Tamil language: Difference between revisions

| altname          = {{transl|ta|ISO|Tamiḻ}}

| nativename      = {{lang|ta|தமிழ்}}

| states          = [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]]

| region          = [[Tamil Nadu]]{{efn|as well as the enclaves of the  [[Puducherry district|Puducherry]] and [[Karaikal district]]s in the Union territory of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]}} (India)<br>[[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|Northern]] and [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]]s (Sri Lanka)

| speakers        = {{sigfig|78.430500|2}} million<!--68.9M India 2011, 5.5M Sri Lanka 2019, ethnic 1.9M Malaysia 2021, remainder from Ethn.-->

| date            = 2011–2019

----'''Organizations'''<br />

{{flag|ASEAN}}<ref>{{citation|url=http://asean.org/asean/asean-member-states|title=Languages of ASEAN|access-date=7 August 2017}}</ref><br />

| iso1            = ta

| iso2            = tam

| map              = Idioma tamil.png

| mapcaption      =  

| notice          = IPA

| sign            = [[Signed Tamil]]

--->

two classical languages, alongside the more widely known Indo-Aryan language Sanskrit".</ref> [[A. K. Ramanujan]] described it as "the only language of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical past".<ref name="richestClassical">{{citation |last=Zvelebil |first=Kamil |title=The Smile of Murugan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VF2VMUoY_okC&pg=PA11 |publisher=BRILL |year=1973 |pages=11–12 |isbn=978-90-04-03591-1}}</ref> The variety and quality of classical Tamil literature has led to it being described as "one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world".<ref>Hart, George L. [http://southasia.berkeley.edu/tamil-classes "Statement on the Status of Tamil as a Classical Language"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040519/http://southasia.berkeley.edu/tamil-classes |date=10 November 2018}}, University of California, Berkeley, Department of South Asian Studies – Tamil</ref> Recorded [[Tamil literature]] has been documented for over 2000 years.<ref name="companion">{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1992|p=12}}: "...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"</ref> The earliest period of Tamil literature, [[Sangam literature]], is dated from {{circa}} 300 BC until AD 300.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100707000020/http://www.ciil-classicaltamil.org/project1.html Definitive Editions of Ancient Tamil Works]. Classical Tamil, Government of India</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Abraham |first=S.A. |title=Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India |url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/17189/1/AP-v42n2-207-223.pdf |journal=Asian Perspectives |volume=42 |issue=2 |page=207 |year=2003 |s2cid=153420843 |doi=10.1353/asi.2003.0031 |hdl=10125/17189 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> It has the oldest extant literature among [[Dravidian languages]]. The earliest [[Epigraph (literature)|epigraphic]] records found on rock edicts and '[[hero stone]]s' date from around the 3rd century BC.<ref name="Maloney1970">{{citation |last=Maloney |first=C. |title=The Beginnings of Civilization in South India |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=603–616 |year=1970 |jstor=2943246 |doi=10.2307/2943246|s2cid=162291987 }} at p. 610</ref><ref name="Palani">{{citation |last=Subramaniam |first=T.S. |title=Palani excavation triggers fresh debate |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2408091.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |location=Chennai, India |date=29 August 2011}}</ref> About 60,000 of the approximately 100,000 inscriptions found by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] in India are in Tamil Nadu. Of them, most are in Tamil, with only about 5 percent in other languages.<ref>{{citation |title= Students get glimpse of heritage |url= http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/22/stories/2005112215970400.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060518064346/http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/22/stories/2005112215970400.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 May 2006 |date = 22 November 2005|work= [[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> [[Tamil Brahmi|Tamil language inscriptions]] written in Brahmi script have been discovered in [[Sri Lanka]] and on trade goods in Thailand and Egypt.<ref name=Egypt /><ref name="Foreign locations">{{Citation |last=Mahadevan |first=Iravatham |title=An epigraphic perspective on the antiquity of Tamil |date=24 June 2010 |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-epigraphic-perspective-on-the-antiquity-of-tamil/article482654.ece |location=Chennai, India }}</ref> The two earliest [[manuscript]]s from India,<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-8/the-ias-tamil-medical-manuscript-collection/#c187096 |title=The I.A.S. Tamil Medical Manuscript Collection |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=13 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-8/saiva-manuscript-in-pondicherry/ |title=Saiva Manuscript in Pondicherry |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=13 September 2012}}</ref> acknowledged and registered by the [[Memory of the World Programme|UNESCO Memory of the World register]] in 1997 and 2005, were written in Tamil.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/memory-of-the-world/register/access-by-region-and-country/in/#c184233 |title=Memory of the World Register: India |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=13 September 2012}}</ref>

== Classification ==

=== Legend ===

According to Hindu legend, Tamil or in personification form [[Tamil Thai|Tamil Thāi]] (Mother Tamil) was created by Lord [[Shiva]]. [[Murugan]], revered as the Tamil God, along with sage [[Agastya]], brought it to the people.{{sfn|Ramaswamy|1997|p=87}}

=== Old Tamil ===

{{Main|Old Tamil language}}

Old Tamil is the period of the Tamil language spanning the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD. The earliest records in Old Tamil are short inscriptions from  300 BC to 700 AD. These inscriptions are written in a variant of the [[Brahmi script]] called [[Tamil-Brahmi]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahadevan|2003|pp=90–95}}</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 late 2nd century BC.<ref name="Lehmann 1998 75"/><ref name="Zvelebil 1973"/> 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 1st century BC and 5th century AD.<ref name="Lehmann 1998 75"/><ref name="Zvelebil 1973"/>

