Tamil is a fascinating language with a rich history and culture. It is one of the oldest and longest-surviving languages in the world, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages. Tamil is spoken by more than 80 million people, mainly in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, and other parts of the world. Tamil has been recognized as a classical language of India, and has a vast and varied literature that spans over two millennia. Tamil is also a vibrant and dynamic language that continues to evolve and adapt to the changing times.
In this Blog, I will explore some of the interesting aspects of Tamil as a spoken language, such as its phonology, grammar, dialects, and diglossia. I will also share some of the challenges and opportunities that Tamil speakers face in the modern world.
Phonology
Tamil has a relatively simple phonological system, with 12 vowels and 18 consonants. The vowels can be short or long, and some of them have nasalized variants. The consonants are divided into five classes based on the place of articulation: labial, dental, alveolar, retroflex, and palatal. The retroflex consonants are a distinctive feature of Tamil and other Dravidian languages, and are produced by curling the tongue tip back to touch the roof of the mouth. Tamil also has a set of voiced and voiceless aspirated consonants, which are borrowed from Sanskrit and used mainly in literary and formal contexts.
Tamil has a syllabic structure that consists of a vowel or a consonant-vowel sequence. Consonant clusters are not allowed at the beginning or end of a syllable, and are simplified by inserting an inherent vowel between them. For example, the word ‘school’ is pronounced as /skUlu/ in English, but as /cUlu/ in Tamil, where /c/ is a voiceless palatal stop. Tamil also has a complex system of prosody, which involves stress, pitch, and length. Prosody plays an important role in distinguishing the meaning and function of words and sentences in Tamil.
Grammar
Tamil has a highly agglutinative and morphologically rich grammar, which means that it uses suffixes to mark various grammatical categories and functions. Tamil has three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), two numbers (singular and plural), and eight cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, locative, ablative, instrumental, and sociative). Tamil also has a complex system of verbal inflection, which includes tense, aspect, mood, voice, person, and number. Tamil verbs have three tenses (past, present, and future), three aspects (perfective, imperfective, and habitual), four moods (indicative, imperative, conditional, and subjunctive), two voices (active and passive), and three persons (first, second, and third).
Tamil has a relatively free word order, but the most common and neutral order is subject-object-verb (SOV). Tamil also has a rich inventory of postpositions, conjunctions, particles, and clitics, which are used to express various syntactic and semantic relations and functions. Tamil has a number of grammatical devices to mark information structure, such as topic, focus, and contrast. Tamil also has a sophisticated system of anaphora and deixis, which involves the use of pronouns, demonstratives, and other referential expressions.
Dialects
Tamil has many regional and social dialects, which differ from each other in various aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, and pragmatics. The major regional dialects of Tamil are Central Tamil, Kongu Tamil, Madurai Tamil, Tirunelveli Tamil, and Jaffna Tamil. Central Tamil is the standard and prestige dialect, which is spoken in the capital city of Chennai and its surrounding areas. Kongu Tamil is spoken in the western part of Tamil Nadu, and is influenced by Kannada and Telugu. Madurai Tamil is spoken in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, and is characterized by the use of retroflex consonants and gemination. Tirunelveli Tamil is spoken in the extreme south of Tamil Nadu, and is distinguished by the use of palatal consonants and the absence of gender distinction. Jaffna Tamil is spoken in the northern part of Sri Lanka, and is influenced by Sinhala and English.
The social dialects of Tamil are mainly based on caste, class, religion, and education. Some of the prominent social dialects are Brahmin Tamil, Muslim Tamil, Dalit Tamil, and Sankethi Tamil. Brahmin Tamil is spoken by the upper-caste Hindu priests and scholars, and is marked by the use of Sanskrit words and honorifics. Muslim Tamil is spoken by the followers of Islam, and is characterized by the use of Arabic and Persian words and expressions. Dalit Tamil is spoken by the oppressed and marginalized communities, and is often stigmatized and discriminated against by the dominant groups. Sankethi Tamil is spoken by a migrant community that originated from Kerala, and is influenced by Malayalam and Kannada.
Diglossia
Tamil has a diglossic situation, which means that it has two distinct varieties that are used for different purposes and domains. The two varieties are called High Tamil (HT) and Low Tamil (LT), or Literary Tamil and Colloquial Tamil, respectively. HT is the formal and written variety, which is used in education, media, literature, and administration. LT is the informal and spoken variety, which is used in everyday communication, entertainment, and personal domains. HT and LT differ from each other in many aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, and style. HT is more conservative and archaic, while LT is more innovative and modern. HT is more influenced by Sanskrit, while LT is more influenced by English and other languages. HT and LT are not mutually intelligible, and require different levels of proficiency and competence.
The diglossic situation of Tamil poses various challenges and opportunities for Tamil speakers, especially in the fields of education, media, and literature. On one hand, diglossia creates a gap between the written and spoken forms of the language, and affects the literacy and fluency of the speakers. On the other hand, diglossia enriches the linguistic and cultural diversity of the language, and provides a source of creativity and expression for the speakers.
Conclusion
Tamil is a spoken language that has a lot to offer to its speakers and learners. It is a language that has a long and glorious history, a rich and varied culture, and a vibrant and dynamic present. Tamil is a language that reflects the identity, values, and aspirations of its speakers, and connects them to their past, present, and future. Tamil is a language that deserves to be celebrated, preserved, and promoted. Tamil is a language that I am proud to speak and write. தமிழ் வாழ்க! (Tamil valka! - Long live Tamil!)
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