NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Tamil language

Tamil (தமிழ் tamiḻ; IPA: [t̪ɐmɨɻ]) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people, originating on the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the oldest languages in the world. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius, and Réunion, as well as emigrant communities around the world.^[1] It is the administrative language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and the first Indian language to be declared as a classical language by the government of India in 2004, followed by Sanskrit.^[9]^[10] This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. ... A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... This is a sub-classification of the Dravidian family of languages. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Tamil-Kodagu languages are a subcategory of the Dravidian language family, and include Tamil, Malayalam, and other simmilar languages. ... The Tamil-Malayalam languages are a subcategory of the Dravidian language family, and include Tamil, Malayalam, and related dialects. ... Writing systems of the world today. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sri_Lanka. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Singapore. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Image File history File links Example. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas (writing systems) used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria, descended from the BrÄhmÄ« script of Mauryan India. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A romanization or latinization is a system for representing a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, where the original word or language used a different writing system. ... The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 26 languages that are mainly spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka, as well as certain areas in Pakistan, Nepal, and eastern and central India. ... Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are a multi-ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... India is subdivided into 28 states, 6 union territories and a National Capital Territory. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... languages redirects here. ... Judiciary Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India High Courts District Courts Elections Political Parties Local & State Govt. ...

Tamil literature has existed for over two thousand years.^[11] The earliest epigraphic records found date from around the third century BCE^[12] and the Tolkāppiyam (தொல்காப்பியம்), the oldest known treatise in Tamil, has been dated variously between 2nd century BCE and 10th century CE.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] Similarly, the earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is dated to between the 2nd century BCE and 10th century CE.^[13]^[19] Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum. ... BCE redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Tolkaappiyar be merged into this article or section. ... Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 200 BCE and 300 CE.[1][2] This collection contains 2381 poems written by 473 poets, some 102 of whom are anonymous authors[3]. The period during which these poems were written is commonly referred to...

Tamil employs agglutinative grammar, where suffixes are used to mark noun class, number, and case, verb tense and other grammatical categories. Tamil's standard metalanguage (the language used for naming its technical and linguistic terms) is itself Tamil, as opposed to the Sanskrit that is standard for most other Dravidian languages.^[20]^[21] According to a 2001 survey, there were 1,863 newspapers published in Tamil, of which 353 were dailies.^[22] For the music festival, see Agglutination Metal Festival. ... In linguistics, the term noun class refers to a system of categorizing nouns. ... For other uses of number, see number (disambiguation). ... In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun indicates its grammatical function in a greater phrase or clause; such as the role of subject, of direct object, or of possessor. ... Grammatical tense is a way languages express the time at which an event described by a sentence occurs. ... In logic and linguistics, a metalanguage is a language used to make statements about other languages (object languages). ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ...

Classification

Tamil belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages, a family of around twenty-six languages native to the Indian subcontinent.^[23] It is sometimes classified as being part of a Tamil language family, which alongside Tamil proper, also includes the languages of about 35 ethno-linguistic groups^[24] such as the Irula, and Yerukula languages (see SIL Ethnologue). For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... This is a sub-classification of the Dravidian family of languages. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... The consonant ழ் believed to be unique to Tamil and Malayalam Tamil of Tamilians is a Dravidian language predominantly spoken in southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Irulas Irulas are a tribal community living in different parts of India. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization which studies lesser-known languages primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language. ...

The closest major relative of Tamil is Malayalam. Until about the ninth century, Tamil and Malayalam were dialects of one language,^[25] called "Tamil" by the speakers of both.^[26] Although many of the differences between Tamil and Malayalam evidence a pre-historic split between eastern and western dialects,^[27] the process of separation of the two into distinct languages was not completed until sometime in the 13th or 14th century.^[28] Malayalam (à´®à´²à´¯à´¾à´³à´‚ ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ...

History

Tamil is one of the ancient languages of the world with records in the language dating back over two millennia.^[29]^[30] Its origins are not precisely known, but it developed and flourished in India as a language with a rich literature.^[29]^[31] With an estimated 30,000 inscriptions, Tamil has the largest number of inscriptions in South Asia.^[32] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ...

Tamil has the oldest extant literature amongst the Dravidian languages, but dating the language and the literature precisely is difficult. Literary works in India were preserved either in palm leaf manuscripts (implying repeated copying and recopying) or through oral transmission, making direct dating impossible.^[33] External chronological records and internal linguistic evidence, however, indicate that the oldest extant works were probably compiled sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the 10th century CE.^[34]^[17]^[18] For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... Palm leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. ...

Tamil scholars categorize the history of the language into three periods, Old Tamil (300 BC - 700 CE), Middle Tamil (700 - 1600) and Modern Tamil (1600-present).^[35] Epigraphic attestation of Tamil begins with rock inscriptions from the 3rd century BC, written in Tamil-Brahmi, an adapted form of the Brahmi script.^[12] The earliest extant literary text is the Tolkāppiyam, a work on poetics and grammar which describes the language of the classical period, dated variously between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE. The Tamil Brahmi script, unlike standard Asokan Brahmi, distinguished between pure consonants and consonants with an inherent vowel marker Tamil-Brahmi was an early script used to write Tamil characters. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas used in South Asia and Southeast Asia. ... The TolkÄppiyam (Tamil: ) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language and the earliest extant work of Tamil literature[1]. It is written in the form of sootirams(Skt: sutra) or formulae and comprises of three books - the Ezhuttadikaram, the Solladikaram and the Poruladikaram. ...

