malayali and am learning now to be able to speak with my in laws who have a lot of love for me but find it difficult to express

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Best of luck! Thank you for watching

[@justincunningham2568]

Thanks!

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thank you 🥰

[@bsanch8]

I love this! I am taking virtual live Malayalam classes but sometimes it is difficult to attend since it is IST and I am in PST time zone... THis is super helpful and accesible to compliment my Learning Malayalam journey... AUM... NAMASKARAM... SANTHI

[@bitanmukherjee6774]

Hi Elikutty! I’m glad I stumbled onto your channel. I spent my college days in Wayanad back in early 2002, when it was a quaint little hamlet, but I didn’t learn how to speak Malayalam properly. My loss, evidently. I’m planning to go and live there again for a year, and I’ll learn to speak Malayalam from your channel, hopefully, in the next few months before I move there. Fingers crossed!

[@michaelavery3964]

WOW! This was a great first video for me to watch. It was very understandable, but also challenging. I had to stretch my brain. that's when the real learning happens. looking forward to your future classes.

[@vyzzkid]

thank you Eli, you are really sweet and its really cool that I am learning malayalam from someone whos not just a non Malayalee, but someone whos not even from the country. The lesson was really good. Thank you, and many blessings to you and your baby. I hope I learn this well, im following you today and plan to do more lessons in the future from you.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thanks for your sweet comment!

[@juliewilliams3401]

I have learned two foreign languages, one fluently. If I ever grasp Malayalam it will be my fourth language. What I needed in the initial dialogues is the English translations, in writing and spoken aloud. I then need each sentence spoken aloud in English, then the Malayam spoken at full speed. Then the Malayalam words spoken one at a time slowly, with time to repeat each one, then the full sentence spoken slowly with time to repeat, then one last time full speed. I then need the dialogue gone through again and any tricky sounds explained one by one with tongue placement. Beginning students also need drills with multiple repititions. I can still recite one of the drills from beginning French from over 40 years ago. It is burned in to my memory, never to be forgotten. Because the initial dialogues had no translations, I was lost and learned almost none of the words. It was excellent that you taught us the three "n" sounds, but the first two times you told us where to place our tongues as well as providing an illustration to look at. The third time you did not explain the illustration. I am in despair of finding resources that will actually teach me the language without getting on a plane. Every teacher teaches some aspects of the language and not others. Please understand that to the Western ear, initially Malayalam is an impenetrable wall of musical sound, like water running over rocks. Because it has its own alphabet, picking up a book and sounding it out is not an option. Only if you are very systematic will it become accessible to the true beginner.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thanks so much for your feedback. I am aware that all learners have different needs and learn in different ways. You can be assured I myself am very aware of the lack of thorough resources for this challenging language. However, I am making these materials in my own free time, balancing my family and work, as I don't make any income or other means to support more robust materials at the time. Do note that I have a separate video for pronunciation of N sounds that has more explanation and listening practice. I hope you find other videos useful, and I will be hosting live lessons weekly for free and uploading more in this series when possible. Thanks again! 🙏🏼

[@cloverwitchyplayz]

I want to pursue my career in Kerala because there's alot of opportunities and also my boyfriend is Malayalee, him and his parents speak both English and Hindi but I still want to be fluent in Malayalam to converse with his grandparents and sister

[@vineets16]

There's no opportunities in Kerala. You're living in a lie. Communist government isn't friendly at all for new business ventures

[@santosme2398]

Elikutty- i am Brazilian living in the USA my husband is a malayali and I would love to learn Malayalam with you.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Hop you can join us on the discord on Mondays :D

[@ShreyaSwami-v5r]

Hello Eliza. So grateful to you for this beginners lessons. I am a Gujarati originally but learning Malayalam because my boyfriend is Malayali. And thus marrying in a Malayali Family. Your videos are being helpful. Now, clearly I can introduce myself when I meet some people. And clearing about aan and aano helped me clear the basics. Thanks a lot. Lots of love.

[@shreyashah2746]

Hey

[@r.sujithchandran2410]

Excellent class. Cleverly structured.

[@swadhinchakraborty1]

Hello Elikutty, I am Swadhin from Bangladesh. I speak four foreign languages, I want to learn Malayalam because the language is very beautiful, It would be very good if you extend the youtube course or you launch a paid course. Thank you.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thank you so much for your comment. I am currently conducting live classes for free on Mondays, as well as working on a coursebook for beginners. I plan to have 30 lessons on KZbin, and add some vocabulary materials as well. You can find my curriculum here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gfLUdIPj7ZFH-a3yHjl-phGZq6A8iZIQda-2dIg3xk8/edit#gid=0

[@supriyaziska8617]

Thank you so much! I am malayalee living in United States. I am trying to learn the language so I can teach my kids.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Best of luck!

