This American learnt Tamil on Skype and Twitter

A native of Chicago, Samantha Ryan is a popular figure on Twitter, especially among Tamil speaking Twitteratis. If you scroll through her profile on social media, you can see her interacting with Twitter users on how to learn Tamil language. A lead admin in a corporate company, Samantha shares with us how she fell in love with Tamil culture and the language.

“I heard the song Munbe Vaa in 2011 and was desperate to see the movie, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, because I loved it so much. I actually learned the song even though I didn’t know the meaning of a single word. I fell in love with the language and always wanted to formally learn it,” she tells us.

While finding ways to learn the language, she met her fiancé, Kannan, at a function. “He was trying to start a conversation and asked me which Indian food I liked the most. Since I had previously lived in Kerala, I asked him is it north or south because my answer will be different. Hearing this, he was shocked and we became friends,” says Samantha.

On Twitter, she asks doubts about the language and receives numerous replies within minutes. “I searched online for tutors because books don’t really help with pronunciation, accent, doubts, etc. I found a person called Karthika in Chennai — she started teaching me via Skype. She was amazing and really gave me a great foundation to build on. For the past couple of months I’ve been focused more on my confidence and practising, so I’ve taken a break from her and is focusing more on communication with the Tamil community on Twitter for practice. The other day I had asked the context for the verb thangu (stay) and whether it was for stay here or where do you stay. They help me practise reading and correct my writing. I’ve enrolled in a Tamil course in a local school run by Tamil Sangam to help strengthen my foundation a bit. Even though I am the only foreigner and the only adult, the school authorities have been so welcoming and helpful,” she shares.

Samantha admits that she knows to speak and write Tamil, a bit slowly. “I’m overcritical of myself and make mistakes, so I try to communicate with great care to avoid errors. The toughest word for me to speak is anything with the letter ‘zh’. People say that I pronounce it well, but it takes me an extra second to say those words,” says the 29-year-old.

An ardent fan of Vijay Sethupathy, Thalapathy Vijay and Rajinikanth, she loves to watch romantic and drama stories. “Kollywood is my favourite film industry and I love the way Tamil movies aren’t afraid to have bad endings. They show life in all of its happiness or sadness and I think it’s really admirable. Apart from Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, I also love 96 and Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom,” she sums up.