The Sangam literature contains about 50,000 lines of poetry contained in 2381 poems attributed to 473 poets including many women poets.^[36]^[37] Many of the poems of Sangam period were also set to music.^[38] During the post-Sangam period, important works like Thirukkural, and epic poems were composed, including Silappatikaram, Manimekalai, Sīvakacintāmani, Valaiyapathi and Kundalakesi which are known as the five great epics. The Bhakthi period is known for the great outpouring of devotional songs set to pann music, including over eight thousand Tevaram verses on Saivism and four thousand verses on Vaishnavism.^[39] The early mediaeval Period gave rise to a popular adaptation of the Ramayana in Tamil, known as Kamba Ramayanam and a story of 63 Nayanmars known as Periyapuranam.^[40] Tiruvalluvar statue at Kanyakumari Tirukkural (திருக்குறள் in Tamil) is an important work of Tamil literature by Tiruvalluvar written in the form of couplets expounding various aspects of life. ... Silappatikaram (Tamil: à®šà®¿à®²à®ªà¯à®ªà®¤à®¿à®•à®¾à®°à®®à¯ ; IPA: ),[1] is one of the five great epics of ancient Tamil Literature. ... Manimekalai, written by Seethalai Saathanar, is one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature and belongs to The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature. ... Pann (Tamil:à®ªà®£à¯) is the melolic mode used by the Tamil people in their music since the ancient times. ... Shaivism, also Saivism, is a branch of Hinduism that worships Siva as the Supreme God. ... Vaishnavism is one of the principal traditions of Hinduism, and is distinguished from other schools by its primary worship of Vishnu (and his associated avatars) as the Supreme God. ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ... Ramavataram (à®‡à®°à®¾à®®à®¾à®µà®¤à®¾à®°à®®à¯), popularly referred to as Kamba Ramayanam (à®•à®®à¯à®ª à®‡à®°à®¾à®®à®¾à®¯à®£à®®à¯) is a Tamil epic that was written by Kamban during the 12th century. ... The Nayanars were the sincere and ardent devotees of Lord Siva. ...

Geographic distribution

Tamil is the first language of the majority in Tamil Nadu, India and North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The language is spoken by small groups of minorities in other parts of these two countries such as Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Maharashtra in case of India and Colombo and the hill country in case of Sri Lanka. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Image:North province Tamil Eelam. ... This article is about the Indian region. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: à´•àµ‡à´°à´³à´‚; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Andhra redirects here. ... , Manipur (Bengali: à¦®à¦¨à¦¿à¦ªà§à¦°, Meitei Mayek: mnipur) is a state in northeastern India making its capital in the city of Imphal. ... , Maharashtra (Marathi: à¤®à¤¹à¤¾à¤°à¤¾à¤·à¥à¤Ÿà¥à¤° , IPA , translation: Great Nation) is Indias third largest state in area and second largest in population after Uttar Pradesh. ... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 37. ...

There are currently sizeable Tamil-speaking populations descended from colonial-era migrants in Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, South Africa, and Mauritius. Many people in Guyana, Fiji, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago have Tamil origins,^[41] but only a small number speak the language there. Groups of more recent migrants from Sri Lanka and India exist in Canada (especially Toronto), USA, Australia, many Middle Eastern countries, and most of the western European countries. The Tamil diaspora is a term used to denote people of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan Tamil origin who have settled in many parts of the rest of India and Sri Lanka, or in other regions, particularly Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, RÃ©union, South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Legal status

Tamil is the official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the official languages of the union territories of Pondicherry^[42]^[43] and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands^[44] It is one of 23 nationally recognised languages in the Constitution of India. Tamil is also one of the official languages of Sri Lanka and Singapore. In Malaysia, primary education in government schools is also available fully in Tamil. An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... Map of Pondicherry Region, Union Territory of Pondicherry, India Pondicherry (Tamil:à®ªà¯à®¤à¯à®µà¯ˆ,Hindi: à¤ªà¥‰à¤£à¥à¤¡à¤¿à¤šà¥‡à¤°à¥€) is a Union Territory of India. ... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a union territory of India. ... Educational oversight Minister Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education Hishamuddin Hussein, Mustapa Mohamed National education budget RM5 billion[3] (2006) Primary language(s) Malay, English, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil National system Established 1956 Literacy (2000) â€¢ Men â€¢ Women 88. ...

In addition, with the creation in 2004 of a legal status for classical languages by the government of India and following a political campaign supported by several Tamil associations^[45]^[46] Tamil became the first legally recognised Classical language of India. The recognition was announced by the then President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, in a joint sitting of both houses of the Indian Parliament on June 6, 2004.^[47]^[9]^[10] Judiciary Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India High Courts District Courts Elections Political Parties Local & State Govt. ... A classical language, is a language with a literature that is classicalâ€”ie, it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own, not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich body of ancient literature. ... The President of India (Hindi: Rashtrapati) is the head of state and first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces. ... Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil: ) (Hindi: ) born October 15, 1931, Tamil Nadu, India, usually referred as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam^ , was the eleventh President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007. ... Sansad Bhavan, The Parliament of India The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is bicameral. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Dialects

Tamil is a diglossic language.^[48]^[49] Tamil dialects are mainly differentiated from each other by the fact that they have undergone different phonological changes and sound shifts in evolving from Old Tamil. For example, the word for "here" —iṅku in Centamil (the classic variety)—has evolved into iṅkū in the Kongu dialect of Coimbatore, inga in the dialect of Thanjavur, and iṅkai in some dialects of Sri Lanka. Old Tamil's iṅkaṇ (where kaṇ means place) is the source of iṅkane in the dialect of Tirunelveli, Old Tamil iṅkaṭṭu is the source of iṅkuṭṭu in the dialect of Ramanathapuram, and iṅkaṭe in various northern dialects. Even now in Coimbatore area it is common to hear "akkaṭṭa" meaning "that place". Look up Diglossia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... , Coimbatore (Tamil: ), also known as Kovai (Tamil: ), is a major industrial city in India and the second largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu. ... , Tanjore redirects here. ... Sri Lankan Tamil dialects is a group of dialects that are distinct from Tamil dialects used in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of India. ... , Tirunelveli (Tamil: ) is a Municipal Corporation, sixth largest city in Tamil Nadu(After Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem)in southern India and the district headquarter of Tirunelveli district. ... Ramanathapuram , also known as Ramnad, is a city and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ...