[@tejuyeshu3213]

I’m a Kannada language speaker from India & always wanted to learn Malyalam. You are adorable & I am assured that I can learn Malyalam from you

[@vijayanandg7558]

Your teaching is so cute Listening Malayalam from English native speaker 😊 applause for you

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thank you! 😃

[@92ishaan]

Question - Is there a "rrrr" sound while saying Aanu ("To be"). The section starting from 5:29 in the video. Is it Aarne or Aaane or may be something else? Thanks.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

What you're hearing is the retroxflex! I have a separate video on these N sounds in Malayalam- check is out on my pronunciation playlist. Also, it is aanú , long a, retroflex n, and a short clipped -uh sound. Some malayalees say aane in spoken situations.

[@92ishaan]

@@Learn-Malayalam Thank you

[@sumathisubramanian4592]

Thank u Eliza.i like ur channel.. Easy to learn.I have Malayalee friend so i want to learn malayalam language and spoke to her by using their language.

[@morriemollu]

Thank you so much Eli. This first lesson was excellent to grasp and I loved learning just a few characters/sounds too

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@92ishaan]

Can anyone recommend more videos, websites or docs that could help learn Malayalam? There is really so less go to material online. Thanks Eli for creating this. One of the first useful and easy to understand learning materials online.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

I have more resources in my discord server, www.discord.gg/learnmalayalam Also check out the channel @fluentinmalayalam here on youtube

[@daniM753]

Thank you for these lessons. I am a brit who is married to a malayali and has tried many times to learn Malayalam, but never find adequate resources. These lessons really are brilliant and so helpful. Is there any resources you would suggest for things like additional basic reading or listening practice. I am using things like memrise for vocab and asking my wife to pause movies or explain things, but looking for short tasks to help.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Malayalam right now is Very DIY- so you will need to be ready to do a lot of self study/research for extended listening or reading tasks. I would recommend looking at childrens books or even English books translated into malayalam and do a side by side comparison. Storytel Malayalam has a lot of audio books!. Also on youtube you can adjust playback sped, so if you're watching a malayalam show and slow it down to .75 or even .5 speed, it'll help you catch the words more clearly.

[@stefanomanfrin3966]

Hi EliKutty so happy of this channel. I am italian and I lived in Kerala 20 years and could speak and understand but it is 10 years I am in the west and lost it. I was in Amma's Ashram. Now I am in Vancouver. Where do you live? Thanks for the service

[@anglezarabtranslation897]

As a malayali proud of you mam, keep going 🎉❤

[@farazshaikhofficial1179]

Hi Eliza in Faraz from Ajmer my grandfather was from Kerala and I'm from Ajmer it's difficult for me to speak in Malayalam help me to speak Malayalam

[@IsabelRuthMusic]

This video was so helpful when introducing myself and parents to new friends in Kerala. Thank you!! 😊

[@dhee_journey3859]

I really appreciate your videos. it helps me to learn Malayalam Language. Lots of love. Thank you

[@surgeonppm]

Very useful and essential video. Thank you

[@vimalghavanalkar4502]

Really loved the video. It was informative. Please make such more videos.

[@MariamMohamed-pz9xk]

Thank youu so much for providing us these lessons i couldn't really find good sources for malayalam but now finally i can learn it Keep going!!❤❤

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Glad to hear that

[@jimjohnston6848]

Sorry, nothing on the link you provided... Interesting presentation, however. I was struck by how much I understood. I have studied Hindi, Bangla,Tamil and Kannada over the years, especially during my days at University of Minnesota.

[@manoybenrajuybuotan]

Madame may I know how you learned such language since I have a lot of Malayalam friends but I find it hard to learn. The only language I find easy is Nepalese language.

[@heenatalreja9846]

Thank you very much for this video. It helped a lot. Please make more and more videos like this. Your efforts are commendable. 👌🏻👌🏻

[@MrunmaiMenon]

This was a great lesson! Thank you!

[@Burhapahar]

Astonishing.

[@michaelamajtanova8286]

Any recommendation for flash cards with pronunciation such as quizlet? Thanks

[@Learn-Malayalam]

There are a few anki decks out there!

[@yimveerasak3543]

Malayalam is quite tough. I wanted to speak in Malayalam fluently.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Take your time and enjoy the process!

