What is modern Tamil?
Modern Tamil Writing By Subramanian, Rajesh Tamil literature, over the past two millennia, has been continuously evolving in its grammatical style, content, expressions, forms, structures, and themes. Modern Tamil writing can be considered to have begun in the mid-eighteenth century.
How did Tamil language evolve?
The earliest Tamil writing is attested in inscriptions and potsherds from the 5th century bce. The Tamil writing system evolved from the Brahmi script. The shape of the letters changed enormously over time, eventually stabilizing when printing was introduced in the 16th century ce.
How did Tamil change from Old Tamil to Middle Tamil?
The evolution of Old Tamil into Middle Tamil, which is generally taken to have been completed by the 8th century, was characterised by a number of phonological and grammatical changes.
How many countries have Tamil as an official language?
Tamil is an official language of three countries: India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. It is used as one of the languages of education in Malaysia, along with English, Malay and Mandarin.
What is the classification of the Tamil language?
Tamil belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages, a family of around 26 languages native to the Indian subcontinent. It is also classified as being part of a Tamil language family that, alongside Tamil proper, includes the languages of about 35 ethno-linguistic groups such as the Irula and Yerukula languages (see SIL Ethnologue).
What is the difference between Nannul and colloquial Tamil?
The Nannul remains the standard normative grammar for modern literary Tamil, which therefore continues to be based on Middle Tamil of the 13th century rather than on Modern Tamil. Colloquial spoken Tamil, in contrast, shows a number of changes.