From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tamil is a Dravidian language of India. It is one of the classical languages of the world, with a rich literature spanning over 2000 years.
The 'l' in the word 'Tamil' is pronounced like a retroflex 'r', though it is often transliterated as "zh". See Tamil alphabet.
| Tamil (தமிழ்) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia |
| Region: | Tamil Nadu and neighboring states |
| Total speakers: | 61 Million |
| Ranking: | 18 |
| Genetic classification: |
Dravidian Southern Tamil-Kannada Tamil-Kodagu Tamil-Malayalam Tamil Tamil |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1: | ta |
| ISO 639-2: | tam |
| SIL: | TCV |
History
Tamil's origins are independent of Sanskrit (which is from the Indo-European language family and the ancestor for many Indian languages), but it has borrowed a number of words from Sanskrit in later centuries. Quite significantly for its age, Tamil seems to have undergone minimal changes and adaptations over the years. It is also claimed that classical Tamil is quite comprehensible to speakers of the modern language. The ancient Tamil book Tirukkural is quoted by some as an example. The verses from the book are often taught to young students of the language at the primary level, and they seem to pick up the lines in the ancient dialect with little difficulty.
Classification
Tamil is a member of the Tamil languages group of languages, along with Irula, Kaikadi, Betta Kurumba, Sholaga, Yerukula. The Tamil languages are a subgroup of the Tamil-Malayalam languages, which in turn is a subgroup of Tamil-Kodagu languages, a subgroup of Tamil-Kannada languages. The Tamil-Kannada languages are a subgroup of the Southern branch of the Dravidian language family.
Geographic distribution
Tamil is spoken mainly in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Tamil is also spoken in Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Official status
Tamil is one of the 19 official languages of India. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Dialects
Dialects of Tamil identified by the Ethnologue are: Adi Dravida, Aiyar, Aiyangar, Arava, Burgandi, Kasuva, Kongar, Korava, Korchi, Madrasi, Parikala, Pattapu Bhasha, Tamil, Sri Lanka Tamil, Malaya Tamil, Burma Tamil, South Africa Tamil, Tigalu, Harijan, Sanketi, Hebbar, Mandyam Brahmin, and Secunderabad Brahmin.
Tamil has its own writing system, which is derived from the Brahmi script of ancient India.
Writing system
Main article: Tamil alphabetExamples
There is a Tamil language WikipediaSee also
External links