[@chrissyweikoop7931]

heya eliza. thanks for your videos! my mother is from kerala and i am currently trying to learn malayalam to surprise her, because unfortunately she somehow never taught me. i would just wanted you to explain the difference in your writings there. for example in the part "arna". the chapter is "arna", but at the top of the sheet you write it as "Aanú", and below you write it as "anu" with dots and lines. why is it written so differently every time? i get there is something like a phonetic alphabet, but those symbols look completely different from what you are using, so i am at a complete loss. oh, and another question would be, if you know of a good translator for this. i am trying to crosscheck with google translator, but this obviously doesn't work, as it gives completely different results every time. ie. if i query for "I", "to be" and "michelle", it gives out "ai" "aakan" "mishel". but if i type it as a sentence "i am michelle", the result is "njaan mishel". at this point, i don't understand much more than what you explained so far, but your pronunciation sounds to me exactly like when my mother and my aunt are talking, so i am convinced you know much better than some dumb search engine. i hope you don't mind my questions and i am looking forward to your answer. oh and again, thank you so much for your work!

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thanks for your feedback! So what you're hearing as "arnu" is ആണ്, aanù, a long a, a retroflex n, and a short clipped sound. The one with dots and lines is ISO, which is how it would be written with the mst accurate transliteration. The reason you may hear an r is because of where you place your tongue in your mouth. Please see my pronunciation video on the n sounds to help with this. English transliteration to Malayalam is not always helpful, so it's good to familiarize yourself with Malayalam letters so you can work on accurate pronunciation

[@Learn-Malayalam]

And yes, google translate is a mess! DC books has a great dictionary.

[@chrissyweikoop7931]

@@Learn-Malayalam aah, i see. thanks for the quick response and explanation! you are a unbelievably nice and wonderful person. but okay, will try to progress further first. the malayalam letters are really intimidating to me. i have seen my mother wrote them in her diary but i could never make any sense out of it. it looks like a doctors handwriting to me hahaha. many many thanks again and have a truly wonderful day. 😍

[@Dr.ShruthiKotaprolu]

Thank you Eliza 😊

[@FGIMOfficialChannel]

Hi Eli. im trying to understand how u teach but i coudlnt understand at all. i have zero understanding in Malayalam. i tried watching the same video many times yet i dont understand haha....i guess this video is suitable for someone who knows at least a basic malayalam. anyway, thank u for doing this, i can always come back and refer to any of ur video once i understand a little basic.

[@Learn-Malayalam]

It is a tough language for beginners! I will try to incorporate more beginner friendly material in future videos. Can you let me know what helps you study?

[@goodpenfriend]

hi, any chance to access the resources? the link doesn't work anymore

[@Learn-Malayalam]

@@goodpenfriend www.discord.gg/learnmalayalam

[@daily_motivation.892]

I am malayalee and you are speaking well

[@muhammedaslam2461]

From Kerala ♥️

[@roopeshrajmc]

Super 😍

[@noahgeorge7305]

good course!

[@jeswinthomas2238]

hi I am learning malayalam for the 1st time😀

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Swagatham!

[@carefreevibes3873]

Is the second 'n' unique to Malayalam or is it there in other Indian languages as well?

[@Learn-Malayalam]

It's definitely in other languages, just not in my mother tongue so I know English speakers would struggle with it specifically

[@duckduckbro]

Yes, almost all indian languages have it, both dravidian and indo aryan. The one letter exclusive to only malayalam and tamil is 'ഴ', aka the infamous 'zha', which actually sounds like a retroflex american 'r'.

[@feather1229]

@@Learn-Malayalam yes, other Indian languages have them too.

[@nishanthakash]

Its in Kannada as well..

[@shivalikekare2997]

Hey, thank you for your efforts... Just a thought... Can you add Malayalam language in Duolingo?

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Been trying for years!! Many people have volunteered to help make it but it's not given anywhere :( check out Ling app for a decent Malayalam course via app

[@shivalikekare2997]

@@Learn-Malayalam Thank you so much 😊

[@mexid2569]

Yo! Really helpful. Thx

[@devkrishnac.m5631]

I am from Kerala

[@Abhin_Raj]

Iam malayali❤

[@aquelk8294]

what the importance of malayalam language

[@Learn-Malayalam]

what is the importance of any language?

[@niyask4994]

I am a malayaleeee..... 🥰

[@Hellomydear-w9g]

Malayalee won't say 'nandi' just say 'thank you' itself

[@MedinipuriTuka036]

It's still used in pure official malayalam settings like an official document

[@Bro_Edit-m2o]

fire vid

[@manoharan544]

😂കണ്ടത്തിൽ സന്തോഷം എന്നല്ല , കണ്ടതിൽ സന്തോഷം എന്നാണ്( madam I hope you fix pronounce ‘kandathil ‘. in malayalam).

[@Learn-Malayalam]

Thanks for the correction! The spelling കണ്ടെത്തിൽ സന്തോഷം means 'happiness in field'.

[@ElizamarysWorld1705]

that's my name

[@gerardk51]

Why did you learn Malayalam?

[@JokoShelby-kt6hq]

Yeah whyyy….??

[@mithil59]

Chua language

[@xdxd-hn8qb]

My boyfriend is a malayali I really want to talk to him in Malayalam 🥹