Although Tamil dialects do not differ significantly in their vocabulary, there are a few exceptions. The dialects spoken in Sri Lanka retain many words and grammatical forms that are not in everyday use in India,^[50] and use many other words slightly differently.^[51] The dialect of the district of Palakkad in kerala has a large number of Malayalam loanwords, has also been influenced by Malayalam syntax and also has a distinct Malayalam accent. Hebbar and Mandyam dialects, spoken by groups of Tamil Vaishnavites who migrated to Karnataka in the eleventh century, retain many features of the Vaishnava paribasai, a special form of Tamil developed in the ninth and tenth centuries that reflect Vaishnavite religious and spiritual values.^[52] Several castes have their own sociolects which most members of that caste traditionally used regardless of where they come from. It is often possible to identify a person’s caste by their speech.^[53] , For the district with the same name, see Palakkad District. ... Malayalam ( ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Hebbar Iyengars are followers of Ramanujas philosophy preaching Vishishtadvaita. ... Mandya is a district of Karnataka, India. ... Vaishnavism is one of the principal traditions of Hinduism, and is distinguished from other schools by its primary worship of Vishnu (and his associated avatars) as the Supreme God. ... This article is about the Indian region. ... Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social classification, that evolved due to the enormous diversity in India (where all three primary races met, not by forced slavery but by immigration). ... In linguistics, a sociolect is the language spoken by a social group, social class or subculture. ...

Spoken and literary variants

In addition to its various dialects, Tamil exhibits different forms: a classical literary style modelled on the ancient language (caṅkattamiḻ), a modern literary and formal style (centamiḻ), and a modern colloquial form (koṭuntamiḻ). These styles shade into each other, forming a stylistic continuum. For example, it is possible to write centamiḻ with a vocabulary drawn from caṅkattamiḻ, or to use forms associated with one of the other variants while speaking koṭuntamiḻ.^[54] A colloquialism is an informal expression, that is, an expression not used in formal speech or writing. ...

In modern times, centamiḻ is generally used in formal writing and speech. For instance, it is the language of textbooks, of much of Tamil literature and of public speaking and debate. In recent times, however, koṭuntamiḻ has been making inroads into areas that have traditionally been considered the province of centamiḻ. Most contemporary cinema, theatre and popular entertainment on television and radio, for example, is in koṭuntamiḻ, and many politicians use it to bring themselves closer to their audience. The increasing use of koṭuntamiḻ in modern times has led to the emergence of unofficial ‘standard’ spoken dialects. In India, the ‘standard’ koṭuntamiḻ is based on ‘educated non-brahmin speech’, rather than on any one dialect,^[55] but has been significantly influenced by the dialects of Thanjavur and Madurai. In Sri Lanka the standard is based on the dialect of Jaffna. Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box: A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... , Tanjore redirects here. ... , Madurai (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922,913 according to 2001 census. ... Jaffna District. ...

Writing system

Tamil is written using a script called the vaṭṭeḻuttu. The Tamil script consists of 12 vowels, 18 consonants and one special character, the āytam. The vowels and consonants combine to form 216 compound characters, giving a total of 247 characters. As with other Indic scripts, all consonants have an inherent vowel a, which in Tamil, is removed by adding an overdot called a puḷḷi, to the consonantal sign. Unlike most Indic scripts, the Tamil script does not distinguish between voiced and unvoiced plosives. Instead, plosives are articulated with voice or unvoiced depending on their position in a word, in accordance with the rules of Tamil phonology, as discussed below. Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x681, 188 KB) Summary History of Tamil script, found at Dakshina Chitra, Chennai. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x681, 188 KB) Summary History of Tamil script, found at Dakshina Chitra, Chennai. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ... The family tree ([1]) of the scripts of the South and South-East Asian sub-continent. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... The Tamil alphabet distinguishes 12 vowels and 18 consonants. ...

In addition to the standard characters, six characters taken from the Grantha script, which was used in the Tamil region to write Sanskrit, are sometimes used to represent sounds not native to Tamil, that is, words borrowed from Sanskrit, Prakrit and other languages. The traditional system prescribed by classical grammars for writing loan-words, which involves respelling them in accordance with Tamil phonology remains, but is not always consistently applied.^[56] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Brihadisvara temple (also spelled Brahadeeswarar temple) is an ancient Hindu temple located at Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... , Tanjore redirects here. ... Grantha (Punjabi , Tamil , from Sanskrit à¤—à¥à¤°à¤¨à¥à¤¥ grantha meaning book or manuscript) is an ancient script that was prevalent in South India. ...

Sounds

Tamil phonology is characterised by the presence of retroflex consonants, and strict rules for the distribution within words of voiced and unvoiced plosives. Tamil phonology permits few consonant clusters, which can never be word initial. Native grammarians classify Tamil phonemes into vowels, consonants, and a "secondary character", the āytam. The Tamil alphabet distinguishes 12 vowels and 18 consonants. ... Sub-apical retroflex plosive In phonetics, retroflex consonants are consonant sounds used in some languages. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ...

Vowels

Tamil vowels are called uyireḻuttu (uyir – life, eḻuttu – letter). The vowels are classified into short (kuṟil) and long (five of each type) and two diphthongs, /ai/ and /au/, and three "shortened" (kuṟṟiyal) vowels. In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek Î´Î¯Ï†Î¸Î¿Î³Î³Î¿Ï‚, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ...

The long (neṭil) vowels are about twice as long as the short vowels. The diphthongs are usually pronounced about 1.5 times as long as the short vowels, though most grammatical texts place them with the long vowels. In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek Î´Î¯Ï†Î¸Î¿Î³Î³Î¿Ï‚, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ...

