Tamil language Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
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{mIl/ IPA: /tæmɪɻ/ |
| Spoken in: | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia |
| Region: | Tamil Nadu and neighboring states |
| Total speakers: | 63 million |
| Ranking: | 18 |
| Genetic classification: |
Dravidian Southern Tamil-Kannada-Telugu Tamil-Kodagu Tamil-Malayalam Tamil Tamil |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1: | ta |
| ISO 639-2: | tam |
| SIL: | TCV |
| Table of contents |
|
2 Classification 3 Geographic distribution 4 Official status 5 Dialects 6 Languages with close similarity 7 Writing system 8 Trivia 9 See also 10 External links |
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.
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.
Quite significantly for its age, Tamil seems to have undergone minimal changes and adaptations over the years. Classical Tamil is quite comprehensible to speakers of the modern language. The ancient Tamil book Tirukkural is an example. The verses from the book are often taught to young students of the language at the primary level, and they pick up the lines in the ancient dialect with little difficulty.
Many English words including katamaran and ginger are originally from tamil (Kattu maram - logs tied together, Ingi).
Classification
Tamil is a member of the Tamil languages group of languages, along with Irula, Kaikadi, Betta Kurumba, Sholaga, Yerukula. The Tamil languages are a subgroup of the Tamil-Malayalam languages, which in turn is a subgroup of Tamil-Kodagu languages, a subgroup of Tamil-Kannada-Telugu languages. The Tamil-Kannada-Telugu languages are a subgroup of the Southern branch of the Dravidian language family.
Geographic distribution
Tamil is spoken mainly in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Tamil is also spoken in Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius.
Official status
Tamil is one of the 22 official languages of India. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Tamil is the first language to be declared classical by the Government of India. Sanskrit is expected to be declared classical soon.
Dialects
Dialects of Tamil identified by the Ethnologue are: Adi Dravida, Aiyar, Aiyangar, Arava, Burgandi, Kasuva, Kongar, Korava, Korchi, Madrasi, Parikala, Pattapu Bhasha, Sri Lanka Tamil, Malaya Tamil, Burma Tamil, South Africa Tamil, Tigalu, Harijan, Sanketi, Hebbar, Tirunelveli, Madurai. Other known dialects are Kongu and Kumari.
Languages with close similarity
Malayalam spoken by the people around the hilly ranges bordering Kerala and Tamil Nadu states is very similar to Tamil in vocabulary, syntax and script. Hence it is hypothesised to have been evolved from a dialect of Tamil called Koduntamil or Malaithamil (literally Tamil of the mountains).
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 CE. Later, the Grantha script was employed to write the Tamil language until the 8th century CE when a distinctive script evolved to exclusively write the language. The system has changed little since; Thanthai Periyar suggested certain reforms to the alphabets in 1935 and a few of them were implemented around 1975 by MG Ramachandran and followed since then.
This is an Article on Tamil language. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Tamil language Writing system
Main article: Tamil alphabetTrivia
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]See also
External links
Learning 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.
Fonts and Encodings
Discussions
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