Jamesharrey at 19:57, 16 March 2026

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{{Short description|Form of Tamil used from 300 BCE to 700 CE}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Old Tamil
| nativename =
| pronunciation =
| region = [[Tamiḻakam]] ; modern day [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Kerala]], [[India]]
| era = third century BCE to seventh century CE
| familycolor = Dravidian
| fam2 = [[Southern Dravidian languages]]
| fam3 = [[Tamil–Kannada languages|Proto-Tamil–Kannada]]
| fam4 = [[Tamil–Kodagu languages|Proto-Tamil–Kodagu]]
| fam5 =
| script = [[Tamil-Brahmi]], later [[Vaṭṭeḻuttu]] and the [[Pallava script]]
| iso3 = oty
| linglist = oty
| lingname = Old Tamil
| glotto = oldt1248
| glottoname = Old Tamil
}}
[[File:Mangulam inscription.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Mangulam 3rd-century BCE [[Tamil Brahmi]] inscription in Madurai.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bengtson |first=John D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xxcdjUGfx40C&pg=PA427 |title=In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the Four Fields of Anthropology: in Honor of Harold Crane Fleming |date=2008 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=978-90-272-3252-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Umamaheshwari |first=R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TRxJDwAAQBAJ&q=Mangulam+3rd+century&pg=PA43 |title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation |date=2018-01-25 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-81-322-3756-3 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[File:2nd century BCE Tamil Brahmi inscription Arittapatti Madurai India.jpg|thumb|A 2nd-century BCE Tamil Brahmi inscription from Arittapatti, Madurai India. The southern state of [[Tamil Nadu]] has emerged as a major source of Brahmi inscriptions in Old Tamil dated between 3rd to 1st centuries BCE.<ref name=mahadevan>Mahadevan, I.''Early Tamil Epigraphy'' pp. 91–94</ref><ref name=mahadevan2>Mahadevan, I.''Tamil-Brahmi Inscriptions'' pp. 1–12</ref><ref name=spuler1975>Souler, B. ''Handbook of Oriental Studies'' p. 44</ref>]]
'''Old Tamil''' is the form of the [[Tamil language]] used from the 3rd century BCE to the seventh century CE,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-13 |title=Tamil language {{!}} Origin, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-language |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Steever |first=Sanford B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6WDxBwAAQBAJ |title=The Dravidian Languages |date=2015-04-15 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-91171-2 |page=6 |language=en}}</ref> following Proto-Tamil and preceding [[Middle Tamil]]. The earliest records in Old Tamil are inscriptions from between the 3rd and 1st century BCE in caves and on pottery, written in the [[Tamil-Brahmi]] variant of the [[Brahmi script]].<ref name=mahadevan/><ref>{{cite web | last1 = Government of Tamilnadu | first1 = Department of Archeology |title = Keeladi, Excavation Report, Urban Settlement, Sangam Age, River Vaigai| date = 19 September 2019 | url = https://archive.org/details/keeladibookenglish18092019/page/n59/mode/2up | access-date = 27 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Vishnupriya | first1 = Kolipakam |title = A Bayesian phylogenetic study of the Dravidian language family| journal = Royal Society Open Science | year = 2018 | volume = 5 | issue = 3 | article-number = 171504 | doi = 10.1098/rsos.171504 | doi-access = free| pmid = 29657761 | pmc = 5882685 | bibcode = 2018RSOS....571504K | url = }}</ref> The earliest long text in Old Tamil is the ''[[Tolkāppiyam]]'', an early work on Tamil grammar and poetics, whose oldest layers could be as old as the mid-2nd century BCE.<ref name="Lehmann 1998 752">{{Harvnb|Lehmann|1998|pp=75–76}}</ref><ref name=Zvelebil>Zvelebil, K. ''The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South '' p. xx</ref> Old Tamil preserves many features of [[Proto-Dravidian language|Proto-Dravidian]], the reconstructed common ancestor of the [[Dravidian languages]], including the inventory of consonants, the [[syllable structure]], and various grammatical features.

