Tamil Nadu 'Corrects' English Names of 1,018 Places Across the State

While changes appear minimal in some cases, as in Vepery now being spelt Vepperi, they are significant in others where they follow the tradition Tamil names.

The Wire Staff

While changes appear minimal in some cases, as in Vepery now being spelt Vepperi, they are significant in others where they follow the tradition Tamil names.

tamil nadu corrects english names of 1 018 places across the state

Chennai Egmore station. Photo: Flickr/Wilson Loo Kok Wee CC BY NC ND 2.0

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order to 'correct' the names of 1,018 places in English. These places are spread over all the 37 revenue districts of the state. The order was issued following an announcement made by minister for culture and Tamil development, Mafoi K. Pandiyarajan, in the state assembly.

The government order has specified the norms for writing in English the names of these places. It has come after committees set up in each district recommended how the names should be spelt.

In accordance with the recommendations, the state government identified the names of 1,018 places for correction. It has now entrusted the revenue and municipal administration departments to carry out these changes within their jurisdiction.

The government order has provided all the names in the form of a four-column tabulated list. The columns specify the names as they are pronounced in Tamil, as they are spelt in English at present, the change suggested and the change finally ordered.

As such in the case of Tondairpet in Chennai district while the Tamil place name was 'Thandaiyarpettai', in English it was spelt as 'Tondairpet'. The government order has gone with the final recommendation of the committee which has directed that it be written as 'Thandaiyaarpettai' in English.

Similarly in the case of 'Vepery' in Chennai, the name would now be spelt as 'Vepperi' in English. Incidentally, this is how it is also pronounced in Tamil.

While in the case of Vepperi, the change appears minimal, in some the spellings would change significantly.

Egmore in Chennai would now be spelt as 'Ezhumboor’ and the new spelling would also be reflected in the station by that name. Coimbatore will now be spelt as Koyampuththoor.

Similarly, in the case of 'Thiruvallikeni', another old settlement of Chennai, the spelling would undergo a drastic change in English from 'Triplicane' to 'Thiruvallikkeni', which is the same as how it is spelt in Tamil.

This article went live on June twelfth, two thousand twenty, at forty minutes past three in the afternoon.

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