Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s17.t1: 6.17.1 Doubling of consonants in loanwords
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s17.t1
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6.17.1 Doubling of consonants in loanwords
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As may be expected, avoidance of doubling of consonants is more pronounced in loanwords from Prakrit.² (In the following examples, the basic consonant not in the original is shown within brackets.)
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(e.g.) *a(s)sutaṉ* (3.7.b), *āy(c)ca-* (55.5.a), *upa(c)caṉ* (9.¹), *ka(s)sapaṉ* (45.²), *ta(c)caṉ* (73.8),
*-pu(t)ta* (80.1.b), *-pu(t)tō* (59.1.b), *vi(s)suvaṉ* (27.2.b), *sa(p)pami(t)tā* (41.1);
(cf. also) **ū ti rā ṇa** for *u(t)tiraṉ* (legend on a coin from Sri Lanka).³
**mi ti rā ṇa** for *mi(t)tiraṉ* (legend on a gold ring from Karur).⁴
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¹ See, for example, Nos. *1, 8, 9, 12, 13, 24*, etc., in the Corpus for the occurrence of doubled consonants in the Early Period. Subrahmanya Aiyer's observations that "doubling of consonants came into later use in the Tamil language" and that its absence "is a telling feature of (the) records" (1924: p. 288) are incorrect. He did not read the longest inscription at Mangulam (No. *1* in the present Corpus) which contains no fewer than five of the earliest instances of doubled consonants. His own reading of the Anaimalai inscription (No. *60* in the present Corpus) has two more instances. He missed two more instances in the Kongarpuliyankulam inscriptions (Nos. *12* and *13* in the present Corpus).
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² See Appendix V for the word list in Indo-Aryan and Appendix VI for a few more doubtful items.
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³ See No. 5, Table 1.6.
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⁴ See No. 3, Table 1.8 and Fig. 1.23 E.
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Loanwords are sometimes written with doubled consonants, no doubt reflecting the influence of the local language:
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(e.g.) *attuvāyi* (read *attavāyi*) (60.6), *atiṭṭāṉam* (63.6), *cāttaṉ* (85.⁴.b), *dhammam* (1.³), *viyakkaṉ* (84.4.a).
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There are occasional hypercorrect doubling of consonants in loanwords reflecting the unsettled orthographic convention:
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(e.g.) *atiṭṭāṇṇam* (for *atiṭṭāṉam*) (64.¹), *vāṇṇikaṉ* (for *vāṇikaṉ*) (70.1.c).