== History ==
According to [[Bhadriraju Krishnamurti]], Tamil, as a Dravidian language, descends from [[Proto-Dravidian language|Proto-Dravidian]], a [[proto-language]]. Linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third [[millennium]] BCE, possibly in the region around the lower [[Godavari]] river basin in peninsular India. The material evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were of the culture associated with the [[Neolithic]] complexes of [[South India]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Southworth|2005|pp=249–250}}</ref> The earliest [[Tamil-Brahmi|epigraphic]] attestations of Tamil are generally taken to have been written from the 2nd century BCE.<ref>{{Harvnb|Southworth|2005|pp=250–251}}</ref>

Among Indian languages, Tamil has the most ancient non-[[Sanskrit]]ic Indian literature.<ref>{{citation|author=Sivathamby, K|title=Early South Indian Society and Economy: The Tinai Concept|journal=Social Scientist|volume=3|issue=5|pages=20–37|year=1974|doi=10.2307/3516448|jstor=3516448}}</ref> Scholars categorise the attested history of the language into three periods: Old Tamil (300 BCE–700 CE), Middle Tamil (700–1600) and Modern Tamil (1600–present).<ref name="Lehmann 1998 752"/> In November 2007, an excavation at [[Quseir al Qadim]] revealed [[Ancient Egyptian pottery]] dating back to first century BCE with ancient Tamil Brahmi inscriptions.<ref name="Egypt">{{citation|title=Tamil Brahmi script in Egypt|date=21 November 2007|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tamil-brahmi-script-in-egypt/article1952611.ece|work=The Hindu|access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> There are a number of apparent [[Tamil loanwords in Biblical Hebrew]] dating to before 500 BCE, the oldest attestation of the language.<ref name="Rabin438">Rabin, C. ''Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies'', p. 438</ref> [[John Guy (historian)|John Guy]] states that Tamil was the [[lingua franca]] for [[Maritime history#Ancient times|early maritime trade]]rs from India.<ref name="scroll.in">{{citation|title=Scroll.in – News. Politics. Culture.|date=6 February 2015 |url=http://scroll.in/article/704603/Step-aside,-Gujaratis:-Tamilians-were-India's-earliest-recorded-maritime-traders|publisher=scroll.in}}</ref>

Tamils began to trade with [[Ancient Greece|Greece]], [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Ancient Chinese states|China]], [[Southeast Asia]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Tibet]]. Their ports were Tondi, [[Muziris|Musiri]] and [[Kanyakumari|Comari]], Colchi, Poduke and Sopatma. This was done during the period of Tamil independence from 600 BCE to 300 CE.<ref>{{cite web |last1=El |first1=David |title=Timeline of Tamil History |url=https://www.academia.edu/29853704 |website=academia |date=2015}}</ref> The different types of ships that would go into the port were small vessels, large vessels, and ocean-going vessels. They received the largest number the Roman coins-hoards in Tamil. This ranges from different emperors of Rome as their dates on the coins and as well as the emperors on the coins are different. This trade even continued to the end of the Roman Empire and continued into the time of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The Tamils also traded along the [[Red Sea]] as goods such as potsherds were found in excavated sites. Rice and salt were popular goods that came out as exports as well as used as currency for bargaining. They were used as a means of bartering as they were able to transport large amounts and the demand for these items was always there. There was a port called Cholas that traded with the west and the Malaya coast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Saravanakumar |first1=AR |last2=Seetharaman |first2=Paranthaman |last3=Radha |first3=R |title=Trade and Commerce of Ancient Tamilagam |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342281713 |website=researchgate |date=June 2020}}</ref>

There were large amounts of Roulette potteries and Roman coins were found in a brick jetty that they would put items into so they would be ready for when they needed to unload them a mound in [[Arikamedu]] with Rouletted ware, [[Amphora|amphorae]], conical jars, [[agate]], and [[chalcedony]]. Two of the port cities were later destroyed by tsunamis. These were the cities of Thenmadurai and Kapatapuram. Archaeologist T. Satyamurth found 160 urns at their dig site. Dr. Jagor found 9000 objectives such as pottery, weapons, vessels, ornaments, stone beads, clothes, bones, ivory, sandalwood, and stone implements for grinding. The population wore cotton clothes and adorned the neck with ornaments made of beads, copper, and bronze.<ref name="HISTORY OF ANCIENT TAMIL CIVILIZATION">{{cite web |last1=Dokras |first1=Uday |title=History of Ancient Tamil Civilization |url=https://www.academia.edu/44209625 |website=academia |date=2020}}</ref>

