Spoken and written tamil
Vanakkam :)

I'm aware spoken and formal written Tamil are distinct/different, but not 100% sure how it works in practice - are words spelt said very differently...?
eg is it correct that 'என் பெயர்' is pronounced 'em peru' in spoken tamil, but written as 'en peyar;...?

Your insight would be appreciated...Also, side note... Can you please tell me the meaning and usage pattern of 'அப்போ'...? Is it an expression of surprise....?

Question

Spoken and written tamil
Vanakkam :)

I'm aware spoken and formal written Tamil are distinct/different, but not 100% sure how it works in practice - are words spelt said very differently...?
eg is it correct that 'என் பெயர்' is pronounced  'em peru' in spoken tamil, but written as 'en peyar;...?

Your insight would be appreciated...Also, side note... Can you please tell me the meaning and usage pattern of 'அப்போ'...? Is it an expression of surprise....?

Answer

Hi,
You are correct, spoken tamil is always differ from written tamil, like other languages like English....
And also the spoken tamil can differ by every district in tamilnadu. Each district has it's own slang. 
Example: Vannakkam, in chennai slang vanggo, in Coimbatore slang vanakkamunga like that... So it will be difficult some what..

Like you said, en payar - spoken: em peru, 
En oor (my place), spoken: en ooru,
Appo means before... I think, there is no surprising factor in appo
Yeppo means when?
Ippo means now

Thanks,
Mekala