In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ...

Consonants

Tamil consonants are known as meyyeḻuttu (mey—body, eḻuttu—letters). The consonants are classified into three categories with six in each category: valliṉam—hard, melliṉam—soft or Nasal, and iṭayiṉam—medium. See also consonance in music. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velumâ€”that fleshy part of the palate near the backâ€”is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ...

Unlike most Indian languages, Tamil does not have aspirated consonants. In addition, the voicing of plosives is governed by strict rules in centamiḻ. Plosives are unvoiced if they occur word-initially or doubled. Elsewhere they are voiced, with a few becoming fricatives intervocalically. Nasals and approximants are always voiced.^[57] In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velumâ€”that fleshy part of the palate near the backâ€”is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ...

A chart of the Tamil consonant phonemes in the International Phonetic Alphabet follows:^[58] In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ...

Though many characters sound alike, the different tongue-teeth vocal coordinations, produce different sound tones. Many of the characters that sound alike are differenciated by a sizing or specific description. For instance the character ற and ர have the same pronounciation. Contrary to popular belief, ர is truly the bigger of the two constantants and is known as 'big ra' whereas ற is actually 'small ra'. Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). ... Dentals are consonants such as t, d, n, and l articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both, rather than with the gum ridge as in English. ... Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the superior teeth. ... Sub-apical retroflex plosive In phonetics, retroflex consonants are consonant sounds used in some languages. ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velumâ€”that fleshy part of the palate near the backâ€”is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Rhotic consonants, or R-like sounds, are non-lateral liquid consonants. ... Laterals are L-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue, while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both sides of the tongue. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ...

Phonemes in brackets are voiced equivalents. Both voiceless and voiced forms are represented by the same character in Tamil, and voicing is determined by context. The sounds /f/ and /ʂ/ are peripheral to the phonology of Tamil, being found only in loanwords and frequently replaced by native sounds. There are well-defined rules for elision in Tamil categorised into different classes based on the phoneme which undergoes elision. Phoneticians define phonation as use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy, i. ... In music, see elision (music). ...

Āytam

Classical Tamil also had a phoneme called the Āytam, written as ‘ஃ’. Tamil grammarians of the time classified it as a dependent phoneme (or restricted phoneme^[25] ) (cārpeḻuttu), but it is very rare in modern Tamil. The rules of pronunciation given in the Tolkāppiyam, a text on the grammar of Classical Tamil, suggest that the āytam could have glottalised the sounds it was combined with. It has also been suggested that the āytam was used to represent the voiced implosive (or closing part or the first half) of geminated voiced plosives inside a word.^[59] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up implosive in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Numerals & Symbols

Apart from the usual numerals, Tamil also has numerals for 10, 100 and 1000. Symbols for day, month, year, debit, credit, as above, rupee, numeral are present as well.

Grammar

Much of Tamil grammar is extensively described in the oldest known grammar book for Tamil, the Tolkāppiyam. Modern Tamil writing is largely based on the 13th century grammar Naṉṉūl which restated and clarified the rules of the Tolkāppiyam, with some modifications. Traditional Tamil grammar consists of five parts, namely eḻuttu, col, poruḷ, yāppu, aṇi. Of these, the last two are mostly applied in poetry.^[60] Much of Tamil grammar is extensively described in the oldest available grammar book for Tamil, the Tolkāppiyam. ... For the rules of the English language, see English grammar. ... The TolkÄppiyam (Tamil: ) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language and the earliest extant work of Tamil literature[1]. It is written in the form of sootirams(Skt: sutra) or formulae and comprises of three books - the Ezhuttadikaram, the Solladikaram and the Poruladikaram. ...

Similar to other Dravidian languages, Tamil is an agglutinative language.^[61] Tamil is characterised by its use of retroflex consonants, like the other Dravidian languages. It also uses a liquid l (ழ) (example Tamil), which is also found in Malayalam (example Kozhikode), but disappeared from Kannada at around 1000 AD (but present in Unicode), and was never present in Telugu.^[62] Tamil words consist of a lexical root to which one or more affixes are attached. Most Tamil affixes are suffixes. Tamil suffixes can be derivational suffixes, which either change the part of speech of the word or its meaning, or inflectional suffixes, which mark categories such as person, number, mood, tense, etc. There is no absolute limit on the length and extent of agglutination, which can lead to long words with a large number of suffixes. It has been suggested that Agglutination be merged into this article or section. ... Retroflex consonants are articulated with the tip of the tongue curled up and back so the bottom of the tip touches the roof of the mouth. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... Definition A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of words that are the same in basic meaning. ... Look up affix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Suffix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In linguistics, derivation is the process of creating new lexemes from other lexemes, for example, by adding a derivational affix. ... Inflection of the Spanish lexeme for cat, with blue representing the masculine gender, pink representing the feminine gender, grey representing the form used for mixed-gender, and green representing the plural number. ... For other uses, see Point of view (literature). ... For other uses of number, see number (disambiguation). ... In linguistics, many grammars have the concept of grammatical mood (or mode), which describes the relationship of a verb with reality and intent. ... Grammatical tense is a way languages express the time at which an event described by a sentence occurs. ... For the music festival, see Agglutination Metal Festival. ...

Morphology

Tamil nouns (and pronouns) are classified into two super-classes (tiṇai)—the "rational" (uyartiṇai), and the "irrational" (aḵṟiṇai)—which include a total of five classes (pāl, which literally means ‘gender’). Humans and deities are classified as "rational", and all other nouns (animals, objects, abstract nouns) are classified as irrational. The "rational" nouns and pronouns belong to one of three classes (pāl)—masculine singular, feminine singular, and rational plural. The "irrational" nouns and pronouns belong to one of two classes - irrational singular and irrational plural. The pāl is often indicated through suffixes. The plural form for rational nouns may be used as an honorific, gender-neutral, singular form.^[63] This article is about modern humans. ... See also: List of deities Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect and is used in addressing or referring to a person. ...

