Online Encyclopedia
Categories: Classical languages | Tamil | Dravidian languages | Languages of India | Languages of Sri Lanka
Tamil language
Tamil is one of the Dravidian languages. It is one of the Classical languages of the world.
The 'l' in the word 'Tamil' is pronounced like a retroflex 'r', and is often transliterated as "zh". The letter 'ழ' which is found in 'தமிழ்' (Tamil) is believed to have unique pronunciation and not found in any other languages. See Tamil alphabet.
Tamil (தமிழ்) | |
---|---|
Pronunciation (Approximate; no phonetic symbol available yet for the unique final 'l'): |
tha-mi-zh SAMPA: /t{mIr\`/ IPA: /tæmɪɻ/ |
Spoken in: | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia |
Region: | Tamil Nadu and neighboring states |
Total speakers: | 63 million |
Ranking: | 18 |
Genetic classification: |
Dravidian |
Official status | |
Official language of: | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1: | ta |
ISO 639-2: | tam |
SIL: | TCV |
Contents |
History
Tamil's origins are independent of Sanskrit (which is from the Indo-European language family and the ancestor of many Indian languages). The oldest available book on Tamil Grammar is Tolkaappiyam, which is said to be the world's oldest surviving grammar for any language, published c. 6th century BC.
The earliest records date from inscriptions from 200 BC. Other early works exist, which were preserved on manuscripts made by palm-leaf and through oral transmission. Part of this rich and varied literary output includes a Tamil indigenous grammatical tradition independent of that of the ancient Sanskrit grammarians. The earliest text which describes the language of the classical period is the Tolkappiyam (dating from around 200 BC); another dates from the year 1000 AD.
Three stages appear in the written records: ancient (200 BC to 700), medieval (700 - 1500) and modern (1500 to the present). Sometime between 800 AD and the turn of the millennium, Malayalam, a very closely related Dravidian language, split off and became a distinct language.
During the medieval period, Tamil absorbed many loan words from Sanskrit in the verbal system, but in the 1900s attempts were made to purge Tamil of its Sanskrit loans with the result that modern scientific and bureaucratic terminology is Tamil-based and not Sanskrit-based as in other Indic languages.
Writing system
Main article: Tamil alphabet
The Tamil script evolved from the Grantha script of the Southern Indian group of scripts. Interestingly, the Tamil language is one of the oldest recorded languages in southern India. The earliest texts, written in a southern variant of Brahmi, date from just before the 1st century AD. Later, the Grantha script was employed to write the Tamil language until the 8th century when a distinctive script evolved. The system has changed little since; Thanthai Periyar suggested certain reforms to the alphabet in 1935 and a few of them were implemented around 1975 by MG Ramachandran and followed since then.
Trivia
According to Today Translations, a British translation service, the Tamil word "செல்லாதிருப்பவர்" (sellaathiruppavar, meaning certain type of truancy †) is ranked 8th in The Most Untranslatable Word In The World list. It is also the only Indian word listed. [1] http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.php/fuseaction/home.content/page/press
See also
- Tamil language Wikipedia http://ta.wikipedia.org
- Tamil literature
External links
Learning Tamil
- University of Pennsylvania's web based courses for learning and teaching Tamil http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/tamilweb/
- Tamil virtual University http://www.tamilvu.org/ has the largest collection of digitised Tamil literary works and web based courses for learning and teaching Tamil
Recognition of Tamil as a classical language
Tamil has been declared a classical language by the Indian government. These links are about that news.
-
Tamil to be declared classical language http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200409171719.htm?headline=Tamil~to~be~de
clared~classical~language - The Hindu newspaper article - India sets up classical languages http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3667032.stm - BBC article
- The classical status of Tamil http://www.hindu.com/2004/06/09/stories/2004060903251500.htm - The Hindu newspaper article
- Statement on the Status of Tamil as a Classical Language http://tamil.berkeley.edu/Tamil%20Chair/TamilClassicalLanguage/TamilClassicalLge
Ltr.html - University of California, Berkeley - Tamil - A Living Classical Language http://www.kuttyjapan.com/tamilar/classicaltamil.asp
- India's President Abdul Kalam announcing that Tamil will be declared a classical language http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/eventslatest1.jsp?id=587 - see item 41
- Tolkappiyam, the earliest available work on Tamil grammar, cannot be dated earlier than the 2nd century A.D. http://www.flonnet.com/fl2013/stories/20030704000207100.htm - Frontline article
- But the Tamil-Brahmi script may be at least 2,800 years old http://www.hinduonnet.com/2004/05/26/stories/2004052602871200.htm - The Hindu news about archaeological discovery at Adichanallur , Tamil Nadu; dated May 26, 2004
Fonts and Encodings
- Unicode Converter http://www.suratha.com/reader.htm - Online JavaScript tool to convert various Tamil encodings into Unicode
- Unicode Chart http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0B80.pdf - Unicode Chart for Tamil (in PDF)
- thamizh fonts http://www.angelfire.com/empire/thamizh/1/aanGilam/ - Has list of almost all Tamil fonts to download.
- NLS Information http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/nlsweb/default.asp?submitted=449 - NLS Information page for Windows XP
Discussions
- Agathiyar http://groups.yahoo.com/group/agathiyar/ , an extensive discussion list for Tamil Culture
- Kalaivani http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kalaivani/ , a Malaysian Tamil Information Exchange
- Thamizmanam http://www.thamizmanam.com/tamilblogs/index.php , a hub for blogs in Tamil language
Other
- A brief review of its history and features http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5180/tamil7.html
- Ethnologue report for Tamil http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=TCV
- Tamil inayam http://www.tamil.net/ - Has Project Madurai http://www.tamil.net/projectmadurai/ , a voluntary effort to archive Tamil works and make them available to everyone on the internet.
- Tamil Ringtones http://www.sms-india.com/tamil_ringtones.html
- UCLA Tamil Profile http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/profiles/proft02.htm
Categories: Classical languages | Tamil | Dravidian languages | Languages of India | Languages of Sri Lanka