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SINGAPORE: One is from Russia and the other is from Japan, but both Professor Alexander Dubyanskiy and Professor Hiroshi Yamashita are experts in a foreign language that they love – Tamil.
These Tamil language professors are among the experts who flew in to Singapore for the month-long Tamil Language Festival, which ended on Sunday.
Prof Yamashita speaks Tamil fluently because he has been researching the language and Indian culture for the past 35 years.
He has even written Tamil books and translated many Tamil novels into Japanese. Some of these novels have also been turned into radio dramas in Japanese.
For this professor from Tohoku University, learning how to speak Tamil was far more challenging than writing it.
"Pronunciation was the greatest challenge for me. Unlike Tamil, the Japanese language does not have that many root letters. So to learn all that and to speak it properly took some time," he said.
But even Japanese who do not understand Tamil are big fans of Tamil movies. Their favourite actor is superstar Rajinikanth who starred in the first Tamil movie to be aired in Japan, called "Muthu".
Prof Yamashita did the subtitling for that movie and many others after that.
"Tamil movies usually have very good plots, so the Japanese like to watch them. The songs are also good. Those by (music director) AR Rahman are very well-liked by many Japanese," the professor said.
Another speaker who wowed the audience at the Tamil Language Festival seminar was Professor Dubyanskiy from Russia.
This literature expert impressed local Indians with his clarity and fluency when he spoke Tamil.
The professor said: "I started learning Tamil in 1965. I was in Moscow University then. A Tamil class was newly created then and there was an Institute of Oriental Languages in Moscow University.
"It concentrated on the languages of the East. It continues to do so till now, but it's now called the Asian and African Department."
Prof Dubyanskiy is currently teaching Tamil and Indian literature in the Moscow State University.
- CNA/so
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