This American spent 20 years to learn Tamil


Brian Linebaugh during the shooting of his documentary. Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
Brian Linebaugh pauses to think. They are tasked with the hardest thing yet: sing.
After a few seconds, he breaks into an impromptu rendition of ‘Nenje Ansai’, a Rajinikanth song he used to hum many years ago. Rather sheepishly, he says, “Sorry, but this is the best I can do.”
He can’t sing, but he can speak. He instigates a Thirukural with flair. He has read Subramanya Bharatiyar and even recited the text of the popular song, ‘Sentamizh Naadu’.
Brian Linebaugh is an American data engineer based in California, USA. But that is not all; He has also had a fascination for the Tamil language for two decades and has put it all down, complete with visuals, in the form of a documentary titled ‘Beyond Words’.
drawn to language
Brian’s fascination with Tamil began when he heard the language being spoken among Indian children at his school in California. “There was something about it that attracted me,” he recalls. While other American kids in his class would go for guitar or football classes, Brian would attempt to speak basic Tamil words. “I bought some books on learning Tamil, and even learned to say words like ‘manjal’ (yellow), ‘shivappu’ (read) and ‘ganyaru’ (Sunday), but I really wanted to speak it fluently. For that, I realized I needed to interact with people in social situations.”
So, when he was 19, Brian made the most radical decision of his life. He packed his bags, traveled alone for a thousand miles and landed in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. “I was just blown away by everything there,” he recalls, “the sights, the sounds and… the language.”
In Madurai, Brian found a retired Tamil professor to teach him the basics of Tamil. Staying in his own home and following the traditional Guru-Sishya methodology, Brian’s mornings would be devoted to theoretical classes, right from the alphabet to sentence formation. “But the real magic happened in the afternoon,” he says, with a twinkle in his eye, “I would try to blend in with people.” On some days, he would try to bargain for bananas at a street corner, while on other evenings, he would inquire with drivers at a nearby auto stand about the fare to visit the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. “Repeating the language and observing how they responded was important to gaining some level of competency,” he says.

After a few months, Brian came back to the US to pursue a Masters degree in Tamil under the renowned Professor George Hart at the University of California, Berkeley. “It is a huge undertaking to learn both written and spoken language. To a native speaker, this may not be a big deal since they are similar, but to a foreigner, it is almost like learning two different languages. ,
Brian Linebaugh | Photo Credit: Thamodaran B
different aspects
All this has helped Brian immensely while filming his recent documentary, one that had him speaking to over 200 people in four countries (India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore) where Tamil is spoken. “My initial thought with the documentary was to highlight the different spoken Tamil dialects. When we saw the footage, we realized we had more than language… The aim of the film became a celebration of Tamil culture and arts, with the participants speaking in the local dialect. ,
Beyond Words – Stories from the Tamil Landscape, By Brian and his wife Janaki Seethraman,It recently had its world premiere at the Jaipur International Film Festival and is eyeing a streaming deal. It is in Tamil, with English subtitles. “What we bring to life are regional arts, from therukoothu (Street Theatre) tholpaavkoothu (Shadow Puppet). We should see and encourage these art forms,” says Brian, who is also a fan of Tamil cinema, having followed the works of Bharathiraja and Bhagayaraj.
If there’s one aspect of Tamil culture that stands out for Brian, it’s this Veerundhombal (hospitality). “Even if you are a stranger, you are treated like family. During the filming of the documentary, we were in a remote village in the Kongu region and wanted to interview an old woman who was making cubes with palm sugar. Every two minutes, she would ask us, ‘oru chai vachi tharva‘(Shall I make tea for you?) or’Pasikudha? Ida Tartama“(Are you hungry? Should I bring something to eat?). Here was a woman who was struggling to make ends meet, but she embraced us like family. When I think about that day So I was really tearing up. It was very emotional,” recalls Brian.
Although he speaks Tamil with flair, Bryan is not yet confident about his conversational skills. “I’ve been at this for 20 years, but I still have difficulties. It’s hard,” he says, before promising, “Next time we meet, I will speak to you completely in Tamil.” , Nanga Katirukirom (We are waiting),
published – January 27, 2025 10:02 PM IST
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