Suffixes are used to perform the functions of cases or postpositions. Traditional grammarians tried to group the various suffixes into eight cases corresponding to the cases used in Sanskrit. These were the nominative, accusative, dative, sociative, genitive, instrumental, locative, and ablative. Modern grammarians argue that this classification is artificial, and that Tamil usage is best understood if each suffix or combination of suffixes is seen as marking a separate case.^[64] Tamil nouns can take one of four prefixes, i, a, u and e which are functionally equivalent to the demonstratives in English. In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun indicates its grammatical function in a greater phrase or clause; such as the role of subject, of direct object, or of possessor. ... A postposition is a type of adposition, a grammatical particle that expresses some sort of relationship between a noun phrase (its object) and another part of the sentence; an adpositional phrase functions as an adjective or adverb. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun, which generally marks the subject of a verb, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. ... The accusative case (abbreviated ACC) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. ... The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given. ... This case in Hungarian language can express the person in whose company (cf. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In linguistics, the instrumental case (also called the eighth case) indicates that a noun is the instrument or means by which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. ... Locative is a case which indicates a location. ... In linguistics, ablative case (also called the sixth case) (abbreviated ABL) is a name given to cases in various languages whose common thread is that they mark motion away from something, though the details in each language may differ. ... In linguistics, a prefix is a type of affix that precedes the morphemes to which it can attach. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Tamil verbs are also inflected through the use of suffixes. A typical Tamil verb form will have a number of suffixes, which show person, number, mood, tense and voice. It has been suggested that Verbal agreement be merged into this article or section. ... Look up Suffix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Traditional grammars of Tamil do not distinguish between adjectives and adverbs, including both of them under the category uriccol, although modern grammarians tend to distinguish between them on morphological and syntactical grounds.^[66] Tamil has a large number of ideophones that act as adverbs indicating the way the object in a given state "says" or "sounds".^[67] Look up Suffix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An oblique case (Latin: ) in linguistics is a noun case of analytic languages that is used generally when a noun is the predicate of a sentence or a preposition. ... In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase with or without a determiner, such as you and they in English. ... In linguistics, the term particle is often employed as a useful catch-all lacking a strict definition. ... In morpheme-based morphology, a morpheme is the smallest lingual unit that carries a semantic interpretation. ... In linguistics, evidentiality is a modality that allows (or requires) speakers to specify why they believe a given statementâ€”i. ... In linguistics, a clitic is an element that has some of the properties of an independent word and some more typical of a bound morpheme. ... In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjectives subject), giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to. ... Adverbs redirects here. ... Contents // Categories: Linguistics | Stub ...

Tamil has no articles. Definiteness and indefiniteness are either indicated by special grammatical devices, such as using the number "one" as an indefinite article, or by the context.^[68] In the first person plural, Tamil makes a distinction between inclusive pronouns நாம் nām (we), நமது namatu (our) that include the addressee and exclusive pronouns நாங்கள் nāṅkaḷ (we), எமது ematu (our) that do not.^[68] The redirects here. ...

Syntax

Tamil is a consistently head-final language. The verb comes at the end of the clause, with typical word order Subject Object Verb (SOV).^[69] However, Tamil also exhibits extensive scrambling (word order variation), so that surface permutations of the SOV order are possible with different pragmatic effects. Tamil has postpositions rather than prepositions. Demonstratives and modifiers precede the noun within the noun phrase. Subordinate clauses precede the verb of the matrix clause. In linguistics, branching is the general tendency towards a given order of words within sentences and smaller grammatical units within sentences (such as subordinate propositions, prepositional phrases, etc. ... In linguistic typology, Subject Object Verb (SOV) is the type of languages in which the subject, object, and verb of a sentence appear (usually) in that order. ... Pragmatics is the study of the ability of natural language speakers to communicate more than that which is explicitly stated. ... A postposition is a type of adposition, a grammatical particle that expresses some sort of relationship between a noun phrase (its object) and another part of the sentence; an adpositional phrase functions as an adjective or adverb. ... In grammar, a preposition is a word that establishes a relationship between an object (usually a noun phrase) and some other part of the sentence, often expressing a location in place or time. ...

Tamil is a null subject language. Not all Tamil sentences have subjects, verbs and objects. It is possible to construct valid sentences that have only a verb—such as muṭintuviṭṭatu ("completed")—or only a subject and object, without a verb such as atu eṉ vīṭu ("That, my house"). Tamil does not have a copula (a linking verb equivalent to the word is). The word is included in the translations only to convey the meaning more easily. In linguistic typology, a null subject language is a language whose grammar permits an independent clause to lack an explicit subject. ... For other uses, see Copula (disambiguation). ...

Vocabulary

The vocabulary of Tamil is mainly Dravidian. A strong sense of linguistic purism is found in Modern Tamil^[70], which opposes the use of foreign loan-words.^[71] Nonetheless, a number of words used in classical and modern Tamil indicate borrowing from languages of neighbouring groups, or with whom the Tamils had trading links, including Munda (e.g. tavaḷai "frog" from Munda tabeg), Malay (e.g. cavvarici "sago" from Malay sāgu), Chinese (e.g. campān "skiff" from Chinese san-pan) and Greek (e.g. ora from Greek ὥρα). In more modern times, Tamil has imported words from Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Marathi, reflecting groups that have ruled the Tamil area at various points of time, and from neighbouring languages such as Telugu, Kannada and Sinhala. During the modern period, words have also been borrowed from European languages, such as Portuguese, French and English.^[72] This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Hindu monster, see Munda (Hinduism), for Caesars battle see battle of Munda, and for the language family see Munda languages. ... Look up Malay in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Farsi redirects here. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Telugu may refer to: Telugu language Telugu literature Telugu people Telugu script Telugu films Look up Telugu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... Sinhala language Sinhala alphabet Sinhala people Sinhala place-names Sinhala Place Names, see Sinhala place-names Category: ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

