CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar on Monday said Governor RV Arlekar was making efforts to learn Tamil and understand the history and culture of the State.

The remark came during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's Address when DMDK MLA Premalatha Vijayakanth referred to the Governor's difficulties in pronouncing certain Tamil names and words during his address. Premalatha noted that the Governor had made 37 pronunciation errors while reading out the names of Tamil leaders and historical personalities.

Intervening in the discussion, the Speaker said the Governor deserved appreciation for his efforts to correctly pronounce the names despite not being a native Tamil speaker. Sharing a personal experience, Prabhakar said he had encouraged the Governor to learn simple Tamil phrases during their meetings.

"During my interactions with him, I taught him a few Tamil phrases such as 'Nalla irukeengala?' and 'Naan nalla irukken.' He is sincerely trying to learn Tamil and understand the history of Tamil Nadu. We should appreciate that effort," the Speaker said.