==Literary work==
Many literary works in Old Tamil have also survived. These include a corpus of 2,381 poems collectively known as [[Sangam literature]]. These poems are usually dated to between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE,<ref name="Lehmann 1998 752"/> which makes them the oldest extant body of literature in India.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tharu|Lalita|1991|p=70}}</ref> Other literary works in Old Tamil include [[Thirukural]], [[Silappatikaram]] and [[Maṇimēkalai]], and a number of ethical and didactic texts, written between the 5th and 8th centuries.<ref name="Lehmann 1998 752"/><ref name=Zvelebil/>{{refn|group=nb|The dating of Sangam literature and the identification of its language with Old Tamil was questioned by Herman Tieken who argued that the works are better understood as 9th century [[Pandyan dynasty|Pāṇṭiyan dynasty]] compositions, written in an archaising style to make them seem older than they were. Tieken's dating has, however, been criticised by multiple reviewers of his work.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tieken|2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/1179075| jstor = 1179075| title = Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry| journal = Asian Folklore Studies| volume = 60| issue = 2| page= 373| year = 2001| last1 = Ferro-Luzzi | first1 = G. E. | last2 = Tieken | first2 = H. | author1-link=Gabriella Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/3096501| jstor = 3096501| title = Ritual and Mythological Sources of the Early Tamil Poetry| journal = The Journal of Asian Studies| volume = 61| issue = 4| page = 1404| year = 2002| last1 = Monius | first1 = A. E. | last2 = Dubianskii | first2 = A. M. | last3 = Tieken | first3 = H. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1553/wzksXLVIs105| title = Towards an Internal Chronology of Old Tamil Cankam Literature or How to Trace the Laws of a Poetic Universe| journal = Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens| volume = 1| issue = 16| page = 105| year = 2003| last1 = Wilden | first1 = E. V. A. | doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>R. Nagaswamy, Mirror of Tamil and Sanskrit (2012), Section 2.18.2: Natural evolution of Sanskrit</ref>}}

"Tamil is categorized as a classical language as it has a considerably extensive written tradition that is known for predating other classical works in India by over a thousand years."<ref>Hart, George. "Statement on the Status of Tamil as a Classical Language." The Institute for South Asia Studies, 11 Apr. 2000</ref> In addition, to its thousands of years of history as a literary language, notably during the Sangam period. A major distinction in this regard, is that Tamil is classified as a Dravidian language, making it the oldest written tradition not descended from Sanskrit in India.

The term Sangam refers to multiple periods in which Sangam Tamil literature originates. Notably, there are to be considered three primary Sangam periods, as well as a Post Sangam period. However, all Sangam literature available to us dates from the third Sangam period, as well as the Post Sangam period. Regardless of this, Sangam Tamil literature still nevertheless boasts a literary history spanning over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest languages still in use today, as the Tamil from the Sangam period is still mutually intelligible to a degree by modern Tamil speakers.<ref>Shanmugananthan, R. "An Overview of Sangam Literature சங்க இலக்கியம்." – Ilankai Tamil Sangam, 22 Sept. 2022.</ref> The exact dates of Sangam publications are debated by scholars. "There are two primary styles defined through Sangam literature, Akam and Puram. Through Akam, aspects of love and romantic feelings are portrayed through five distinct categories, each relating to a unique landscape. Puram typically displays aspects of war and politics."<ref>Gopal, Nanduri Raj. "Tamil Sangam Literature: A Journey through History, Culture, and Literary Brilliance." View of Tamil Sangam Literature: A Journey through History, Culture, and Literary Brilliance, 2024, eduzonejournal.com/index.php/eiprmj/article/view/508/444.)</ref>

Sangam literature can be found from its first period around 250 BCE–200 CE. Regarding their pretexts, Puram poems most notably target specific morals that the author wishes to convey. One of the most notable works of Sangam literature is the Tirukkural, and serves as a prime example among other Sangam didactic texts. The Tirukkural is known for being a text in which the reader is taught morals in a poetic manner, typically through the use of couplets.<ref>Rajagopal, Govindaswamy. "Virtues in Tirukkuṟaḷ and Other Tamil Didactic Works – a Bird's Eye View." Academia.Edu, 27 Sept. 2016</ref>

