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Tamil is one of the ancient languages of the world. It has a history
of more than 3000 years. Now Tamil is spoken by the native speakers
of Tamil Nadu in South India by around 53 million as per the Census
of India 1991. During the last few centuries, millions of Tamil
speakers have migrated to other southern states of India like
Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Tamil is one of the official
languages of Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. A significant
number of speakers of Tamil live in France, Canada, USA, South
Africa, Mauritius and in many more countries.
Tamil
is very rich in Literature and Grammar. The ancient Sangam Literature
is a collection of thousands of poems with rare poetic quality
and philosophical in content. It is a part of the literary heritage
of the world. Tamil has an uninterrupted lineage of literary tradition.
It has a huge corpus of epics, poems, moral treatise, devotional
songs, philosophical writings, grammatical treatise, medicinal
texts, and other books on humanities. Tamil has also been declared
as an important classical language of India by the Government.
It is often compounded with Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and
Chinese. Tamil music and Tamil dance are much celebrated worldwide
for their perfection and elaboration. Arts and crafts of Tamil
Nadu are very famous for their beauty and grandeur. Tamil epics,
mythologies, moral literature and grammars like Tholkappiyam,
Thirukkural, Kambaramayanam, Silappathikaram and Thiruvasakam
have been translated into many world languages. Contribution of
Tamil to Indian Philosophy, Religion and Literature is much appreciated
and acknowledged. Tamil studies are now a part of the curriculum
of many international universities. Tamil literature and thought
are attracting many scholars and researchers because of their
richness and varieties. Learning Tamil is considered as an exploration
into a wonderful world of ancestry as well as into a land of aesthetic
and philosophical treasure.
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Last updated on
4th January 2005.
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