Well, Susan Abraham, 32, sat down on it, and zoomed on ‘lulu’. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, lulu is an informal word for something or someone “remarkable or wonderful”.
This is just one gem from the Thiruvalla-native’s social media page, ‘Susamma talks’. It’s a trove of English words for commonly used Malayalam words and phrases.
Take ‘kalippante kanthaari’. That’s fury’s Tabasco, quips Susan. ‘Alamban’? A tearaway. Okay. Olakkede moodu? Strikhedonia!
“The main motive behind ‘Susamma talks’ is not just to introduce new words, but to use language in a polished manner,” says Susan, an IELTS trainer.
“By analysing how a language is used, I realised that I should teach people language in a fun way. Also, one should be able to articulate in a refined manner. The derogatory comments you see on social media is proof of how brutally languages are being used.”
brought up in the Middle East, Susan served as a banking coach for almost a decade in Thiruvananthapuram. But she related herself more with communication, the English language. Susan aspired to take classes for women, especially older ones. Later, she started started an IELTS training centre in Kottayam. In 2015, Susan took to social media as a content creator focusing on English.
Not knowing any technicalities of YouTube, Susan says, she assumed her videos would get millions of views. In reality, she struggled. “In a day my videos would get four views! In 10 days, there would be, say, 1,000 views. But that was a huge deal back then,” she laughs.
“At that time, my best friend (and now husband), Marc Antony known as ‘Thaadikkaran’ on social media, came down to support me. He, too, had a tough entry into YouTube. His channel on food had initially failed to click. But his ‘bucket chicken’ video became a hit. That motivated me.”
Fun content
“I’m jovial and full of energy, expressive as well,” says Susan. “The institutes I’ve worked with before had asked me to tone down. This made me mould myself into a serious person, concealing my fun side. That affected my initial videos. I presented sessions as if I was taking a coaching class. My husband noticed that, and helped me come out of the serious mould.”
Subsequently, Susan’s tongue-twister videos, peppered with punchy dialogues, saw the rise of ‘Susamma talks.’ Then, she began introducing English words. “I’m not an expert; the outcome is the result of research. People’s impromptu queries on words and phrases have helped me,” says Susan. Though Susan receives suggestions from many, most of the words are from her thought process. Just like how ‘bukateria’ came. It’s the English word for ‘thattukada’.
“I invested so much time on this word. My research process is quite lengthy. What I do is, instead of going for the word, I’ll see in which emotion the phrase is conveyed,” explains Susan. “For example, ‘olakkede moodu’ loosely means ‘to hell with’ -- the emotion here is frustration. Then I look up its synonyms to see which one goes well with the phrase. Once that is found, I’ll search for its etymology.”
Malayalam & Malayalis
Susan says Malayalam has several interesting phrases and words, like umbakka for evil spirits. “Through my videos, I’m giving Malayalis the option English alternatives,” she adds. “Many Malayalis have an aversion towards English. Some tease those who speak in English, and refuse to learn new words. Some are hesitant to speak in English.
And the Malayali accent, too, is a matter of concern for many. A change in attitude is needed to overcome these hurdles.” Through her one-minute videos, Susan also intends to motivate people to stop being pretentious on social media.
“Most people speak with a fake face. I emphasise the importance of being oneself,” says Susan, who has been a victim of body shaming. Those barbs hurt, she says. “But we have to move on. The setbacks and scars helped me grow,” signs off Susan, who aspires to become an actor.