==Features==
Old Tamil preserved many features of Proto-Dravidian, including inventory of consonants,<ref>{{Harvnb|Krishnamurti|2003|p=53}}</ref> the syllable structure,<ref>{{Harvnb|Krishnamurti|2003|p=92}}</ref> and various grammatical features.<ref>{{Harvnb|Krishnamurti|2003|pp=182–193}}</ref> Amongst these was the absence of a distinct present tense – like Proto-Dravidian, Old Tamil only had two tenses, the past and the "non-past". Old Tamil verbs also had a distinct negative conjugation (e.g. ''{{IAST|kāṇēṉ}}'' [kaːɳeːn] {{lang|oty|𑀓𑀸𑀡𑁂𑀷𑁆}} ({{lang|ta|காணேன்}})) "I do not see", ''{{IAST|kāṇōm}}'' [kaːɳoːm] ({{lang|oty|𑀓𑀸𑀡𑁄𑀫𑁆}} ({{lang|ta|காணோம்}}) "we do not see").<ref>{{Harvnb|Steever|1998|p=24}}</ref> Nouns could take pronominal suffixes like verbs to express ideas: e.g. ''{{IAST|peṇṭirēm}}'' [peɳɖiɾeːm] {{lang|oty|𑀧𑁳𑀡𑁆𑀝𑀺𑀭𑁂𑀫𑁆}} ({{lang|ta|பெண்டிரேம்}}) "we are women" formed from ''{{IAST|peṇṭir}}'' [peɳɖiɾ] {{lang|oty|𑀧𑁳𑀡𑁆𑀝𑀺𑀭𑁆}} ({{lang|ta|பெண்டிர்}}) "women" and the first person plural marker ''-{{IAST|ēm}}'' {{lang|oty|-𑀏𑀫𑁆}} ({{lang|ta|-ஏம்}}).<ref>{{Harvnb|Lehmann|1998|p=80}}</ref> Despite the significant amount of grammatical and syntactical change between Old, Middle and Modern Tamil, Tamil demonstrates grammatical continuity across these stages: many characteristics of the later stages of the language have their roots in features of Old Tamil.<ref name="Lehmann 1998 752"/>

== Phonology ==

Old Tamil, the earliest attested branch of [[South Dravidian languages|South Dravidian]] has preserved an inventory of 17 consonants very similar to [[Proto-Dravidian language#Consonants|Proto-Dravidian]]: /p t ṯ c ṭ k, m n ñ ṇ, r ẓ, l ḷ, y w *H/.{{sfn|Krishnamurti|2003|p=53}}

The oldest depiction of Old Tamil's phonology is found in [[Tolkappiyam]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Sankaran |first=C. R. |date=1947 |title=An Introduction to the Study of Old Tamil Phonemics |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute |volume=8 |pages=87–96 |jstor=42929588 |issn=0045-9801}}</ref> This early record of the language dives into the sounds of the language as well as allophones which are used to help understand adjacent phonemes. According to a rough translation from Tolkappiyam, "It will be evident on careful observation that all the sounds (in the Tamil language) are but the results of the modifications which the air undergoes in starting from naval, and passing through the eight parts- chest, neck, head, tongue, hard palate, teeth, lips, and nose."<ref name=":0" />

The language has Thirty linear phonemes ranging from a to n with the exception of three nonlinear phonemes. The non-linear phonemes consist of i',u', and o'.<ref name=":0" />

== Writing system ==
Tamil's writing system is widely believed to be inspired by the Asokan Brahmi system, which is the original Indian script that all modern Indian script derived from.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-02 |title=Dravidian languages {{!}} History, Grammar, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dravidian-languages |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> There are 5 main categories of writing system which are the alphabet, abugida, abjad, syllabary, and semanto-phonetic. Old Tamil's writing system fits under the abugida. The letters in the Old Tamil abugida all appear to take the form of shapes like squares and circles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr.Gift Siromoney's Home Page |url=https://www.cmi.ac.in/gift/Epigraphy/epig_tamilorigin.htm |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=www.cmi.ac.in}}</ref> In the language every consonant is combined with a vowel for example NA is the letter n in the English alphabet. If a letter in a word is followed by the same vowel it is written twice to distinguish between the constants adjacent vowel and the vowel following the consonant-vowel combination. In Tamil, constants occur usually at the end and the middle of words. There is an exception to this rule that occurs when a word starts with a vowel, and in this case, a character representing a singular syllable is used.