The strongest impact of purism in Tamil has been on loanwords from Sanskrit. During its history, Tamil, along with other Dravidian languages like Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam etc., was influenced by Sanskrit in terms of vocabulary, grammar and literary styles,^[73]^[74] ^[14]^[15] reflecting the increased trend of Sanskritisation in the Tamil country.^[75] Tamil vocabulary never became quite as heavily Sanskritised as that of the other Dravidian languages, and unlike in those languages, it was and remains possible to express complex ideas - including in science, art, religion and law - without the use of Sanskrit loan words.^[76] In addition, Sanskritisation was actively resisted by a number of authors of the late medieval period,^[77] culminating in the 20th century in a movement called taṉit tamiḻ iyakkam (meaning pure Tamil movement), led by Parithimaar Kalaignar and Maraimalai Adigal, which sought to remove the accumulated influence of Sanskrit on Tamil.^[78] As a result of this, Tamil in formal documents, literature and public speeches has seen a marked decline in the use Sanskrit loan words in the past few decades,^[79] under some estimates having fallen from 40-50% to about 20%^[80]. As a result, the Prakrit and Sanskrit loan words used in modern Tamil are, unlike in some other Dravidian languages, restricted mainly to some spiritual terminology and abstract nouns.^[81] Telugu redirects here. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... Malayalam (à´®à´²à´¯à´¾à´³à´‚ ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Sanskritization is a term coined by late M.N.Srinivas, the eminent sociologist from India, to define the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes. ... The Tanittamil Iyakkam (Tamil: ) (Pure Tamil Movement, Only Tamil Movement) is a movement of linguistic purism in Tamil literature attempting to emulate the unadulterated Tamil language of the Sangam period, avoiding Sanskrit, Persian and English loanwords. ... Parithimaar Kalaignyar was a Vedic scholar and priest born in a Brahmin Iyer family as Suryanarayana Sastri who lived in the 19th century. ... Maraimalai Adigal was a Vedic scholar, Vaedhaachchala Swamigal who studied deep into the realm of the sacred classical Tamil language turned a purist and changed his name to a Tamil version with unchanged essence-MaraiMalai Adigal- a devotee by name, the mountain of the Sacred Text. He lived in the... In linguistics, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ...

In the twentieth century, institutions and learned bodies have, with government support, generated technical dictionaries for Tamil containing neologisms and words derived from Tamil roots to replace loan words from English and other languages. A neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created (coined) â€” often to apply to new concepts, or to reshape older terms in newer language form. ...

Words of Tamil origin occur in other languages. Popular examples in English are cash (kaasu, meaning "money"), cheroot (curuṭṭu meaning "rolled up"),^[82] mango (from mangai),^[82] mulligatawny (from miḷaku taṉṉir meaning pepper water), pariah (from paraiyar), ginger (from ingi), curry (from kari),^[83] rice (from arici) and catamaran (from kaṭṭu maram, கட்டு மரம், meaning "bundled logs"),^[82] pandal (shed, shelter, booth),^[82] tyer (curd),^[82] coir (rope).^[84] This is a list of English words of Tamil origin: cash (when referring to any of various coins used in southern India and China) kAsu (= a small copper coin). Note that cash meaning money comes ultimately from Latin capsa (=chest). catamaran kattumaram (bound wood or bound trees) cheroot churuttu, regional...

See also

The dating of Tolkappiyam, like much of the rest of Sangam literature is problematic[1][2][3] and has seen wide disagreements amongst scholars in the field. ... As a large and linguistically diverse country, India does not have a single official language. ... Letters unique to Arwi. ... Indian languages spoken by more than ten million people are given below. ...

References

Caldwell, Robert. 1974. A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp.
Herman Tieken(2001) Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry. Groningen: Forsten 2001
Hart, George L. (1975), The poems of ancient Tamil : their milieu and their Sanskrit counterparts. University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN 0520026721
Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003), The Dravidian Languages, Cambridge Language Surveys, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521771110
Lehmann, Thomas (1989). A Grammar of Modern Tamil. Pondicherry, Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture.
Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674012275
Meenakshisundaram, T.P. (1965), A History of Tamil Language, Poona: Deccan College
Johann Philip Fabricius (1933 and 1972), Tamil and English Dictionary. based on J.P. Fabricius Malabar-English Dictionary, 3rd and 4th Edition Revised and Enlarged by David Bexell. Evangelical Lutheran Mission Publishing House, Tranquebar; called Tranquebar Dictionary.
Pope, GU (1868). A Tamil hand-book, or, Full introduction to the common dialect of that language. (3rd ed.). Madras, Higginbotham & Co.
Rajam, VS (1992). A Reference Grammar of Classical Tamil Poetry. Philadelphia, The American Philosophical Society. ISBN 087169199X
Schiffman, Harold F. (1998). "Standardization or restandardization: The case for ‘Standard’ Spoken Tamil". Language in Society 27, 359–385.

The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ...

