| Kongu Tamil | |
|---|---|
| கொங்கு தமிழ் | |
| Pronunciation | Koṅku Tamil |
| Native to | West part ofTamil Nadu and some parts ofKarnataka,Kerala |
| Region | Kongu Nadu |
| Ethnicity | Kongu Vellalar |
Native speakers | (undated figure of ~25 million[citation needed]) |
Early forms | |
| Tamil script | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  India (Tamil Nadu) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
 Distribution of native Tamil speakers in India and Sri Lanka | |
Kongu Tamil orKovai Tamil (also called Kongalam, Kongu Pechu, Coimbatore Tamil) is the dialect ofTamil language that is spoken by the people inKongu Nadu, which is the western region ofTamil Nadu. It is originally known as "Kangee"`[1] or "Kongalam"[2] or "Kongappechu or Kongu bashai or Coimbatore Tamil".
The speciality of Kongu Tamil is the use of thealveolar ற - Tra/Dra (as in the English word track) instead ofretroflex T/D (ட) of standard Tamil. For example, 'ennuDaiya' (mine) of standard Tamil is pronounced enRa in the Kongu dialect. However, only Coimbatore district people use this. It is said to share close affinity with the Kannada language. This dialect of Tamil also uses many loan words from Kannada language.[citation needed]
Additionally the use of guttural nasal (ங்) that sounds "ng" as in the English word Gang, is more prevalent in Kongu Tamil, leading to situations where the grammar of Kongu Tamil would not fit into the grammar of standard Tamil. One of the examples is the use of ங் to end a word like வாங் "vaang" or வாஙொ "vango" means 'come' expressed in a respectful tone, which in Standard Indian Vernacular Tamil would be வாங்க "vaanga". Both of these arestereotyping Kongalam with regional, professional variations.[citation needed]
Kongu Tamil also uses certain Tamil words that are archaic to Kongu region and are not used in other dialects of modern Tamil.[3][4]
In the southern part of Mysore the Tamil language is at this day named the Kangee, from being best known to them as the language of the people of Kangiam
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