The following is an example of the Old Tamil abugida:

== Regional dialects ==
[[File:Mozhipeyar_regions.png|thumb|The 12 mozhipeyar regions of Ancient Tamilakam]]

The Tolkappiyam mentions about 12 moḻipeyar lands apart from the region where Centamil was spoken.<ref name="Parameswara Iyer 1953 10–13">{{Cite book |last=Parameswara Iyer |first=Ulloor S. |title=Kerala Sahithya Charithram, Part 1 |publisher=Kerala University |year=1953 |isbn=978-93-5432-291-4 |edition=Digital |location=Kerala |pages=10–13 |language=Malayalam}}</ref> Tolkappiyam 881 also mentions about dialectical words called Ticaicol. [[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]] in his work, Kerala Sahithya Charithram names these regions. Senavaraiyar and Mayilainatar, both interpret almost similar names for these twelve Tamil dialectical regions of Old Tamil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=M. Mena |first=Kannan |date=2009 |title=Negotiations with the Past: Classical Tamil in Contemporary Tamil |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |pages=320–323 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Tamil loanwords in Biblical Hebrew|Old Tamil words attested in Biblical Hebrew]]
*[[Tamil loanwords in Ancient Greek|Old Tamil words attested in Ancient Greek]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="note"}}
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book|last=Iravatham |first=Mahadevan|title=Early Tamil Epigraphy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZBkAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Harvard University Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies|isbn=978-0-674-01227-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Iravatham |first=Mahadevan|title=Tamil-Brahmi Inscriptions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuMZAAAAIAAJ |year=1970|publisher=State Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu}}
*{{Cite book|last=Krishnamurti|first=Bhadriraju|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/dravidian-languages/CB6877BB2AFC237DA0B154E62F8DD898|title=The Dravidian Languages|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-05-11-48687-6|language=en}}
*{{cite book |last=Lehmann |first=Thomas|editor1-last=Sanford |editor1-first=Steever |title=The Dravidian Languages| publisher=Routledge |date=1998|isbn=978-04-15-41267-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ollett |first1=Andrew |title=Language of the Snakes |date=2017 |publisher=University of California Press |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1w8h1vk }}
* {{Citation | last=Southworth | first=Franklin C. | title=Linguistic archaeology of South Asia | publisher=Routledge | year=2005 | isbn=978-0-415-33323-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Spuler|first=Bertold|title=Handbook of Oriental Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kx4uqyts2t4C&pg=PA44|year=1975|publisher=Brill Academic|isbn=90-04-04190-7|page=44}}
* {{Citation | last=Steever | first=Sanford | contribution=Introduction | editor-last=Steever | editor-first=Sanford | title=The Dravidian Languages | publisher=Routledge | year=1998 | place=London | isbn=978-0-415-10023-6 | pages=1–39}}
* {{Citation | editor1-last=Tharu | editor1-first=Susie | editor2-last=Lalita | editor2-first=K. | title=Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the present – Vol. 1: 600 B.C. to the early twentieth century | publisher=Feminist Press | year=1991 | isbn=978-1-55861-027-9 | url=https://archive.org/details/womenwritinginin00thar }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Tharu |editor1-first=Susie|editor2-last=Lalita |editor2-first=Ke |title=Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present, II: The Twentieth Century| publisher=CUNY |date=1998|isbn=978-15-58-61028-6}}
* {{Citation | last=Tieken | first=Herman | title=Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry | series=Gonda Indological Studies, Volume X | place=Groningen | publisher=Egbert Forsten Publishing | year=2001 | isbn=978-90-6980-134-6}}
*{{Cite book|last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&q=info:3mNeiVqlnhoJ:scholar.google.com/&pg=PR9|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|date=1973|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-03591-1|language=en}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Tamil language]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 3rd century BC]]
[[Category:Languages extinct in the 6th century]]
[[Category:6th-century disestablishments in Asia]]

Old Tamil - Revision history

Jamesharrey at 19:57, 16 March 2026