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International.
^ ^a ^b Top 30 Languages by Number of Native Speakers: sourced from Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th ed. (2005). Vistawide - World Languages & Cultures. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
^ Languages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People. MSN Encarta. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
^ George Weber (December 1997). "TOP LANGUAGES" (pdf). Language Today 2: 87-99. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
^ Official languages. UNESCO. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
^ Official languages of Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu Government. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
^ Official languages of Srilanka. State department, US. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
^ Official languages and national language. Constitution of the Republic of Singapore. Government of Singapore. Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
^ ^a ^b BBC. India sets up classical languages. August 17, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
^ ^a ^b The Hindu. Sanskrit to be declared classical language. October 28, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
^ Kamil V. Zvelebil (1992). Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature. BRILL Academic, 12. “p12 - ...the most acceptable periodisation which has so far been suggested for the development of Tamil writing seems to me to be that of A Chidambaranatha Chettiar (1907 - 1967): 1. Sangam Literature - 200BC to AD 200; 2. Post Sangam literature - AD 200 - AD 600; 3. Early Medieval literature - AD 600 to AD 1200; 4. Later Medieval literature - AD 1200 to AD 1800; 5. Pre-Modern literature - AD 1800 to 1900...”
^ ^a ^b Maloney, Clarence (1970), “The Beginnings of Civilization in South India”, The Journal of Asian Studies 23 (3): 603-616, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2943246> at p. 610
^ ^a ^b Herman Tieken(2001) Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry. Groningen: Forsten 2001
^ ^a ^b Caldwell, Robert. 1974. A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp.
^ ^a ^b Takahashi, Takanobu. 1995. Tamil love poetry and poetics. Brill's Indological library, v. 9. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
^ B. G. L. Swamy. "The Date of the Tolkappiyam: A Retrospect." Annals of Oriental Research (Madras), Silver Jubilee Volume: 292-317
^ ^a ^b Kamil Veith Zvelebil, Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, pp12
^ ^a ^b See K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, A History of South India, OUP (1955) pp 105
^ Narasimhachar, R. 1988. History of Kannada literature: readership lectures. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, pp 8-11.
^ Kamil Zvelebil. Google Books version of the book The Smile of Murugan by Kamil Zvelebil. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
^ A.K. Ramanujam and V. Dharwadker (Ed.), The collected essays of A.K. Ramanujam, Oxford University Press 2000, p.111
^ India 2001: A Reference Annual 2001. Compiled and edited by Research, Reference and Training Division, Publications Division, New Delhi: Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
^ Krishnamurti 2003, p. 19
^ Prof. A.K. Perumal, Manorama Yearbook (Tamil) 2005 pp.302-318
^ ^a ^b Krishnamurti 2003, p. 140
^ Freeman, Rich (1998), “Rubies and Coral: The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala”, The Journal of Asian Studies 57 (1): 38-65 at p.39
^ A. Govindankutty Menon (1990), “Some Observations on the Sub-Group Tamil-Malayalam: Differential Realizations of the Cluster *nt”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 53 (1): 87-99
^ Andronov, M.S. (1970), Dravidian Languages, Nauka Publishing House, pp. 21
^ ^a ^b M. B. Emeneau (Jan-Mar 1956). "India as a Linguistic Area" (in English). Language 32 (1): 5. doi:10.2307/410649. “Of the four literary Dravidian languages, Tamil has voluminous records dating back at least two millennia.”
^ Burrow, Thomas (2001). The Sanskrit Language. Motilal Banarsidass Publications, 337. ISBN 8120817672. “…In the case of Tamil the literary tradition goes back for at least two thousand years…”
^ Caldwell, Robert
^ Morrison, Kathleen D.; Mark T. Lycett (1997). "Inscriptions as Artifacts: Precolonial South India and the Analysis of Texts". Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 4 (3): 219, 224. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
^ Dating of Indian literature is largely based on relative dating relying on internal evidences with a few anchors. I. Mahadevan’s dating of Pukalur inscription proves some of the Sangam verses. See George L. Hart, "Poems of Ancient Tamil, University of Berkeley Press, 1975, p.7-8
^ George Hart, "Some Related Literary Conventions in Tamil and Indo-Aryan and Their Significance" Journal of the American Oriental Society, 94:2 (Apr - Jun 1974), pp. 157-167.
^ Thomas Lehmann, "Old Tamil" in Sanford Steever (ed.), The Dravidian Languages Routledge, 1998 at p. 75
^ Rajam, V. S. 1992. A reference grammar of classical Tamil poetry: 150 B.C.-pre-fifth/sixth century A.D.. Memoirs of the American philosophical society, v. 199. Philadelphia, Pa: American Philosophical Society. p12
^ Dr. M. Varadarajan, A History of Tamil Literature, (Translated from Tamil by E.Sa. Viswanathan), Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1988 p.40
^ Marr, John Ralston (1985), The Eight Anthologies, Madras: Institute of Asian Studies at pp. 370-373.
^ Varadarajan, M. (1988), A history of Tamil literature, Madras: Sahitya Akademi at pp. 102-119}}
^ Varadarajan, M. (1988), A history of Tamil literature, Madras: Sahitya Akademi at pp. 155-157}}
^ McMahon, Suzanne. Overview of the South Asian Diaspora. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
^ Ramamoorthy, L. Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition and Learning in Pondicherry. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
^ Younger, Paul. Tamil Hinduism in Indenture-based Societies. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
^ Sunwani, Vijay K. Amazing Andamans and North-East India: A Panoramic View of States, Societies and Cultures. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
^ Classic case of politics of language. The Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-04-20. “Members of the committee felt that the pressure was being brought on it because of the compulsions of the Congress and the UPA government to appease its ally, M. Karunanidhi’s DMK.”
