Translation and Applied Language Skills: Tamil–Hindi/English
Translation and Applied Language Skills: Tamil–Hindi/English and idiom
This section tests மொழிபெயர்ப்பு (translation) between Tamil and Hindi or English, plus மரபுத்தொடர் (idiomatic usage). The examiner looks for meaning, grammar and register, not a word-for-word transposition.
Core rules
- Translate the sentence, not the words. Tamil word order is subject–object–verb; English is subject–verb–object.
- Keep tense, number, person and honorific level. 'நீங்கள்' is polite plural, not ordinary 'you.'
- Render Tamil case relations with the right Hindi postposition or English preposition.
- Idioms are single units: translate the sense, not the picture.
- After translating, read the target sentence aloud to check naturalness.
Worked example
Tamil: 'அவன் கையில் பணம் இல்லை.' Literal: 'In his hand there is no money.' Correct English: 'He has no money.' Correct Hindi: 'उसके पास पैसे नहीं हैं.' Reasoning: Tamil expresses possession with the locative 'கையில்' ('in the hand'); English and Hindi use 'have' and 'पास.' A literal translation is grammatically English but not idiomatic.
Idiom example: 'கை நீட்டுதல்' literally 'stretching the hand,' but in context it means begging or asking for money. Translate it as 'to beg' or 'to ask for money,' not 'to stretch the hand.'
Traps
- Translating idioms literally.
- Dropping the honorific distinction.
- Shifting past tense to present.
- Using the wrong Hindi gender or postposition.
- Adding information to make the sentence sound better.
Checking routine
Compare subject, verb, tense and negation, then check idiom and register.