->SUM1: Adding local short description: "Several governmental reforms to the Tamil script", overriding Wikidata description "Script" (Shortdesc helper)

2021-10-19T20:23:46Z

Adding local short description: "Several governmental reforms to the Tamil script", overriding Wikidata description "Script" (Shortdesc helper)

New page

{{Short description|Several governmental reforms to the Tamil script}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Simplified tamil script.png|alt=A list of simplified Tamil syllables, 7 rows by 2 columns.|300px|thumb|Left column shows pre-modern forms and right column contain the corresponding reformed representation]]

'''Simplified Tamil script''' or '''Reformed Tamil script''' refers to several governmental reforms to the [[Tamil script]].

In 1978, the Government of [[Tamil Nadu]] reformed certain syllables of the modern [[Tamil script]] with view to simplify the script.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bellary Shamanna Kesavan|first=Prathivadibayangaram Narasimha Venkatachari|title=History of printing and publishing in India: a story of cultural re-awakening, Volume 1|year=1984|publisher=National Book Trust|pages=82}}</ref> It aimed to standardize non-standard ligatures of {{lang|ta|ஆ}} {{transl|ta|ā}}, {{lang|ta|ஒ}} {{transl|ta|o}}, {{lang|ta|ஓ}} {{transl|ta|ō}} and {{lang|ta|ஐ}} {{transl|ta|ai}} syllables.<ref>Unicode Consortium. (2019). [https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode12.0.0/ch12.pdf South and Central Asia I: Official Scripts of India]. In ''The Unicode Standard, Version 12.0'' (pp. 489–498).</ref> These reforms only spread in India and the digital world, whereas [[Sri Lanka]], [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]], [[Mauritius]], [[Réunion|Reunion]] and other [[Tamil language|Tamil]] speaking regions continue to use the traditional syllables.{{fact|date=August 2020}}

Furthermore, only 13 out of 15 of the proposed simplifications were successful as people continued to use {{lang|ta|ஐ}} {{transl|ta|ai}} instead of the proposed {{lang|ta|அய்}} {{transl|ta|ay}} and {{lang|ta|ஔ}} {{transl|ta|au}} instead of the proposed {{lang|ta|அவ்}} {{transl|ta|av}}.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mello|first=Fernando|title=Evolution of Tamil typedesign|url=http://www.leonidas.org/rdg/matd/dissertation/FernandoMello_dissertation.pdf|access-date=31 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311223833/http://www.leonidas.org/rdg/matd/dissertation/FernandoMello_dissertation.pdf|archive-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

==History==

[[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]] was one of the people to suggest script reform.<ref>{{cite book|last=Caṇmukam|first=Ce. Vai.|title=Aspects of language development in Tamil|year=1983|publisher=All India Tamil Linguistics Association|pages=96}}</ref> A Script Reform Committee was formed in 1947 under Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, while in 1951 the Government of [[Tamil Nadu]] accepted its recommendations, it failed to enforce them.<ref>{{cite book|last=James|first=Gregory|title=Colporuḷ: a history of Tamil dictionaries|year=2000|publisher=Cre-A}}</ref> He encouraged it on the basis that it allegedly eased learning and writing.<ref>{{cite book|last=N.|first=Jayapalan|title=History Of India(from National Movement To Present Day)|year=2001|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|pages=169}}</ref>

This was preceded by many reforms during early 20th century, led by [[Tanittamil Iyakkam|Tamil purist movement]], which purged most of the [[Grantha script|Grantha]] consonants from the [[Tamil-Grantha script]] (except {{lang|ta|ஜ}} {{transl|ta|ja}}, {{lang|ta|ஷ}} {{transl|ta|sha}}, {{lang|ta|ஸ}} {{transl|ta|sa}}, {{lang|ta|ஹ}} {{transl|ta|ha}}) and standardized the modern Tamil alphabet.<ref>K. Kailasapathy (1979), [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3516775 The Tamil Purist Movement: A Re-evaluation], Social Scientist, Vol. 7, No. 10, pp. 23-27</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Tamil language}}

[[Category:Spelling reform]]
[[Category:Tamil language]]

Simplified Tamil script - Revision history

->SUM1: Adding local short description: "Several governmental reforms to the Tamil script", overriding Wikidata description "Script" (Shortdesc helper)