^ S.S. Vasan. Recognising a classic. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
^ Thirumalai, Ph.D., M. S. (November 2004). "Tradition, Modernity and Impact of Globalization - Whither Will Tamil Go?". Language in India 4. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
^ Arokianathan, S. Writing and Diglossic: A Case Study of Tamil Radio Plays. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
^ Francis Britto. "Diglossia: A Study of the Theory, with Application to Tamil," Language, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), pp. 152-155. doi:10.2307/414796
^ Thomas Lehmann, "Old Tamil" in Sanford Steever (ed.), The Dravidian Languages Routledge, 1998 at p. 75; E. Annamalai and S. Steever, "Modern Tamil" in ibid. at pp. 100-128.
^ Kamil Zvelebil, "Some features of Ceylon Tamil" Indo-Iranian Journal 9:2 (June 1996) pp. 113-138.
^ Thiru. Mu. Kovintācāriyar, Vāḻaiyaṭi vāḻai Lifco, Madras, 1978 at pp. 26-39.
^ Tamil dialects. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2007-03-28. “The Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, classifies Tamil dialects into two broad sociolects, Brahmin and non-Brahmin. See Tamil language.”
^ Harold Schiffman, "Diglossia as a Sociolinguistic Situation", in Florian Coulmas (ed.), The Handbook of Sociolinguistics. London: Basil Blackwell, Ltd., 1997 at pp. 205 et seq.
^ Harold Schiffman, "Standardization or restandardization: The case for ‘Standard’ Spoken Tamil". Language in Society 27 (1998), pp. 359–385.
^ Fowler, Murray, “The Segmental Phonemes of Sanskritized Tamil”, Language (no. 3): 360-367 at p. 360.
^ See e.g. the pronunciation guidelines in G.U. Pope (1868). A Tamil hand-book, or, Full introduction to the common dialect of that language. (3rd ed.). Madras, Higginbotham & Co.
^ E. Annamalai and S.B. Steever, Modern Tamil in S.B. Steevar (Ed.)The Dravidian Languages, London and New York, Routledge 1998, p100-128
^ See generally F. B. J. Kuiper, "Two problems of old Tamil phonology", Indo-Iranian Journal 2:3 (September 1958) pp. 191-224, esp. pp. 191-207.
^ "Five fold grammar of Tamil". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
^ "Tamil is an agglutinative language". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
^ "A Reference Grammar of Classical Tamil Poetry: 150 B.C.-Pre-Fifth/Sixth Century A.D. By V. S. Rajam". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
^ "Classes of nouns in Tamil". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
^ Harold Schiffman, "Standardization and Restandardization: the case of Spoken Tamil." Language in Society 27:3 (1998) pp. 359-385 and esp. pp.374-375.
^ Steever, Sanford B. (2002), “Direct and indirect discourse in Tamil”, in Güldemann, Tom & von Roncador, Manfred, Reported Discourse: A Meeting Ground for Different Linguistic Domains, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 91-108, ISBN 9027229589 at p. 105.
^ Lehmann, Thomas (1989). A Grammar of Modern Tamil. Pondicherry: Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture. at pp. 9-11
^ Swiderski, Richard M. (1996). The metamorphosis of English: versions of other languages. New York: Bergin & Garvey, 61. ISBN 0-89789-468-5.
^ ^a ^b Annamalai, E. & Steever, S.B. (1998), “Modern Tamil”, in Steever, Sanford B., The Dravidian Languages, London: Routledge, pp. pp. 100-128, ISBN 0415100232 at p. 109.
^ "Tamil is a head-final language". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
^ Sumathi Ramaswamy, En/Gendering Language: The Poetics of Tamil Identity" Comparative Studies in Society and History 35:4. (Oct. 1993), pp. 683-725.
^ Krishnamurti 2003, p. 480.
^ Meenakshisundaram 1965, pp. 169-193
^ "Literature in all Dravidian languages owes a great deal to Sanskrit, the magic wand whose touch raised each of the languages from a level of patois to that of a literary idiom" (Sastri 1955, p309); Trautmann, Thomas R. 2006. Languages and nations: the Dravidian proof in colonial Madras. Berkeley: University of California Press; "The author endeavours to demonstrate that the entire Sangam poetic corpus follows the "Kavya" form of Sanskrit poetry"-Tieken, Herman Joseph Hugo. 2001. Kāvya in South India: old Tamil Caṅkam poetry. Groningen: Egbert Forsten; Vaiyapuri Pillai in Takahashi, Takanobu. 1995, p18.
^ See Vaidyanathan’s analysis of an early medieval text in S. Vaidyanathan, "Indo-Aryan loan words in the Civakacintamani" Journal of the American Oriental Society 87:4. (Oct - Dec 1967), pp. 430-434.
^ Sheldon Pollock, "The Sanskrit Cosmopolis 300-1300: Transculturation, vernacularisation and the question of ideology" in Jan E.M. Houben (ed.), The ideology and status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the history of the Sanskrit language (E.J. Brill, Leiden: 1996) at pp. 209-217.
^ Trautmann, Thomas R. (1999), South Asian Research 19 (1): 53-70 at p. 64; Caldwell, Robert. 1974. A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp, p 50; Ellis, F.W. (1820), "Note to the introduction" in Campbell, A.D., A grammar of the Teloogoo language. Madras: College Press, pp. 29-30.
^ See Ramaswamy’s analysis of one such text, the Tamil viṭututu, in Sumathi Ramaswamy, "Language of the People in the World of Gods: Ideologies of Tamil before the Nation" The Journal of Asian Studies, 57:1. (Feb. 1998), pp. 66-92.
^ Dr. M. Varadarajan, A History of Tamil Literature, (Translated from Tamil by E.Sa. Viswanathan), Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1988- p.12 "Since then the movement has been popularly known as the tanittamil iyakkam or the Pure Tamil movement among the Tamil scholars."
^ Ramaswamy, Sumathy (1997). "Laboring for language", Passions of the Tongue: Language Devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970. Berkeley: University of California Press. “Nevertheless, even impressionistically-speaking, the marked decline in the use of foreign words, especially of Sanskritic origin, in Tamil literary, scholarly, and even bureaucratic circles over the past half century is quite striking.”
^ Krishnamurti 2003, p. 480
^ Dr.T.P. Meenakshisundaram, A History of Tamil Language, Sarvodaya Ilakkiya Pannai, 1982 (translated) p. 241-2
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
^ Entry in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
^ Entry in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.

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