Tamil is the [[official language]] of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the [[Languages with official status in India|22 languages under schedule 8 of the constitution of India]].<ref>{{cite web|title=8th Schedule of Indian Constitution - 22 Official Languages|url=https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/list-of-languages-in-the-8th-schedule/|access-date=2021-02-08|website=BYJUS|language=en-US}}</ref> It is one of the official languages of the union territories of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] and the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]].<ref>{{citation | last = Ramamoorthy | first = L | publisher = Language in India | url = http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2004/multilingual.html | date = February 2004 | title = Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition and Learning in Pondicherry | access-date =16 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{citation | last = Sunwani | first = Vijay K | publisher = Language in India | url = http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2007/northeasternstates.pdf | date = February 2007 | title = Amazing Andamans and North-East India: A Panoramic View of States, Societies and Cultures | access-date =16 August 2007}}</ref> Tamil is also one of the official languages of [[Singapore]]. Tamil is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, along with [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]].<ref name=languagesdept>{{citation|url=http://www.languagesdept.gov.lk |title=Department of Official Languages|publisher=Government of Sri Lanka|access-date=13 September 2012}}</ref> It was once given nominal official status in the Indian state of [[Haryana]], purportedly as a rebuff to [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]], though there was no attested Tamil-speaking population in the state, and was later replaced by [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], in 2010.<ref>Bharadwaj, Ajay (7 March 2010) [http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1356124/report-punjabi-edges-out-tamil-in-haryana Punjabi edges out Tamil in Haryana]. DNA India</ref> In Malaysia, 543 primary education government schools are available fully in [[Tamil primary schools in Malaysia|Tamil as the medium of instruction]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/540/handouts/sparadox/sparadox.html |title=Language Shift in the Tamil Communities of Malaysia and Singapore: the Paradox of Egalitarian Language Policy |publisher=Ccat.sas.upenn.edu |access-date=13 September 2012}}</ref> The establishment of Tamil-medium schools has been in process in [[Myanmar]] to provide education completely in Tamil language by the Tamils who settled there 200 years ago.<ref name="bbc.com">Natarajan, Swaminathan (6 March 2014) [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25438275 Myanmar's Tamils seek to protect their identity]. BBC</ref> Tamil language is available as a course in some local school boards and major universities in [[Canada]] and the month of January has been declared "Tamil Heritage Month" by the [[Parliament of Canada]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/01/14/statement-prime-minister-canada-thai-pongal|title=Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on Thai Pongal|date=13 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/canada-officially-declares-pride-its-tamils-passes-bill-calling-tamil-heritage-month-51059|title=Canada officially declares pride in its Tamils, passes Bill calling for Tamil Heritage Month|date=8 October 2016|work=The News Minute|access-date=6 August 2017}}</ref> Tamil enjoys a special status of protection under Article 6(b), Chapter 1 of the [[Constitution of South Africa]] and is taught as a subject in schools in [[KwaZulu-Natal]] province.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/constitution/english-web/ch1.html|title=Constitutional Court of South Africa – The Constitution|website=www.constitutionalcourt.org.za|access-date=5 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/five-indian-languages-reinstated-as-official-subjects-in-south-african-schools-1395392591-1|title=Five Indian languages reinstated as official subjects in South African schools|date=21 March 2014|work=Jagranjosh.com|access-date=6 August 2017}}</ref> Recently, it has been rolled out as a subject of study in schools in the [[Overseas France|French overseas department]] of [[Réunion]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/For-these-islanders-a-reunion-with-Tamil/article17009446.ece|title=For these islanders, a reunion with Tamil|work=The Hindu|date=8 January 2017|access-date=6 August 2017|last1=Srivatsa|first1=Sharath S.}}</ref>

== Dialects ==

}}

=== Region-specific variations ===

==== Loanword variations ====

== Writing system ==

<!---

NOTE:

[[File:History of Tamil script.jpg|thumb|upright=1.81|Historical evolution of Tamil writing from the earlier [[Tamil Brahmi]] near the top to the current [[Tamil script]] at bottom]]

[[File:Tirukkural manuscript.jpg|thumb|upright=1.81|''[[Tirukkural|Tirukkuṟaḷ]]'' [[palm leaf manuscript]]]]

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 adopted 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.<ref>{{citation|last=Fowler|first=Murray|title=The Segmental Phonemes of Sanskritized Tamil |journal=Language |volume=30 |pages=360–367 |doi=10.2307/410134 |year=1954 |jstor=410134 |issue=3}} at p. 360.</ref> [[ISO 15919#Overview|ISO 15919]] is an international standard for the [[Tamil script#Letters|transliteration of Tamil]] and other [[Indic scripts]] into Latin characters. It uses diacritics to map the much larger set of [[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic consonants and vowels]] to [[Latin script]], and thus the alphabets of various languages, including English.

'''Tamil in the [[Tamil script]]:'''

'''Romanized Tamil:'''

:'''Uṟuppurai 1:''' Maṉitap piṟaviyiṉar cakalarum cutantiramākavē piṟakkiṉṟaṉar; avarkaḷ matippilum, urimaikaḷilum camamāṉavarkaḷ, avarkaḷ niyāyattaiyum maṉaccāṭciyaiyum iyaṟpaṇpākap peṟṟavarkaḷ. Avarkaḷ oruvaruṭaṉoruvar cakōtara uṇarvup pāṅkil naṭantukoḷḷal vēṇṭum.

* {{Curlie|Science/Social_Sciences/Linguistics/Languages/Natural/Dravidian/Tamil/}}

* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-language Tamil language] at ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''

{{Tamil language}}