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The labial vowels are the six following: u, ú, o, ó,
and 'au' and labial 'a'.
25. How many kinds are there of the letter 'a'?
Two, viz. pure 'a' and palatal 'a'. The final 'a' in 'nalla',
'pala', 'tara' is pure 'a'. The final 'a' which is heard
in 'par̥a', 'aṇa', 'tala’ etc. is the Malayálam palatal 'a',
which in Tamil would be written 'ei' (parei, aṇei,
talei). When any addition is made to the word this
'a' may become 'e'.
Ex: talekku, malekkal, aṇechchu, (but par̥ańńu).
26. How many kinds are there of the letter 'u'?
Two, viz. full 'u' and half 'u'.
Ex: šišu, teru, vannu; in these and similar words, the final
'u' has its full sound; the half 'u' occurs also at the end of
words; on account of its shortness some people when writing
omit it.
Ex: kaṇ, kaṇṇu, kaṇṇa. If an accent be written above the usual
form for the half 'u' this letter will be sufficiently indicated.
In poetry it is always written just like full 'u'.
Ex: atu pozhutu víṇu marichchu,
read atŭ pozhutŭ víṇŭ marichchu.
27. Are there any peculiarities in the pronunciation of
the other vowels?
The letter 'a', in 'an', 'ar', and with 'ga', 'ja', 'ḍa',
'da', 'ba' etc. or their aspirates, as well as with the
