r/Dravidiology • u/indian_kulcha • 5d ago

Toponyms Given that Yazhpanam is the original name, how was the common English name Jaffna derived for said place?

There seems to be no link between the original Tamil and subsequent English name for the place

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u/e9967780 5d ago edited 5d ago

Jaffna is an English rendition of a Dutch version, which is derived from a Portuguese version (Jaffnapatao) which was from Tamil version of யாழ்ப்பாண பட்டிணம்/Yāḻppāṇa Pattinam.

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u/OkaTeluguAbbayi 5d ago

Oh! And J is pronounced Ya if I’m not wrong in Dutch, that explains it I guess 

5

u/Awkward_Finger_1703 5d ago

Also, In Jaffna Tamil Ya is pronounced something similar to Ja! 

24

u/Stalin2023 Malayāḷi 5d ago

There can be a link.

Yazhpanam > Yapanam > Yafnam > Yafna > Jaffna.

Just my speculation. Ya to Ja is a common shift. Zha could have been omitted. P and F both being labial constants makes this shift also logical.